When young turkeys are lost, the sound they emit is called kee-kee. Adult turkeys will also use a variation of this sound. Again, it just means you have a happy group of birds. They will also cluck and purr which is “flock talk” and can be amplified at times. When a turkey is flying up or down from his roost or across a creek, (or just flying) the sound that they make is called a cackle. It’s only heard when they are moving.Ī purr is a soft rolling sound that turkeys make when they are content, like at feeding time. The adult hen assembly call is a series of loud yelps used to gather her poults (chicks). If you can clearly see the imprint of the scales on the middle toe, this indicates a heavy bird. NOTE: Look for tracks that are 2-1/4 inches or larger. You can hear this a long ways away as the gobble and it basically means the same thing…she needs companionship. The cutting of a excited hen is a series of fast, loud single notes like a modified cluck. The toms have also been known to yelp like the hens. Basically they will yelp to let the mature toms know where they are. The normal yelp of a hen is a normal wild turkey sound that you hear and has different meanings on how the sound is relayed. When hunting, it’s a good call to use assuring the approaching tom that the “hen” is waiting for him.Ī putt is a single note or several sharp notes, and is an alarm sound to the rest that they have seen or heard something and are alerting the others of danger. It’s generally used to get another bird’s attention. The cluck reminds me of that of a chicken. This gobble can be heard for up to a mile. Wow.Įarly spring is mating season and the first sound of a tom in the area is hearing a gobble. This announces, “hey ladies, I’m here, ready to jump your bones toms – get out of my way or I’m going to be your worst nightmare.” Or something like that. From calling in their young to mating calls the basic ones you’ll hear are: gobble, yelp of a hen, cutting of an excited hen, cluck, purr, cluck and purr, putt, fly down cackle, adult hen assembly call, and kee-kees. Wild turkeys are very social and many turkey calls have been created to mimic the sounds they make. Wild game animals and birds have eyes on the SIDES of their head like: elk, deer, turkey, pheasant, etc and they are the hunted. A predator (like us) has eyes in the FRONT of our head like: lions, wolves, tigers and bears. The turkey must turn his head and look at you sideways to spot you.Īlways remember this. If they are looking straight ahead (beak facing you), you are NOT busted. If you think that the wild turkey has spotted you, first look at where the head is pointing at. They have very keen eyesight. You can get away with some things in a tree stand when hunting for deer, but if the whitetail doesn’t bust you for doing it, a wild turkey will. They roost in trees at night to protect themselves from predators. Wild turkeys are very agile and fly close to the ground for no more than a quarter of a mile. It is not scientifically known why the wild turkey has a beard, but we have our own opinions. Fifteen percent of the hen population also grow beards. The tom will grow a cluster of hair-like feathers from the center of his chest called a beard averaging 9 inches in length. Their feathers are duller overall with shades of gray and brown. The hen’s head coloring is a grayish blue and she also has caruncles and a snood which is smaller than the toms. During mating season the American Turkey’s head can be alternate between red, white or blue and can change color in a few seconds or so. In the above photo, the tom has wattles under the throat and on the neck which are folds of skin, and the flap of skin that hangs over the beak of the tom is called a snood .īoth of these areas again will turn red when the tom is ready to fight or trying to impress a hen during the mating season. He is substantially larger than the hen and his feathers have areas of red, purple, green, copper, gold and bronze. His body is black with a large fan shaped tail and has rear spurs on the lower part of the leg that they use as weapons. The tom has a large featherless head and throat with fleshy looking growths called caruncles. These caruncles turn red when he is angry or in courtship. The close-up of the tom’s head in the picture on the left show these clearly. They are the caruncles, wattles and snood. The tom has three areas on his head that will turn bright red. I know most of you have seen a one, but I do want to describe what they look like for those of you that haven’t. I will explain their social structure, breeding behavior, turkey calls and terms so you will know what others are talking about and even impress them yourself with your knowledge. The subject today is wild turkey and I want to relay some interesting behavior and information about this bird.
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