Wild Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo)

County List:

Rule:

Mixed Forested/Nonforested Landscapes

Habitat Requirements may be distributed over the COMPARTMENT

      (Grass or Fields/Pasture or Small Grains/Forage Crops)
   neighboring:
      (Oak (Sm Saw or Lg Saw or Uneven))
      or (Assorted Hardwoods (Sm Saw or Lg Saw or Uneven))
   containing:
      Mast 

This rule contributed by Al Stewart, MDNR

Habitat List:

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Literature:

Habitat: The Wild Turkey is found in a wide variety of forest situations. Some general habitat requirements include stands of mast-producing trees, openings of herbaceous growth, and protection from disturbance. Mature oak, beech and hickory produce mast that is an important food of the wild turkey. Turkeys nest on the ground, usually under some type of overhead structure such as downed treetops, low branches, or under shrubs. Most nests are also located in thick herbaceous cover usually near the edge of openings or forest clearings.

After hatching, the brood moves to grassland or forest clearings that provide the high protein source of insects that young poults need in order to grow up. In the fall, as mast crops mature and temperatures drop, Wild Turkeys are seldom seen in open areas. Winter range is provided by upland hardwood, mixed hardwood-conifer, conifer, and lowland forests. In addition, an opening is needed for loafing and feeding on warm sunny days.

Early reintroduction programs operated under the assumption that Wild Turkeys needed large expanses of continuous oak forest like that found in the northern Lower Peninsula. Recent studies have shown the Wild Turkey to be capable of surviving in areas with as little as 20-30% forest. Little suggested that a 50:50 mixture of timber and open lands is better than unbroken forest.

Habitat: Breeding: Forests, woodland clearings mostly in hilly or mountainous regions where food is available, open fields with trees nearby for roosting sites, and the hardwoods provide feeding areas. Wintering: In woodlands, flocks prefer south slopes with mast producing hardwoods and abundant springs and seeps. In New England, turkeys readily use agricultural habitats such as cornfields, dairy farms, orchards, and pastures with abundant barberry or other fruiting shrubs.

Special Habitat Requirements: Mast-producing woodlands. Large conifers or hardwoods for roosting, open woodlands, abundant water.

Habitat: Woods, mountain forests, wooded swamps. Habitats vary in different parts of continent, include oak-hickory forest, pine-oak forest, cypress swamps, arid mesquite grassland, pinyon-juniper woodland, chaparral. Usually found near some kind of oak (acorns are a favorite food). Best habitat includes a mixture of woodland and open clearings.

Diet: Omnivorous. Diet varies with season but is mostly plant material, including many acorns, leaves, seeds, grains, berries, buds, grass blades, roots, bulbs. Also eats insects, spiders, snails. Sometimes eats frogs, lizards, snakes, salamanders, crabs.

Nest: Site is on ground, often at base of tree, under shrub, or in tall grass. Nest is shallow depression, sparsely lined with grass, leaves.