🦃 Wild Turkey
Meleagris gallopavo
Loud, absurd and surprisingly athletic. Gobbling toms can be heard over a mile away on a still spring morning.
🔊 Hear the call
🦃 Wild Turkey
Reference call (simulated)
“A rapid rattling gobble, plus yelps, clucks and purrs”
What they sound like
A rapid rattling gobble, plus yelps, clucks and purrs
Why they make this sound
- · Toms gobbling to attract hens in spring
- · Hens yelping to assemble the flock
- · Alarm putts when something is spotted
When you’ll hear them
Dawn in spring, from roost trees and open ridges
Where they live
Hardwood forest, forest edges, pasture and rural neighborhoods Across the United States and into Mexico
Fun fact
A gobble carries over a mile, and turkeys will answer car doors and crow calls.
Should I be concerned?
Bold city turkeys sometimes chase people. Stand your ground, don't feed them, and they'll lose interest.
Sound signature
- Sound type
- Bird vocalization — gobble
- Pitch
- Medium, rattling
- Pattern
- One-second rattling burst repeated
- Frequency
- 200–2,000 Hz