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Photo by GARYKRAMER.NET |
Ocellated turkey
Parrots and monkeys are rarely mentioned when talking about turkeys, but these tropical animals share the same habitat with ocellated turkeys.
Found in the El Petén region of Guatemala, northwestern Belize and the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico, the ocellated turkey is the smallest, but most colorful, of all turkey species.
Keeping up appearances
Like many birds of the tropics, ocellated turkeys wear rainbows of brilliant colors from head to toe. Both male and female have cornflower blue heads and necks adorned with knobby yellow-orange to red growths called nodules. Adding to the festive coloring is a red ring around each eye.
Gobblers are showier than hens, but both are covered with a mixture of metallic green-blue and bronze feathers. Shiny copper-colored wing bars contrast with white flight feathers. The dazzling tails of these Technicolor turkeys are decorated with bluish-purple and bronze peacock-like eyespots and golden-yellow tips.
The pattern of eyespots on the tail confused early ornithologists who mistakenly believed the bird was related to peafowl. The eyespots also led to this turkey’s common and scientific name. The words, “ocellated” and “ocellata,” come from the Latin word “oculus,” meaning eye.
Males are larger than females — averaging 11 to 12 pounds for gobblers and six to eight pounds for hens. The ocellated turkey’s scarlet legs are shorter and thinner than their North American cousin, but a mature gobbler’s spurs can exceed two inches.
With the onset of breeding season, colors on the gobbler’s head become more intense. His red eye rings brighten. A fleshy blue horn develops on his head. The nodules embellishing the horn become more vibrant and the gobbler looks like he’s wearing a party hat. Of course, a gobbler must look his best to attract females.
Strutting their stuff
The people of Central America refer to the ocellated turkey’s courtship display as “dancing” since it involves lively choreography, complete with foot stomping, tail wagging, tail fanning and wing action. During the dance the gobbler positions his head and neck toward his fanned tail while directing the showy upper surface of the tail toward the hen. He lowers his wings and shakes one of them back and forth during the routine. As he edges closer to the hen, she decides whether to leave the area or stay and allow him to mate with her.
Gobbling is generally reserved for breeding season. The birds make other sounds, but researchers studying ocellateds in Tikal National Park in Guatemala speculate these birds are less vocal than other wild turkeys due to myriad of predators found in tropical forests. Their predators include ocelot, cougar, jaguar, raccoon, coati, jaguarondi and gray fox, as well as snakes and raptors.
Habitat needs
Like North American wild turkeys, ocellated turkey habitat includes forests as well as small clearings.
Hunting ocellated turkeys for food is common practice and some opportunities for sport hunting of these birds exist. However, research is sparse and scientists and conservationists express concern about the loss of ocellated habitat due to large scale logging operations and agricultural conversion. — Ellen Horowitz
FYI >In 1993, the NWTF, in conjunction with The Wildlife Conservation Society and the Hornocker Wildlife Institute sponsored the first research project to trap and radio track ocellated turkeys in Tikal National Park, Guatemala. Most of what is known about these birds came from this study.