As you may be dining on plenty of turkey this week, we thought we’d turn our attention away from the domesticated variety that graces many a Thanksgiving table, and instead “show off” that iconic show-off, the Wild Turkey.

Wild Turkey can stand four feet tall, with a large, bulky body covered with bronzy, iridescent feathers. The tom (male) has a reddish-blue head and a hair-like “beard” protruding from his breast. The smaller female is duller in coloration than the male.

In the spring, tom turkeys make their famous gobble in order to lure in females. Courtship begins when the tom spreads its tail, fluffs out its feathers, swells out the facial wattles, and struts in front of the females. This elaborate dance may be entertaining for us, but the (turkey) ladies love it! Males are polygamous and will mate with several females if given the opportunity. 

Want to impress your family with a few $5 words this Turkey Day? Brush up on your turkey vocabulary with our handy guide to Wild Turkey Terminology. And enjoy these five photos of toms strutting their stuff for the ladies, all submitted to our annual Picture This: Your Great Outdoors photo contest.

The return of wild turkeys to New England is a marvelous success story. When European settlers first arrived, these native birds were plentiful but rising populations and over-hunting led to their erradication—the last wild turkey in Massachusetts was killed on Mount Tom in 1851.

Thanks to the efforts of the Division of Fisheries and Wildlife (now known as Mass Wildlife), in cooperation with the University of Massachusetts, wild turkeys were reintroduced in the early 1970’s and are now plentiful once again.

Learn all about wild turkeys in the Nature & Wildlife section of our website. You’ll also find a list of upcoming programs about turkeys at our wildlife sanctuaries.

Let’s give thanks for turkeys with five fantastic photos from past submissions to our Picture This: Your Great Outdoors photo contest!