Wild Turkey Feather

Description:

This feather was grayish brown with white bars. It was at least 20cm long, probably closer to 25cm.

Wild Turkeys are very large, plump birds. They have long legs, wide tails, and small heads on long, thin necks. They have dark plumage with a bronze-green iridescence. The bare skin of their heads and necks varies from red to blue to gray.

Habitat:

I found three of these feathers on the ground in a snowy, coniferous forest.

Notes:

Wild turkeys were nearly wiped out by hunters and habitat loss by the early 1900s, but they made a comeback due to conservation efforts. However, for the past decade or so, turkey populations have again started to fall across much of the United States. This current decline is due to many factors - including, overhunting, habitat loss, climate change, disease, predation, etc.