Wild turkey

Meleagris gallopavo · The wild turkey is a large upland game bird native to North America and the heaviest member of the order Galliformes.

Wild turkey
Photo: Paul Danese, CC BY-SA 4.0
Wild turkey
Photo: © Frank Schulenburg, CC BY-SA 4.0
Wild turkey
Photo: Andy Reago & Chrissy McClarren, CC BY 2.0

Taxonomy

KingdomAnimalia
PhylumChordata
ClassAves
OrderGalliformes
FamilyPhasianidae
GenusMeleagris
SpeciesMeleagris gallopavo

Where it lives

Forests and open woodland across the US, southern Canada and Mexico.

Fun facts

  • A male wild turkey's gobble can be heard up to a mile away.
  • When a male turkey gets excited, his head and neck can turn solid white, and his head and neck colors shift with his mood.
  • Turkeys sometimes forage alongside deer and squirrels, and each animal helps the others watch for predators with its different senses.
  • Some male turkeys attack parked cars and shiny surfaces because they think they see a rival turkey in their territory.

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Facts and taxonomy adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).