Wild Turkey (Eastern Wild Turkey)

The Wild Turkey is a large, heavy-bodied game bird with dark iridescent plumage, a featherless head that can shift colors from red to blue, and a fan-shaped tail. This wing feather exhibits the classic earthy barred pattern characteristic of the species' flight and wing covert feathers.

Muted earth tones with dark brown and grey-brown barring, subtle iridescent sheen in good light, featuring a pale tan or whitish edge along the vane and a light straw-colored rachis

Pennaceous vane along the upper shaft with tightly interlocked barbicels, transitioning to a plumulaceous (fluffy downy) tuft at the very base

Stiff and smooth along the pennaceous web with good rigidity, soft and fluffy at the base, matte finish with slight natural sheen

Distinctive dark brown and grey-brown barring, pale whitish feather margins, sturdy pale-yellowish rachis, and a fluffy plumulaceous down base

Deciduous and mixed coniferous-deciduous forests with scattered clearings, agricultural fields, pastures, and wooded swamps

Widespread across North America, from the southern wooded regions of Canada through the United States down to central Mexico

Serves as an important ground-foraging omnivore that helps control insect and seed populations while acting as prey for large mammalian and avian predators

Domestic turkey feathers or certain large raptor wing feathers, distinguished by the specific earth-tone barring patterns and lack of raptor-specific serrations or markings

Wild Turkeys can fly up to 55 mph for short distances, though they spend most of their time on the ground and roost in trees at night to escape predators

Good condition overall with intact barbs and a strong rachis, showing minor normal wear along the outer margin