Wild Turkey

• Size: 43-45" long // 4-5' wingspan // 5.5 -24 lbs
• Diet: acorns from red oak, white oak, chestnut oak, and black oak, along with American beech nuts, pecans, hickory nuts, wild black cherries, white ash seeds, and other seeds and berries, occasionally frogs, lizards, snakes, salamanders, snails, ground beetles, and other insects
• Seasonal Habits: Non-Migratory
• Temperament: Can be aggressive

Most North American kids learn turkey identification early, by tracing outlines of their hands to make Thanksgiving cards. These big, spectacular birds are an increasingly common sight the rest of the year, too, as flocks stride around woods and clearings like miniature dinosaurs. Courting males puff themselves into feathery balls and fill the air with exuberant gobbling. The Wild Turkey's popularity at the table led to a drastic decline in numbers, but they have recovered and now occur in every state except Alaska. They are not native to Oregon, but were introduced in 1961. They can make 28 different sounds.