When the turkey gets flustered, the blood vessels contract, exposing more of the collagen bands. This changes the way that incoming light scatters and reflects off of the turkey’s skin, causing it to appear blue or white. It’s the same scattering effect that makes the sky appear blue but sunsets yellow or red.
Do male turkeys have blue heads?
Wild Turkey Photos and Videos
Very large game bird. Displaying males look almost spherical, with naked, red-and-blue head and fanned tail.
What is a blue headed turkey?
The Ocellated Turkey is the gaudier tropical cousin of the world’s only other turkey species, our familiar Thanksgiving bird. Watching a strutting male display is like seeing a Wild Turkey through a colorized filter: The baby-blue head is dotted with red and orange wart-like bumps.
Do female wild turkeys have blue heads?
Female Wild Turkeys (Hens)
Their feathers are a lighter color, brown or bronze in appearance. They have no spurs and seldom have beards, although there are rare exceptions. Female wild turkeys have blue or blue-gray-colored heads with no red. Unlike male wild turkeys, females rarely strut or fluff up their feathers.
Do hen turkeys have blue heads?
Hens are more brown in coloration and smaller in size than gobblers. They have a head that is more blue-gray in appearance, often with feathers continuing up the back of the head. Occasionally hens will have a beard, but it is thinner than on gobblers and is quite often kinked.
How do you tell if a turkey is a male or female?
The easiest way to determine the turkey’s sex is by examining the feathers on the breast and sides of the turkey. On males, these feathers have black tips. The feather tips are brown on females.
Is my turkey a boy or girl?
Examine the breast feathers for distinctive coloring.
Position yourself so that you can see the feathers on its chest. The lower breast feathers of an adult male turkey will have black tips. Female turkeys have breast feathers that are tipped in either white, brown, or bronze.
What do turkeys head colors mean?
The changing colors of a gobbler’s head indicates his level of excitement and/or agitation to other turkeys. Usually when their heads turn a bright reddish color, it means they’re sexually excited or just agitated.
What are the signs of a sick turkey?
What to look out for
- dull, hunched birds with ruffled feathers.
- sudden death.
- diarrhoea (often watery and can contain mucus) – blood is rare compared to chicken coccidiosis.
Do female turkeys heads change colors?
They change color.
“When they’re breeding or when they’re aggressive, more blood goes into their head – it’s sort of like people who get flushed when really excited or mad,” says retired ornithologist (a person who studies birds) and author Roger Lederer. “During breeding season, their heads could be red all week!”
Can turkey lay eggs without mating?
Do turkeys lay eggs without a male? A turkey will lay an egg with or without a male. But they will not be fertile. Without a male, they cannot be placed in an incubator and will not hatch if a hen sets on them.
Do male turkeys stay with females?
For most of the year turkeys can be found in one of four different kinds of flocks. Mature males (toms) hang out together and have little to do with the females or the kids. Mature females (hens) who either didn’t successfully mate or who have lost their brood, also form a flock.
Do male and female wild turkeys stay together?
Turkeys are considered polygamous breeders, as toms will mate with many hens and hens may breed with more than one tom. Males establish a pecking order of dominance, and the most dominant male may breed with most of the hens in an area.
Can two tom turkeys live together?
turkeys, often called “heritage” turkeys, can live in mixed-sex flocks so long as everyone gets along well. However, you may find that males (toms ) get along with each other better if they live away from female turkeys entirely.
Why do turkeys puff up?
Because “strutting” is the term used to describe the behavior of a turkey puffing its feathers. This is what makes this bird go from bland to grand. Indeed, turkeys exhibit this fascinating behavior to attract mates, show their dominance, or defend against predators.
What is a boy turkey called?
Adult male turkeys are called gobblers. Juvenile males are called jakes. Gobblers average around 18-22 pounds and can have a wingspan of 5 feet. Adult female turkeys are called hens.
What color head does a female turkey have?
Female turkeys have a duller overall color than males, with gray heads and breast feathers tipped in white, gray or brown. Females usually do not have beards.
Why do turkeys drag their wings?
Gobblers spread their tail fan, erect their body feathers, and drag their wings while showing off their iridescent colors to establish dominance and attract a mate.
Do female turkeys fan their tails?
TURKEY FACT #4: Tom turkeys aren’t the only ones that swagger and fan their tail feathers to woo mates and ward off rivals. Some hens strut, too.
Are turkeys aggressive?
Turkeys may attempt to dominate or attack people that they view as subordinates, and this behavior is observed most often during breeding season. They may also respond aggressively and peck shiny objects like windows or automobiles, interpreting their own reflection as an intruding turkey.
Can you eat turkey eggs?
And even though turkey eggs are edible and similar in taste to chicken eggs, they aren’t as widely consumed. The economics of egg production lend a sizable advantage to producing chicken eggs over turkey eggs.