New “Smoke” Wild Turkey Visitor
No, I didn’t smoke a Wild Turkey!!
“Smoke-Phase” is what they call the somewhat White/Gray Wild Turkey in the pictures below.
This is the first one I ever saw in my nearly 70 years of viewing Turkeys.
Here is some Info on them:
"The partially white or smoke-phase turkeys occur naturally," said Tom Glines, Minnesota's senior regional director for the National Wild Turkey Federation. "The white or gray feathers are black-tipped and the birds are beautiful."
There has been some concern that landowners have released pen-raised turkeys into the wild -- a practice that is illegal without a permit -- and that some of those captive turkeys have bred with the wild turkeys, resulting in the smoke-phase turkeys.
There is no hard science to back up those concerns.
What is known is that the wild turkey has four distinct color variations from what is considered the usual plumage. They are the smoke phase, the erythritic or red phase, the melanistic or black phase, and the true albinos, which are pure white with pink eyes. Although these color variations are uncommon, the smoke phase is the most frequently seen. Recessive genes or mutations account for the color abnormalities.
As Glines noted, smoke-phase wild turkeys are a visual delight. Their heads are light blue or gray and their caruncles a faint red or pink similar to a normally colored turkey. The body feathers, splendid as they are, feature a varying amount of white or light gray feathers tipped with black as if dipped in ink. The tails on most of the smoke-phase turkeys I've encountered were not white; rather the tails were a shade or two lighter than a standard turkey's tail.
I’m sorry for the “not-so-good” Pictures, but by the time I got the camera they had gone to the other side of the trees, and started heading out.
Hopefully they’ll come back & pose for better pics before somebody picks that “Smoke” Turkey off in the upcoming Turkey Hunting Season.
Well anyway, since I never saw one before, I figured maybe a lot of you guys never did either, so there you go.
Enjoy,
Bear
My first shot of them:
Hard to get pics of one particular Turkey between the trees, while they're moving pretty fast:
One short stop before crossing the road:
No, I didn’t smoke a Wild Turkey!!
“Smoke-Phase” is what they call the somewhat White/Gray Wild Turkey in the pictures below.
This is the first one I ever saw in my nearly 70 years of viewing Turkeys.
Here is some Info on them:
"The partially white or smoke-phase turkeys occur naturally," said Tom Glines, Minnesota's senior regional director for the National Wild Turkey Federation. "The white or gray feathers are black-tipped and the birds are beautiful."
There has been some concern that landowners have released pen-raised turkeys into the wild -- a practice that is illegal without a permit -- and that some of those captive turkeys have bred with the wild turkeys, resulting in the smoke-phase turkeys.
There is no hard science to back up those concerns.
What is known is that the wild turkey has four distinct color variations from what is considered the usual plumage. They are the smoke phase, the erythritic or red phase, the melanistic or black phase, and the true albinos, which are pure white with pink eyes. Although these color variations are uncommon, the smoke phase is the most frequently seen. Recessive genes or mutations account for the color abnormalities.
As Glines noted, smoke-phase wild turkeys are a visual delight. Their heads are light blue or gray and their caruncles a faint red or pink similar to a normally colored turkey. The body feathers, splendid as they are, feature a varying amount of white or light gray feathers tipped with black as if dipped in ink. The tails on most of the smoke-phase turkeys I've encountered were not white; rather the tails were a shade or two lighter than a standard turkey's tail.
I’m sorry for the “not-so-good” Pictures, but by the time I got the camera they had gone to the other side of the trees, and started heading out.
Hopefully they’ll come back & pose for better pics before somebody picks that “Smoke” Turkey off in the upcoming Turkey Hunting Season.
Well anyway, since I never saw one before, I figured maybe a lot of you guys never did either, so there you go.
Enjoy,
Bear
My first shot of them:
Hard to get pics of one particular Turkey between the trees, while they're moving pretty fast:
One short stop before crossing the road:
