What is an Ocellated Turkey?

The ocellated turkey, or Meleagris ocellata, is one of just two species of wild turkeys in existence. It looks much like its cousin, the North American turkey, but it is smaller and more brightly colored, with peacocklike tail feathers. The Yucatan Peninsula, Belize, and parts of Guatemala are the only parts of the world where this turkey lives.

These birds have bluish-gray heads and throats with red nodules and bright red legs and feet. Their feathers shimmer in shades of green and copper or bronze. Males and females can be hard to tell apart, because the male birds are beardless. Females do tend to be slightly paler. They otherwise differ only in that the male has a blue crest on its head that gets larger and more noticeable during mating season. The male ocellated turkey also has long spurs on his legs, the length of which helps to determine the bird's age.

During its mating season, the male turkey struts to attract a female. He shakes his tail feathers to and fro, and then spreads them out in the familiar fan. One of his wings is shaken rapidly as hens come closer to him, and he gobbles while he continues to attempt to attract a mate. Hens lay their eggs, usually about a dozen in all, throughout spring with hatching in early summer. Only 13 percent of the poults that hatch in early summer will survive until fall.

The ocellated turkey has a wide range of surroundings, living everywhere from underbrush and fields to rain forests, where they feed on wild grasses, seeds, fruits and various insects. All of these areas have many predators that hunt and kill the turkeys and their young. Predators of wild turkeys include raccoons, foxes and large cats; in the ocellated turkey’s habitat, there also are snakes and coati that threaten their survival.

Ocellated turkeys have a very unusual call, which is difficult to describe. It is quite unlike the gobble of the North American turkey and sounds somewhat drumlike. They also can make many different clucking, whistling and gobbling sounds. The birds tend to make clucking sounds when they are startled or threatened.

Slash-and-burn agriculture and logging both pose a huge threat to the survival of the ocellated turkey, because it destroys their natural territories in the process of creating farmland. Turkey hunting in Guatemala and the Yucatan Peninsula also poses a hazard to the continued existence of the ocellated turkey. Sport hunting is promoted in some parts of Mexico for the tourism-related economic benefits it brings to the area as hunters travel from other parts of the world to hunt the ocellated turkey.

The Ocellated Turkey is a vibrant and colorful bird native to the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico, northern Belize, and parts of Guatemala. Unlike its North American cousin, it boasts iridescent plumage with eye-shaped spots, called ocelli, and a distinctive blue head with orange or red nodules.

While both belong to the same family, the Ocellated Turkey is smaller and more colorful than the common turkey. It has a blue head with wart-like nodules, tail feathers adorned with eye-shaped ocelli, and a unique song-like gobble. The common turkey is larger, with a less vibrant color palette and a characteristic gobble.

Ocellated Turkeys are omnivorous, feeding on a variety of food sources. Their diet includes insects, seeds, leaves, and berries. They are particularly fond of beetles and will actively forage on the forest floor, turning over leaf litter to find their prey.

According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the Ocellated Turkey is currently classified as Near Threatened. Habitat loss and hunting pressure are significant threats to their population. Conservation efforts are crucial to prevent their status from deteriorating further.

Ocellated Turkeys have a unique breeding ritual. During the breeding season, males display their colorful feathers, fan their tails, and produce a distinctive, high-pitched gobbling sound to attract females. After mating, the female lays 8 to 15 eggs in a nest on the ground and incubates them for about 28 days.

Ocellated Turkeys are wild birds and are not typically domesticated. They have specific habitat requirements and behaviors that are best suited to their natural environment. While they share ancestry with domestic turkeys, their wild nature and conservation status make domestication inappropriate and impractical.