Facts You Probably Know About The Ocellated Turkey

By Virginia Clark


Turkey, like many other animals also has a variety of species. Turkey becomes the talk of the day especially days before thanksgiving. It is the main meal in every American home on this special day. Farmers take it up on themselves to feed all those turkeys as much as needed. The article talks about a species of turkey known as an ocellated turkey.

First, they can grow up to 1.2 meters long. They have a wide variety of colors and happen to be colorful than the American wild turkeys. Both the male and female have blue heads with red nodules emerging from the heads. The male has 4cm spurs on their legs. These come in handy especially when they are fighting each other for various reasons.

They are omnivore birds which means they feed both on plants and animals. In the wild, however, their diet contains beetles, berries, leaves, seeds and other things. The male is known as the gobble while the female is in known as a hen. During the mating season, the gobble struts and goes around the female in an effort to attract.

These birds are spread in Central America and some parts of Mexico including Belize and Guatemala. However, their population continues to decrease rapidly. This is because their habitat is being destroyed. Another reason is the constant hunting by the locals and the predators that have gone on for so long. The predators include raccoons, birds of prey jaguars among many other animals.

For most of us, turkeys are just overly large chicken. However, evolution shows clearly the difference between the two species. In the early 1900s, the birds have hunted almost to the point of extinction. There were only 30,000 birds left, and this is when a restoration program was introduced in central America.

Turkeys come in many different species. Actually, they are six species. One of them is found on the eastern side of America and has extended into Canada. These are commonly known as forest turkeys as they mainly inhabit the forest. They are the majority of the turkeys and are therefore the most dominant. They currently stand at 5million.

There is a set of modified feathers on the breast of the male which is popularly referred to like the beard. It is however absent in the females. Both male and female have snoods. They are more obvious in the males. Females have been known to prefer males with longer snoods. These are also in the determination of a winner after a fight.

A very interesting fact is the ability to determine the gender of a turkey by just observing their droppings. The male produces spiraling droppings while the female produce that which is shaped like the letter J. They can run at a speed of 25 miles per hour. The flying is also fast as they fly at a rate of 55 miles per hour.

Males that are related can go after the same female, but only one will get to mate. The female lays 10-12eggs over a span of 2 weeks. The incubation period is 28 days after which the eggs hatch.




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