All About Wild Turkeys Written by Mrs. Magdos’ First Grade Class.

All About Wild Turkeys

Written by

Mrs. Magdos’ First Grade Class

Wild Turkeys

• Domesticated turkeys are different from wild turkeys because wild turkeys have sleek and slim bodies. Wild turkeys hear better than people because they need to hear their predators. They also see well.

Wild Turkeys

• Wild turkeys hav e long necks. They have short, curved beaks.

Wild Turkeys

• Wild turkeys have many shiny colors and dark beautiful feathers. In 3 years toms get a long beard. A toms beard is about 8 inches long. Hens can have a short beard or no beard at all.

Wild Trkeys

• Domesticated turkeys are twice as large as wild turkeys. Wild turkeys are the largest birds in the woods. From their beak to their tail they are 4ft long.

Wild Turkeys

• Wild turkeys have long slender legs. They have reddish-orange or bluish-gray legs. Wild turkeys have spurs on the back of their legs for fighting.

Wild turkeys

Toms are the only turkeys that gobble. Females are the only ones that can cluck. A Tom’s gobble can be heard one mile away.

Wild turkeys

• Wild turkeys live in the United States, Mexico and Canada. They stay in the woods, fields, wetlands and grasslands.

Wild Turkeys

• Turkeys eat their food by pecking at it. Turkeys eat berries, nuts, mushrooms, insects, seeds, acorns and grass snails, spiders and sometimes snakes, salamanders or frogs

Wild Turkeys

• Poults hatch in the spring time. Hens go by their selves to start their family. Hens make their nest on the ground.

Wild Turkeys

• Chicks peep quietly inside eggs in late May or early June. Turkey chicks are called poults. Hatching muscle is on the back of their head.

Wild Turkeys

• Poults are covered with short feathers called down. The down dries quickly and keeps the poults warm. Poults walk right away.

Wild Turkeys

• A mother turkey and her poults go to a clearing near the trees to feed on seeds and ants. The poults eat the same as toms and hens.

Wild Turkeys

• If there is danger the mother calls out a short cry. The poults will fly to a nearby tree. Hens return when the danger is over. The hens will fly away from the poults to confuse predators.

Wild turkeys

• People are enemies to turkeys. People shoot turkeys for fun.

Wild Turkeys

• Toms make a soft chunk sound to attract females. Toms spread their tail feathers into a fan. They finish with a gobble.

Wild Turkeys

• When the tom displays its skin turns red. Toms make a drumming sound to attract hens. Toms gobble when they display.

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People created laws to protect the cool creatures. Some people care about wild turkeys because they are so cool. Spanish explores took wild turkeys to Europe in the 1500’s. Wild turkeys have been living here for millions of years. Some people think wild turkeys were named after the country of Turkey.

Wild turkeys

Turkeys have strong wings. Turkeys fly easily. Turkeys run 25 miles per hour.

Turkeys can fly fast for short distances.

Works Cited

• Patent, Dorothy Hinshaw. Wild Turkeys. Minneapolis, MN: Lerner Publications, 1999. Print.

• “Turkeys.” Kids InfoBits Presents: Plants and Animals. Gale, 2008. Reproduced in Kids InfoBits. Detroit: Gale, 2009. http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/KidsInfoBits

• “Turkeys.” Kids InfoBits Presents: Plants and Animals. Gale, 2008. Reproduced in Kids InfoBits. Detroit: Gale, 2009. http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/KidsInfoBits

• “Wild Turkeys.” PebbleGo. http://www.pebblego.com . November 10, 2009.

• Some pictures were taken from Microsoft Office Clipart

• Some pictures were taken by our teacher during our field trip to Manna Fields Farm