Nature's Mood Ring: What a Turkey's Head Can Tell You About How They Are Feeling By: Dean Taylor The wild turkey is a fascinating bird, with its raptor-like feet, coarse and dangling chest beard, and a tendency to challenge everything from lightning to car alarms with its thundering gobble. What Causes the Color Changes? The color changes on a turkey's head result from physiological mechanisms involving its thin skin and an extensive network of capillaries. The bird can rapidly control the blood flow to these capillaries, altering the color.
For instance, when a turkey becomes excited, agitated, or dominant, blood rushes to the head, causing it to swell and turn a vibrant red. The sight of a turkey is often captivating, especially when its head undergoes a dramatic color change. But what exactly does it mean when a turkey's head turns white? The answer is multifaceted, encompassing everything from blood flow and emotional state to health and even mating displays.
This article dives deep into the fascinating world of turkey coloration, exploring the science behind. Reasons for Turkey Head Color Change Let's go over some specifics on why turkeys heads change color and what the different colors may represent: Sexual Arousal The most dramatic head color change occurs during the spring mating season. Increased daylight stimulates the reproductive hormones of both male and female turkeys.
Head Coloration The color of a turkey's head indicates its state of mind. The typical coloration is red, white and blue. Generally, this is a gobbler feeling itself and having great confidence.
Often, the more white displayed, the more dominant it feels. In contrast, the more red showing, the more fear or submission it's expressing. What color head does a female turkey have? Female turkeys have a duller overall color than males, with gray heads and breast feathers tipped in white, gray or brown.
This Turkey Tuesday is about the unique characteristics on a wild turkey's head. Us turkey hunters cherish the colors of a tom's head in spring - the brilliant reds, blues, and whites that in so many ways symbolize turkey hunting. But there's more to a tom's head than colors! The skin on the head and neck is carunculated, which means that it covers fleshy protuberances called.
What do turkeys head colors mean? The color of a turkey's head indicates its state of mind. The typical coloration is red, white and blue. Generally, this is a gobbler feeling itself and having great confidence.
Often, the more white displayed, the more dominant it feels. In contrast, the more red showing, the more fear or submission it's expressing. How to Read a Turkey's Head I watch a turkey's head more than any other feature of the bird.
That big, beautiful, primarily featherless dome will tell much about the tom's mood. Turkeys are known for their keen senses and unpredictable behavior, making learning how to read a turkey's body language all the more important.