Turkeys are large, distinctive birds that most of us have seen pictured around Thanksgiving But wild turkeys actually look quite different from the plump, domesticated turkeys that end up on our holiday tables When identifying wild turkeys, it’s important to know how to distinguish between males and females as well as understand how factors like age affect their appearance.
Male vs Female Turkeys: Key Physical Differences
Male turkeys, known as toms or gobblers, stand out with their flashy feathers and other distinctive features:
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Tail feathers – Male turkeys have long, fanned tail feathers that they use for courting displays The tail feathers have iridescent borders that shimmer in the sunlight.
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Breast feathers – Males sport elegant feathers in shades of bronze copper, gold and green on their breast and body. This colorful plumage is absent in females.
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Bare heads – Male turkeys have featherless heads that can turn bright red or blue as they display to attract females. Their heads lack the small feathers female turkeys have.
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Beard – Many male turkeys grow a beard, which is a cluster of coarse hair-like feathers protruding from their chest. This beard may be absent in some males.
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Wattles – The fleshy growths that dangle from a male’s neck are larger and more brightly colored than a female’s wattles.
In contrast, female turkeys, also called hens, have:
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Drab plumage – Hens have plain, cryptically colored brown, gray or black feathers that help them blend into their surroundings in the wild.
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Shorter tails – A hen’s tail feathers are significantly shorter and not eye-catching like a male’s. The feathers lay flat rather than fanning out.
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Smaller wattles – Female turkeys have smaller, paler wattles compared to males of the same age.
Behavioral Differences Between Male and Female Turkeys
In addition to physical features, male and female turkeys display distinct behaviors that aid in identification:
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Gobbling calls – Male turkeys make the characteristic gobble call most associated with these birds. Females may cluck or yelp but do not gobble.
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Strutting displays – Males engage in elaborate strutting displays where they puff up feathers, spread tails and drag wings to attract females.
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Sparring – Male turkeys spar by facing off and pecking at each other to establish dominance. Females rarely spar.
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Brooding – Female turkeys build nests, lay eggs and care for poults while males take no part in these brooding behaviors.
How Age Affects a Turkey’s Appearance
Age is a crucial factor in turkey identification. Young turkeys look quite different from mature adults. Here are the main age classes:
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Poults – Newly hatched turkeys are called poults. They are small and nimble with fluffy down feathers.
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Jakes – Young males under a year old are known as jakes. Their tail feathers are short and they lack the full coloring of older males.
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Jennies – Young females under a year old are called jennies. They resemble adult hens but are smaller in size.
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Adult males – At around 2 years old, male turkeys develop the full set of characteristics described earlier like colorful plumage.
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Adult females – Adult hens are typically brownish overall with small feathers on the head and short tails.
Mixed flocks with multiple age classes are common. Jennies and jakes stay close together while adult males form separate groups.
Similar Species to Differentiate From Turkeys
Though fairly distinctive, turkeys sometimes get confused with other large ground birds like:
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Pheasants – Male pheasants have long tail feathers but lack the bare heads and fleshy wattles of male turkeys. Both males and females are more brightly colored overall than wild turkeys.
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Grouse – These smaller game birds lack the size and long legs of turkeys. Grouse also have feathers on their heads rather than bare skin.
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Vultures – Like turkeys, vultures have bare heads but the resemblance ends there. Vultures have featherless necks and much smaller, rounded tails.
When seeking to identify wild turkeys, look for key characteristics like tail and breast feathers, bare heads in males, and gobbling calls. Understand that age affects their appearance substantially. Distinguishing them from similar species comes down to taking note of differences in size, plumage and other features. With practice, anyone can become skilled at spotting and identifying these unique American game birds.
Male turkeys/toms/gobblers: 11
Female turkeys/hens: 10
Tail feathers: 5
Plumage/feathers: 8
Bare heads: 3
Beard: 2
Wattles: 3
Gobbling: 2
Strutting displays: 1
Sparring: 2
Brooding: 1
Poults: 2
Jakes: 1
Jennies: 1
Pheasants: 1
Grouse: 1
Vultures: 1
Turkey Basics-Gobblers and Hens
Let’s begin with the basics of distinguishing male wild turkeys (gobblers) from females (hens).
Gobblers are larger-bodied birds, with a darker coloration, at times appearing almost black. In bright sunlight, their feathers cast a brilliant bronze or metallic iridescence. Gobblers have a featherless, red head (sometimes with blue and white coloring, too) with prominent wattle and fleshy, red growths (called caruncles) on their neck. They also have a “beard”—a tuft of black, hair-like strands—protruding from their chest.
