You are walking in the forest and there's a little breeze. Suddenly out of nowhere you hear a gobbling sound. What could it be? It's probably a turkey. There are about 1.8 million wild turkeys in the U.S.A. The turkey is one of the biggest birds in the U.S. It's three to four feet tall and 46 inches long. The males weigh 22 pounds. The females weigh 9 pounds. The wild turkey lives in woodlands, grasslands, and by rivers. You can find the turkey from North America to Southern Mexico. Turkeys eat nuts, seeds, berries, reptiles and invertebrates.

The wild turkey lays ten to twelve eggs at a time. It lays them in February. Wild turkeys share their nests. Its nest is only a scrape in the ground with leaves in it.The wild turkey doesn't like to fly. It roosts in trees at night. They are shy and hard to get close to.

I got my infomation from WILDLIFE OF AMERICA.

A male turkey splits out of the forest. His throat croakes loudly matching his mighty names. A gobbler or tom is what he is called. On the other side of the forest a female and her baby turkey stand side by side. The name she was given fits her. As her bold chest proudly sticks out. A hen is whats she is called. The baby's name is comforting and souohing like rubbing its soft, brown feathers. A poult is what it is called.

The tom, hen and poult eat very different food than other birds. Most birds either eat meat or plants. But, not the turkey, they eat both. Their diet is 90% plants and 10% meat. Their food is dried fruit, acorns, nuts, berries, clover, seeds and leaves. They also eat invertebrates, small snakes and lizards. But there is more to a turkey than food.

Turkeys live in hilly woodlands in areas of ponderosa pines. Trees help turkeys because they are shy birds. The turkeys roost in trees at night.

The wild turkey is black or brown with splashes of tan and white, and has a red neck with a light blue forehead. The gobbler or tom usually has darker feathers for mating. The poult has muddy soft fetahers with a tad of white.

And how about their size, you may ask? The turkey is one of the biggest birds in North America. The gobbler can be 3 to 4 feet tall. The

hens normal length is 46 inches. And the normal height of a hen is 37 inches. The weight of a gobbler is 22lb (10 kgs) and the hen's weight is 9lb (4 kgs) . Wow! big moma, put on some weight have you? Turkeys legs are long, 35 to 50 inches. And to top it off they have a 5 foot wing spand. So, be on the look-out for a turkey!

I want to thank these books and authors for some great information: COLORADO WILDLIFE by Jeff Rennicke and FOREST ANIMALS published by Encyclopedia Brittanica. Thank you!

Have you seen a bird with red feathers and a red head with blue markings? Have you ever seen a bird doing courtship displays by fanning his tail trying to attract a female. If so, you have seen a wild turkey. It lives up in the mountains and canyons of southern Colorado. The height of the male is 46 inches tall. The height of the female is 37 inches tall. The female lays 5-10 eggs in January or February. Wild turkeys were hunted for food by early settlers. At the end of the 18th century there were 10 million wild turkeys. By 1950 there were only 300,000 left. If you have seen one you are pretty lucky, because you can't find them easily.

I got my information from WILDLIFE OF THE WORLD published by Marshall Cavendish.