Wild Turkey

A large, heavy-bodied ground bird. Males are known for their iridescent bronze plumage, 'beards' of modified feathers, and vibrant red/blue head wattles used in display.

Mottled dark brown and copper-bronze base with distinct black horizontal barring. Features a broad, subterminal black band and a lighter buff/tan terminal tip.

Pennaceous and tightly interlocked at the distal end; transitioning to highly plumulaceous (downy) at the base. The barbs are stiff and resilient.

Relatively stiff and coarse with a slight iridescent copper sheen visible when light hits the dark bands; matte appearance on the lighter bars.

Bold horizontal barring, broad subterminal black band, and copper-bronze iridescence unique to the Wild Turkey rectrix.

Open woodlands, hardwood forests with scattered openings, pastures, and increasingly suburban shrublands.

Resident throughout most of North America, from southern Canada through the United States to central Mexico.

Large generalist foragers that disperse seeds and act as a prey base for large predators; their presence indicates a healthy forest-edge ecosystem.

Female (Hen) Turkey feathers are similar but smaller and duller; Ruffed Grouse feathers are much smaller with different banding patterns.

Wild Turkeys were nearly hunted to extinction by the early 1900s; Benjamin Franklin famously preferred the Turkey over the Bald Eagle as a national symbol.

The feather shows significant wear and fraying along the edges and base, suggesting it was naturally molted or discarded during a struggle.