On adult gobblers (called toms), the beard can be 7-9 inches or more in length, but on young gobblers (called jakes) the beard is <6 inches long. Typically, gobblers hang out away from hens during the summer since they take no part in raising young.
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. Hens can also have some feather iridescence, but not to the same extent as gobblers.
How many gobblers and hens do you see in this picture?
2 gobblers (both jakes, note the larger size, less-feathered red heads, and tiny stubble of a beard protruding from the chest of the jake on the right), 4 hens (one mostly hidden behind a jake, but you still can clearly see the typical head of a hen turkey poking out), 1 unknown. If we were here in person live, the birds would move about and we could probably determine that the unknown is another jake, but given what we can see in this photo, it’s best to just call this partially obstructed bird an unknown.
Poults develop very quickly (they must in order not to be eaten!) and feather types, appearance, and body size change rapidly as they age. Based on these characteristics, we can estimate the age of poults. For simplicity, we divide poults into three age classes.
1 week old or younger. Poults that are no more than about a week old are still covered with downy feathers and are very small (<5-6 inches tall). They look like little puff balls about the size of your fist.
Turkey Poult Class 1
2-5 weeks old. Poults in this class have grown longer wing feathers, but still are mostly covered with downy feathers on their body and still lack long tail feathers. They are about 6-10 inches tall, similar in size to a Blue Jay. In appearance, they look to be all wings (which is good because it means now they can fly into low trees to escape ground predators). Poults on the older end of this age class will have started to grow some juvenile plumage on their bodies, but still have short tail feathers.
Hen with class 2 age group poults
Hen with older class 2 age-group poult (borderline class 3)
Hen with class 2 age group poults
6-8 weeks or older. Poults early in this stage still have some down feathers occurring on the neck and head, but their body is covered with juvenile type contour feathers. They have visible tail feathers now, black-and-white barred wing feathers are emerging, and they stand about 10-12 inches tall, similar in size to a crow or a chicken. By about 8 weeks of age, poults are beginning to grow new “adult” looking body feathers and will have a mixture of juvenile feathers and adult feathers on their body. They are about half the size of the hen and will continue to grow to almost the same size as the hen by the end of the summer. Turkey Poults
Because they are very similar in size, late in the summer it can be very challenging to determine if a group of similar-sized turkeys is a flock of hens without poults or a hen and her older-age-class brood. If you’re unsure, it’s best to mark them as unknowns.
5 FACTS | Wild Turkey (True Facts)
What does a wild turkey look like?
Wild turkeys are large birds with long legs, wide tails, and small heads. Male turkeys, called toms or gobblers, have bright plumage with red, green, copper, and bronze hues. Their heads are red and blue with fleshy wattles hanging from their necks. Female turkeys, known as hens, have more muted brown-black feathers for camouflage.
What does a bad Turkey look like?
Fresh turkey usually looks light pink, off-white, or light orange. Bad turkey, on the other hand, may look like a duller shade of fresh turkey. Bad turkey may also be discolored; colors like grey, black, green, and brown are seen when a piece of turkey goes bad. Turkey meat does not last forever. How do you know if Turkey is bad?
How do kids identify turkeys?
Most North American kids learn turkey identification early, by tracing outlines of their hands to make Thanksgiving cards. These big, spectacular birds are an increasingly common sight the rest of the year, too, as flocks stride around woods and clearings like miniature dinosaurs.
What does a female Turkey look like?
Female turkeys are more low – key. Their feathers are usually brown or dark gray which helps them hide better. You won’t see bright tails on females; theirs are more plain and not used for showing off. Their heads have some small feathers on top but not as much as other birds might have.
What does fresh ground turkey look like?
Fresh ground turkey does not look like other types of ground meat – it is normally almost white in color, with a slightly pink tinge. This pinkness will fade as the meat ages, and older ground turkey may have a slightly gray appearance. Ground turkey should appear moist, with a slightly glistening appearance.
What do turkeys look like on Thanksgiving?
This ability is vital, since the large, plump birds make inviting meals not only for families around Thanksgiving, but for a variety of predators as well. Male turkeys can be identified by their fan-shaped tails, fleshy red wattles and snoods on their beaks, and dark, mottled plumage with a bronze-green sheen.