I am constantly amazed at the wide variety of how male birds display for females during the mating season. It all starts with the feathers. The males of many species have brightly colored feathers to attract and communicate to the females his reproductive fitness. Nothing communicates your love intentions more than brightly colored feathers all over your body.
Of course not all birds have brightly colored feathers so dull and drab males must resort to other means of communication. Songs are a good alternative method of telling your girl you’re a good mate. Many birds sing loud and elaborate songs. The White-throated Sparrow is one example of a song that is loud and clear. The Black-capped Chickadee is another.
Still, other birds perform acrobatic flights in order for the male to impress the girl of his dreams. Ruby-throated Hummingbird males will fly a large U-shaped pattern directly in front of the female. While the female sits on a perch the male will dive up and down in a U-shaped pattern with the female sitting at the bottom of the arch. The male will flash his brightly colored throat patch, called a gorget, at the female each time he passes in front of her. The male can climb to has high as 20 feet on each side of the U pattern before diving back down.
But I think the bird that takes the prize for the most elaborate display combined with calls is the Wild Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo). The male not only has metallic shinny feathers but they also have extra knobs and flaps of skin to help with the display.
When in full display the male turkey will raise and fan out its enormous tail. The tail will be so large that the top of the tail is taller than his head. At the same time he will droop his wing tips so they drag on the ground. Holding his wings in a downward cupped position it make the male look extra wide. He then puffs up his chest feathers and begin to strut about.
The head of the male turkey is covered with exposed skin. There is a long tear-dropped shaped skin patch just in front of the eyes that drapes down over the beak and is called the snood. On the back of the head is a series of bumpy folds that are called the caruncle. Under the chin and on the neck of the male bird is a collection of extra skin folds called the wattle. All of these exposed skin parts change color from blue to red. The color change is accomplished by shunting blood in and out of these regions. So when the skin is engorged with blood they tend to be bright red and at other times it’s blue. This all goes to add to the amazing display of the male turkey.
In the middle of the tom turkey (breeding male) chest is a collection of feathers that looks like hairs. This is called the beard.
I look forward to each and every spring when I get a chance to get out and photograph the going-ons of the Tom turkey. Recently on one of the very few sunny mornings we have had this spring, I caught up to a small flock of male wild turkeys. They were moving across the hills and valleys following a lone female (hen) turkey. This was perfect because the males weren’t too concerned with me because they had other things on their mind. I was able to spend about an hour with these big boys and capture some wonderful images.
So there you have it, the most amazing displaying bird around. The Wild Turkey is truly a marvelous bird that adds to the magic of each and every spring. Until next time…
Stan Tekiela is an author / naturalist and wildlife photographer who travels the US to study and photograph wildlife. You can follow him on Twitter and Facebook and at www.naturesmart.com.