Order
Galliformes
Family
Phasianidae
Genus
Meleagris
 
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Version 1.0

This is a historic version of this account.  Current version

SPECIES

Ocellated Turkey Meleagris ocellata

Jon T. McRoberts, Terrell D. Rich, Claudia I. Rodríguez-Flores, Carlos A. Soberanes-González, and Marîa del Coro Arizmendi
Version: 1.0 — Published May 4, 2012

Appearance

Distinguishing Characteristics

A large, colorful gamebird with iridescent plumage of blue, green, and bronze and a featherless powder-blue head speckled with red and orange fleshy nodules. Males possess a unique cap-like crown that enlarges during breeding season. The tarsus is deep red; the males also have long, slender spurs that may be in excess of 5 cm with a sharp tip, a feature lacking in females. Beards are absent in both sexes. Wing feathers barred black-and-white with the wing coverts a rich bronze color. Tail feathers a finely barred gray-brown-black ending with a distinctive eye-spot pattern of blue encircled by black with a gold tip. Differentiation between sexes less obvious than Wild Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) in field conditions due to similar plumage and absence of beards. The remaining body structure is similar to that of Wild Turkey, although approximately half the size.

Similar Species

The Ocellated Turkey is closely similar to the Wild Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo). The distributions of these two species are allopatric, but domestic Wild Turkeys are found within the range of Ocellated Turkey. Among other differences between the two species, the plumage of Ocellated Turkey is generally brighter and more blue green than the plumage of Wild Turkey; Ocellated Turkey has a blue (not red) dewlap, and lacks the beard of Wild Turkey; and rectrices of Ocellated Turkey have large, subterminal blue spots (“ocelli”), a feature not shared with Wild Turkey.

Detailed Description

Feathers are of iridescent green, bronze, blue, and black. Breast feathers possess a narrow band of gold. Tail feathers have distinguishing eye-spot, leading to the species designation of ocellata, from the Latin root oculus for “eye.” Primary flight feathers have black and white barring; secondaries contain more white coloration; wing coverts of bronze. Distinction between the sexes is not as clear as Wild Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) although female plumage is less brilliantly colored. A distinctly keeled chest is present in adult males.

Most notable difference between adults and juveniles is the bronze barring of wing coverts which is narrower in juveniles than that found in adults. Some residual feathers may remain on the head of juvenile turkeys.

Molts

The molt in juvenile birds is nearly complete at four to six months of age (Steadman et al. 1979).

Bare Parts

Head and upper neck featherless of powder-blue color dotted with orange-red nodules. Nodules become a deeper red nearer to the body and are more prominent in males. A snood is present as well as a conical crown on the head of males that becomes erect during the spring reproductive season. A ring of red-colored skin surrounds the eye. The beak is of black color near the head then becoming whitish-pink; approximately 4 cm in adults. Tarsus and toes also bare and of reddish color. Spurs, a feature only present in males, are onyx, slender and sharp and may exceed 5 cm.

Measurements

The weight of an adult male is approximately 4–5 kg (Leopold 1948, Lint 1977) and an adult female is slightly smaller at 3–4 kg (Lint 1977, Gonzalez et al. 1996). Lint (1977) reports adult males are 100 cm in length and adult females are 81 cm in length. Gonzalez et al. (1996) reports an average tarsus length of 12.3 cm for females (n=8) and 15.4 cm for one male and Ridgway and Friedman (1946) report an average tarsus length of 11.3 cm for females (n=6) and 13.6 cm for males (n=8). Additionally, Ridgway and Friedman (1946) report an average tail length of 32.8 cm for males (n=8) and 26.3 cm for females (n=6) and an average wing length of 38.9 cm for males (n=8) and 34.0 for females (n=6).

Recommended Citation

McRoberts, J. T., T. D. Rich, C. I. Rodríguez-Flores, C. A. Soberanes-González, and M. d. C. Arizmendi (2012). Ocellated Turkey (Meleagris ocellata), version 1.0. In Neotropical Birds Online (T. S. Schulenberg, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/nb.ocetur1.01