Wild turkey reference · Quick facts
A bird that sees almost all the way around its own head, flies 55 miles an hour in a burst, gobbles across a mile of dawn timber, and came back from near-extinction. The most striking verified facts about the wild turkey — scannable and linked to the full references.
Frequently asked
Probably their eyesight: a wild turkey sees in sharp color with a nearly 360-degree field of view, which makes it extraordinarily hard to sneak up on — the reason turkey hunting is a game of concealment and calling rather than scent control. Their sense of smell, by contrast, is poor, so unlike deer and elk they don't bust hunters by the wind.
Yes — wild turkeys are strong short-distance flyers, reaching around 55 miles per hour in bursts, though they can't sustain it for long. They fly up into tall trees to roost every night and glide down at dawn. (The domestic turkey raised for meat is too heavy to fly; the wild bird is lean and very capable.)
No — that's a popular myth. In a private letter, Franklin praised the turkey's character while criticizing the bald eagle, but he never formally proposed the turkey as a national symbol. The bald eagle was chosen. The wild turkey's real claim to fame is its conservation comeback from near-collapse in the early 20th century to robust populations today.
From the page to the field
Elk Glade guides three-night spring Merriam's turkey hunts on the south slope of Pikes Peak, with the private-land early opener a week ahead of public seasons. Full strut, ranch country.
