A snood is the floppy, fleshy appendage that drapes over a turkey’s beak. Toms, jakes, and hens all have snoods. However, a tom’s is longer and more prominent than that of a hen or jake. While it’s easy to dismiss the snood as a vestigial appendage on a turkey’s face, studying it can be a key indicator of a tom’s body language and current mood.
The snood is one of the most distinctive and intriguing parts of a turkey’s anatomy. Located right above the beak the snood is a fleshy protuberance that hangs down over a turkey’s beak. But what exactly is the snood and what does it do? Here’s a deep dive into the mysteries of the turkey snood.
An Overview of the Turkey Snood
The snood is only found on turkeys. Both male and female turkeys have snoods, but they are more prominent on males. The snood sits on the forehead over the beak and has some key characteristics:
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Fleshy protuberance – The snood has a fleshy, wart-like texture. It contains erectile tissue that allows it to engorge with blood.
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Changes size – The snood is small and short when a turkey is relaxed. But when excited or strutting, it elongates and reddens as it fills with blood.
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Hangs down – On male turkeys especially, the snood hangs down over the beak, sometimes by several centimeters.
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Varies by breed – Snood size and color varies somewhat between breeds. Wild turkeys tend to have the longest snoods.
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Sexual dimorphism – The snood is much larger and more prominent on male turkeys compared to females. It is a secondary sex characteristic.
So in essence, the snood is a fleshy appendage found on the foreheads of turkeys that becomes engorged and elongates during courtship displays But what purpose does this unique structure serve?
Functions of the Turkey Snood
While a bit strange-looking, the turkey snood actually serves several important functions:
Sexual Selection
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Research shows that female turkeys prefer males with longer snoods when choosing mates. Long snoods signal health, strength, and virility to female turkeys.
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During courtship displays, the male turkey’s snood engorges and elongates, allowing him to signal his prowess to females.
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So the snood plays an important role in intersexual selection – allowing female turkeys to choose fit mates.
Social Dominance
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The size of a male turkey’s snood also establishes social hierarchy between males.
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Males with longer snoods tend to be more dominant, while subordinate males defer to them.
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So the snood is also important for establishing intrasexual selection and pecking order.
Temperature Regulation
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As blood flows into the snood, it can help release excess heat. This helps regulate the turkey’s temperature.
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This is similar to how elephants use their large ears to modulate body temperature.
Turkey Snood Features
To fully understand the turkey snood, let’s take a closer look at some of its key features:
Dramatic Changes in Size
One of the most remarkable things about the snood is how drastically it can change size:
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At rest, the snood may only be 2-3 cm long and will appear rather small and limp on the forehead.
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But when a male turkey begins strutting and courting females, the snood can engorge with blood and elongate to over 10 cm!
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This dramatic change occurs due to erectile tissue in the snood that becomes engorged with blood during excitement.
Brilliant Changes in Color
Along with changes in size, the snood also changes color:
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When relaxed, the snood is often a pale pink or red color.
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But during courtship displays, it becomes a deep, brilliant red as blood flows into it.
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The rich red color helps make the snood more visible and signals virility.
Snood Shapes and Texture
The snood has a distinct warty or fleshy texture and shape:
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When relaxed, the snood may look bumpy and irregularly-shaped.
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As it elongates during courtship, the snood smooths out but still has a fleshy, rubbery texture.
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This fleshy texture allows the snood to engorge and change size.
Prominent in Males
The snood is much more dramatic and pronounced in male turkeys compared to females:
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Males have snoods up to 10 times larger than females when engorged.
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The snood hangs down prominently over the male’s beak, while the female’s snood is usually small and tight to the forehead.
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This sexual dimorphism reflects the importance of the snood for courtship in males.
Variety Between Breeds
While all turkeys have snoods, their size and color varies by breed:
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Wild turkeys tend to have some of the largest and reddest snoods.
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Heritage breeds like Bourbon Reds also have prominent snoods.
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Commercial broad-breasted turkeys have smaller, paler snoods since they are slaughtered before maturity.
