Eastern turkeys are known for their distinctive chestnut-brown or dark brown tail-feather tips. Their wings also show prominent black-and-white barring. Adult males, commonly called gobblers or toms, can weigh roughly 18 to 30 pounds, while females generally weigh considerably less.
The Eastern is also famous among turkey hunters for its vocal ability. The National Wild Turkey Federation describes Eastern gobbles as particularly strong and notes that the subspecies tends to have some of the longest beards among wild turkeys.
That combination of size, coloration and behavior makes the Eastern instantly recognizable to experienced hunters, but identification can still become difficult when the bird is seen only briefly.
A turkey standing in dense vegetation can look almost entirely dark. In bright sunlight, however, its feathers may reveal copper, bronze, green and gold iridescence.
And that is part of the fun.
A bird that seems plain from a distance can become remarkably colorful once it turns in the sunlight.
Why Tail Feathers Matter
When hunters and wildlife enthusiasts attempt to identify turkey subspecies, one of the most useful places to look is the tail.
The color at the ends of the tail feathers can provide an important clue.
Eastern wild turkeys generally have darker, chestnut-brown tail tips. Rio Grande turkeys, by comparison, typically have lighter tan or buff-colored tail tips.
That distinction can be much more useful than simply looking at the overall color of the bird.
This is especially important because wild turkey plumage is highly reflective. Depending on the angle of the sun, a bird can appear brown, black, bronze, copper, green or even purple.
Photographs can make the problem even harder.
A camera may exaggerate shadows or highlights. A bird photographed early in the morning may look considerably darker than the same bird photographed in full afternoon sunlight.
That is why a clear picture of the spread tail is often much more useful for identification than a blurry photograph showing only the bird’s body.
The Rio Grande Turkey
If the hunt took place farther west in the South—particularly in Texas—the bird could potentially be a Rio Grande wild turkey.
Rio Grande turkeys are associated with central and western portions of Texas and extend into several other states. The National Wild Turkey Federation notes that Rio Grande turkeys have tan-colored tail-feather tips and black-and-white wing barring.
Texas is especially interesting because more than one turkey subspecies occurs there.
Texas A&M AgriLife notes that Eastern turkeys occupy portions of eastern Texas, while Rio Grande turkeys occur across much of central and southern Texas. Merriam’s turkeys are also present in limited mountainous areas of western Texas.
