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This photo was taken yesterday. One turkey was displaying and when it pulled its feathers in, I could see it was a hen, identical to the one next to it. They are both wild eastern turkeys. I didn't think they were allowed to do this... Was wondering if anyone else has observed this behavior or has seen images of it. Thanks
Richard, my knowledge of turkeys is near incomplete so hopefully someone with more familiarity with the species will chime in. In situation like this one often needs to check one's assumptions. Perhaps hens are "allowed" to do this (many female passerines sing) or more likely, are you sure these are females. Male turkeys get more male like (beards, spurs) over several years. As I recall female turkeys have buff tipped breast feathers whereas in males they are black tipped. I can't tell for sure from the image but one these birds they may be black tipped. In the end, I don't know but I would not be surprised in these are young toms doing their best.
I'm with Declan. I think these are young toms. The bulk of the breast doesn't look right to me for even adult hens.
One thing to keep in mind with Turkey beards is that they can be tricky. They take time to grow in, they molt like any other feathers, and older hens can actually have quite visible beards. I believe that Turkeys shot during spring gobbler season are restricted to those with beards of a minimum length, so it would be legal to take a hen with a long beard since you can't really tell that easily in the field.
Thanks Declan and Paul for these points to consider. This was photographed at a popular turkey gathering place (no hunting allowed) so am going to keep an eye on it this season.