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The Ocellated Turkey has a uniquely blue snood rather than the typical red.
What Happens to the Snood
The turkey’s snood is used extensively during mating season and courtship:
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Males will strut for hours with blood-engorged snoods to attract females.
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The snood often hangs down over the male’s beak, blocking its vision and breathing.
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Rival males will bite and pull on each other’s snoods when fighting.
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After mating season, the snood returns to its small, limp state.
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The heavy use of the snood can cause it to become floppy, twisted, or deformed.
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But turkeys regrow new snoods each year after molting.
So while a bit inconvenient at times, the turkey has evolved to handle the challenges of its fleshy snood and regrow it as needed.
Why Did Turkeys Evolve Such a Unique Structure?
The turkey snood is certainly an odd and intriguing structure not found on any other living birds. Scientists propose several evolutionary drivers that may explain its existence:
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Sexual selection – The snood provides a flashy way for male turkeys to attract mates and outcompete other males.
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Social selection – The snood establishes a visible marker for dominance and subordinance in turkey flocks.
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Thermoregulation – As a fleshy appendage, the snood provides a way to release excess body heat.
Interestingly, a similar fleshy structure called a melampode has been found on the heads of some extinct dinosaurs from the same lineage as modern birds. So the fleshy snood may have ancient origins indeed!
The turkey snood has been an object of mystery for centuries. But researchers have unlocked many of its secrets and purposes. This fleshy appendage plays integral roles in mate selection, establishing hierarchy, releasing heat, and enhancing sexual displays in turkeys. While a bit strange to our human sensibilities, the snood is an integral part of turkey anatomy and behavior. Next time you see a turkey, take a closer look at its head to see if you can spot this unique feature. The brilliant changes in the turkey’s snood are a wonder of nature not to be overlooked!
What Kind of Mood He’s In
Between dramatic color changes and changing snood length, a male turkey wears his emotions on his head. If you’re reading this article, you’ve likely witnessed the magic of a tom’s chameleon-like head, changing colors from pale red to an intense bright red, and to a starch white and blue combination.
By paying close attention to a turkey’s head, you can surmise a gobbler’s current attitude and likelihood of reacting favorably to your calls and decoy setup. A pale red head and a snood that is erect atop of their beak indicates a turkey in a submissive or passive mood. This gobbler is likely just going about his business without current intentions of breeding or fighting.
When the snood elongates, dangling well below his beak, paired with a brightly colored head, he is experiencing an increased blood flow to his noggin. Whether his head is an intense red color or bleach white, this gobbler is feeling good and strutting his dominance. This gobbler is likely looking to breed or pick a fight with a subordinate tom.
If He’s the Dominant Tom
Studies show that snood length can have an effect on sexual selection. These studies have shown that hens show a preference to toms with longer snoods. Researchers believe that snood length is one identifier of a tom’s physical fitness and, in particular, the absence of parasite load and overall good health.
Along with snood length, the intensity of a tom’s head illumination is believed to be another sign of dominance. With this in mind, it is well known that the dominant tom in each flock does a disproportionately large amount of the breeding. With wild turkey populations starting to decline in many states across the U.S., one can’t help but wonder if targeting the most dominant bird in the pecking order is a contributing factor to the overall decline in some turkey populations. If you’re fortunate to have multiple birds in range, perhaps targeting the tom exhibiting more submissive behavior may not be a bad idea.
What is a Turkey Snood? | The Critter Commute
FAQ
What is the difference between a waddle and a snood?
This fleshy, bumpy skin has a name: the wattle. It’s different from the long piece of flesh that grows down from the bird’s forehead, which is called a “snood,” according to PBS(Opens in a new window). Snoods can be short, sticking up like a horn, or long, extending past the nose.
What is the floppy thing on a turkey’s neck?
- Cooling: Wattles help turkeys release excess heat on hot days.
- Attracting mates: During breeding season, wattles fill with blood and glow bright red to attract hens.
- Fear response: When threatened by a predator, blood may drain from the wattle, causing it to turn blue.