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Birds — Dm Lniiit; Ri'stniivcs 



Return of 

 Wild Turkeys 



by 

 James G. Dickson 

 U.S. Fore si Service 



The wild turkey (Mt'lcagris i^allopavo) is a 

 large gallinaceous bird characterized by 

 strong feet and legs adapted for walking and 

 scratching, short wings adapted for short rapid 

 flight, a well-developed tail, and a stout beak 

 useful for pecking. These birds probably origi- 

 nated some 2 to 3 million years ago in the 

 Pliocene epoch. Molecular data suggest this 

 genetic line diverged from pheasant-like birds 

 about 1 1 million years ago. There are two 

 species in the genus, the wild turkey of the 

 United States, portions of southern Canada, and 

 northern Me.xico; and the ocellated turkey (M. 

 oceUata) in the Yucatan region of southern 

 Mexico, Belize, and northern Guatemala. This 

 article focuses on the return of the wild turkey. 



Sources of Information 



Historical mformation on turkeys comes 

 from documented accounts of early explorers, 

 which have been summarized by Mosby and 

 Handley (1943) and Schorger (1966). Recent 

 national population estimates are composite fig- 

 ures obtained from individual state wildlife 

 management agencies. Researchers use many 

 survey techniques including harvest estimates, 

 brood counts, winter tlock surveys, and hunter 

 and landowner obser\ations. Kennamer et al. 

 (1992) recently summarized state estimates. At 

 present, there is no consistent, widespread mon- 

 itoring technique. 



Wild turkey [Mclcaf>}is gallopavo). 



Life History 



According to most accounts, wild turkeys 

 were quite abundant at the time of European 

 colonization of North America. Wild turkeys 

 became a major food of these settlers as they 

 moved westward across the forested eastern 

 United States. Turkeys were also used for cloth- 

 ing, ornamentation, and food by many Native 

 American tribes. As the nation grew in the 

 I800"s, wild turkey numbers dwindled. The 

 birds were harvested without restraint and mar- 

 keted for human consumption. In addition, their 

 forest habitat was cleared for agriculture and 

 wood products. In the early I900"s. population 

 numbers continued to decline. By 1920, wild 

 turkeys were extiipated from 18 of the 39 states 

 of their ancestral range (Mosby and Handley 

 1943). 



Fig. 1. Distnbiition of ttie wild 

 turkey in the United States and 

 Mexico in 1989 (Stangel et al. 

 1992). 



