博彩平台养
野生火鸡的回归

纽约的历史

Reports indicate that wild turkeys were abundant in New York State during the 1600's. 然而, the combination of uncontrolled hunting and the intensive clearing of forests 导致了当地人口的灭绝. 1844年，最后一次有记录的观测 of native wild turkeys came from extreme southwestern New York State.

For over a century, the wild turkey continued to be absent from the New York landscape. 然而, in the late 1940's, wild turkeys had moved northward from Pennsylvania and 又在纽约西南部发生了吗. 野生火鸡在 New York by 1957, but occupied only the extreme southwest portion of the state. 在 the same year, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation began relocating birds to areas of the state that were capable of sustaining wild turkey populations.

The return of the wild turkey to New York State is truly a success story in the field 野生动物保护. Wild turkey populations in New York have increased dramatically from an estimated 2,000 in 1959 to over 65,000 in 1990.

物理特性

Male turkeys, often called gobblers or toms, have several features that distinguish 它们来自雌火鸡或母鸡. The most reliable characteristic used to determine the sex of a wild turkey is the plumage, or feathers. 雄性的羽毛出现了 to change from rust to green to copper to bronze to gold depending on the brightness 和太阳的角度. Also, the breast feathers on males are tipped with black. In comparison, the plumage of females appears dull and generally brown in color, and the breast feathers are tipped with light tan.

Male turkeys usually have spurs that vary in size up to two inches, depending on the 鸟的时代. In contrast, female turkeys rarely have spurs of measurable length. Gobblers commonly have beards that extend down from the center of the breast, and 这些胡须可以长到16英寸. 相比之下，只有大约15%的母鸡 have beards, but these beards are generally thinner and kinked.

Adult males generally weigh between 18-22 pounds, but weights over 30 pounds have 被记录. Weights of adult females generally range between 8-12 pounds.

Wild turkeys are polygamous: one male may breed with several females during spring. Hens are attracted to the gobbling and visual displays, or strutting, of the toms. After breeding, hens scratch shallow depressions on the ground and begin laying eggs. A full clutch of 12 eggs is laid in approximately two weeks.

Eggs are slightly larger than a domestic chicken egg, and are light tan with dark 褐色斑点或斑点. Incubation generally begins midway through the laying period, and about 28 days are required for the eggs to hatch. 巢穴非常脆弱 to destruction by raccoons, skunks, and opossums, and only about 35% of nests are 成功生育后代. If first nests are destroyed, hens will often renest.

Young turkeys, called poults, leave the nest within hours after hatching. 在 first two weeks of life, poults losses often exceed 50%, and these losses may result from predation, hypothermia, or becoming lost. 男性不参与任何方面 筑巢或养育幼崽的.

食物

Poults rely on a yolk reserve to sustain them during the first four days of life. 在 first few days, poults learn to catch the insects that provide the protein 需要快速成长和发展. 在大约六周龄时，雏鸡 begin to include some plant material in their diet.

Once turkeys reach adulthood, they exhibit a widely varied diet that includes soft 桅杆(e.g.如葡萄和黑莓)，硬桅杆(e.g.(山毛榉和橡子)、谷物 (e.g., corn and oats), grasses, ferns, and insects. 研究表明，这已经结束了 600 different species of plant and animals are consumed by wild turkeys.

In northern environments, deep snow may limit the mobility of wild turkeys. 然而, during these extreme conditions, wild turkeys will often roost near agricultural fields and fly to manure spreads or standing cornfields. 如果没有食物是因为 deep snow, wild turkeys can fast for about two weeks, and are capable of losing up 到体重的50%.

声音

Perhaps the most familiar call of the wild turkey is the gobble, which can be heard 人耳能听到一英里远的声音. 然而, the gobble is only one of the 28 different 野生火鸡的叫声. Some of the less familiar 野生火鸡的叫声 include the lost call, kee-kee, purr, yelp, whine, putt, puff, and cluck. 这些呼叫可以 be highly variable among individuals, but still allow the communication of complex 消息. 声音 begin when the hen calls to poults in unhatched eggs, and these sounds are believed to help synchronize the hatching of eggs. 通过各种 calls, hens are able to alert poults to the presence of predators.

有趣的事实

Wild turkey populations have increased from an estimated 450,000 in 1959 to an estimated 3.1990年是500万.

The wild turkey is found in all of the lower 48 states and Hawaii.

In spite of their size, wild turkeys can fly at speeds up to 55 miles per hour.

Wild turkeys can run at speeds of at least 12 miles per hour.

建议阅读

詹姆斯·G·迪克森著. (编辑). (1992). 野生火鸡:生物学和管理. Stackpole 宾夕法尼亚州哈里斯堡书店. 463pp.

休伊特,呵,. H. (编辑). (1967). 野生火鸡及其管理. 野生动物协会， 华盛顿特区.C. 589pp.

学分

Steven D准备. 詹姆斯·罗伯茨. 科菲和威廉. 波特、部门 环境与森林生物学SUNY-养.