Yesterday morning, stepping out the front door, I noticed a herd of turkey’s. The herd was mostly female and there was a Tom looking for a mate! He was all fluffed up, tail feathers spread, and he was gobbling at the females! It was quite a sight to see, so for today, I am sharing the photos I took of this buff male!
It was amazing to watch the male expand his plumage and chuff at the females. Here is the Tom in all his glory!
Tom showing off his plumage!
What was funny was that he kept circling the females but never got really close. Here is a side view of this handsome male.
Side view of a Tom Turkey
The females make a small peeping sound. It is the male that makes the gobble, gobble sound. Here is a shot of the male while he is calling to his potential mated!
Calling all females!
The females are listening! They choose which male they will mate with.
The hens listen to the song of the male
Check out his amazing backside!
Lovely backside!
Let’s take a closer look at the male’s face. The fleshy thing hanging above his beak is called a snood. The red fleshy part at its neck is called the wattle. The snood fills with blood and elongates when the male is trying to attract a female. If you go back to the photo where the male is calling to the female, you will see how long the snood gets. The larger to snood the more the females are attracted to the male…
A face that only a mother could love!
Part of the mating ceremony is the fluffing out of the feathers. They fluff out their wings dragging the tips along the ground.
All fluffed up
I spy another male in the group. This one is a younger male as the face does not show the fully developed snood. He hangs back and is watching the other male!
Another younger male
Turkey’s are really fun to watch! I hope that you enjoyed my photos today! Thank you for dropping in, and be well! ^..^
Wow this is a good looking turkey. Can’t remember when I have last seen such an beauty
The wild turkey are so much better looking than the ones that make it to our tables! The colors are iridescent!
Great photos!! Never knew the males’ feathers have such an iridescence color to them. And I think this is the first time I even heard of snood and wattle. Thanks for an excellent photo display.
Thank you PJ! He was a great subject!
Great shots of a magnificent fellow!
He is magnificent, isn’t he? Thank you Marcybee!
Wow, what a beautiful capture of the Tom!! When we saw the flock last Thanksgiving in Michigan Bluff, they were all females. What a treat to see this!
Thank you Terri! Even though it is very early, the warm temperatures have the birds mating and nest building and the trees to leaf and bloom! This was a treat!
I’ve never really looked at a live turkey up close. I see more dead ones up close when they’re on a platter (and even alive, they would be the plain white domesticated kind). But these wild ones have gorgeous colours! Very nice photos!
Thank you Anneli!
Quite a catch, I’d say!
He is pretty cool! 🙂 Thanks for the comment Kathy!