This male turkey has taken up residence here at the AMC Pinkham Notch Visitor Center. He walks down the Tuckerman Ravine Trail each morning and spends the day around our bird feeders. At the end of the day he walks back up the Tucks Trail to his roost- in a tree somewhere off the trail.
A dewlap (fleshy growth hanging under chin),
caruncles (growths located on the side and front of neck), and a
snood (a fleshy projection rising above the bill) adorn males. A
beard (like bristles on a broom) hangs down from the chest; typical
in males and in 5% of females. Males have spurs 1/4 to 1-1/4 inch
long on the lower legs, which are clearly visible in the above photo.
Turkeys are a non-migratory native of much of North America from s. Canada to
c. Mexico. Wild turkeys totally disappeared from New Hampshire 150
years ago because of habitat loss and the lack of regulated hunting seasons. N.H. Fish and Game began
transplanting wild turkeys into the state in the 70's, and today they are present in every county
in New Hampshire.
