Skip to Content
Abert’s Towhee Acadian Flycatcher Acorn Woodpecker Alder Flycatcher Allen’s Hummingbird Altamira Oriole American Avocet American Bittern American Black Duck American Coot American Crow American Dipper American Golden-Plover American Goldfinch American Kestrel American Oystercatcher American Pipit American Redstart American Robin American Three-toed Woodpecker American Tree Sparrows American White Pelican American Wigeon American Woodcock Anhinga Anna’s Hummingbird Arctic Tern Arizona Woodpecker Ash-Throated Flycatcher Atlantic Puffin Audubon’s Oriole Bachman’s Sparrow Baird’s Sandpiper Baird’s Sparrow Bald Eagle Baltimore Oriole Band-tailed Pigeon Bank Swallow Barn Owl Barn Swallow Barred Owl Barrow’s Goldeneye Bay-breasted Warbler Bell’s Vireo Belted Kingfisher Bendire’s Thrasher Bewick’s Wren Black Guillemot Black Oystercatcher Black Phoebe Black Rail Black Rosy-Finch Black Scoter Black Skimmer Black Swift Black Tern Black Turnstone Black Vulture Black-and-white Warbler Black-backed Woodpecker Black-bellied Plover Black-bellied Whistling-Duck Black-billed Cuckoo Black-billed Magpie Black-capped Chickadee Black-capped Vireo Black-chinned Hummingbird Black-chinned Sparrow Black-crested Titmouse Black-crowned Night-Heron Black-footed Albatross Black-headed Grosbeak Black-legged Kittiwake Black-necked Stilt Black-throated Blue Warbler Black-throated Gray Warbler Black-throated Green Warbler Black-throated Sparrow Blackburnian Warbler Blackpoll Warbler Blue Grosbeak Blue Jay Blue-footed Booby Blue-gray Gnatcatcher Blue-headed Vireo Blue-throated Hummingbird Blue-winged Teal Blue-winged Warbler Boat-tailed Grackle Bobolink Bohemian Waxwing Bonaparte’s Gull Boreal Chickadee Boreal Owl Botteri’s Sparrow Brandt’s Cormorant Brant Brewer’s Blackbird Brewer’s Sparrow Bridled Titmouse Broad-billed Hummingbird Broad-tailed Hummingbird Broad-winged Hawk Bronzed Cowbird Brown Booby Brown Creeper Brown Pelican Brown Thrasher Brown-capped Rosy-Finch Brown-headed Cowbird Brown-headed Nuthatch Buff-bellied Hummingbird Buff-breasted Flycatcher Buff-breasted Sandpiper Bufflehead Bullock’s Oriole Burrowing Owl Bushtit Cackling Goose Cactus Wren California Condor California Gull California Quail California Thrasher California Towhee Calliope Hummingbird Canada Goose Canada Jay (Previously Gray Jay) Canada Warbler Canvasback Canyon Towhee Canyon Wren Cape May Warbler Carolina Chickadee Carolina Wren Caspian Tern Cassin’s Auklet Cassin’s Finch Cassin’s Kingbird Cassin’s Sparrow Cassin’s Vireo Cattle Egret Cave Swallow Cedar Waxwing Cerulean Warbler Chestnut-backed Chickadee Chestnut-collared Longspur Chestnut-sided Warbler Chihuahuan Raven Chimney Swift Chipping Sparrow Chuck-will’s-widow Chukar Cinnamon Teal Clapper Rail Clark’s Grebe Clark’s Nutcracker Clay-colored Sparrow Cliff Swallow Colima Warbler Common Eider Common Gallinule Common Goldeneye Common Grackle Common Ground-Dove Common Loon Common Merganser Common Murre Common Nighthawk Common Pauraque Common Poorwill Common Raven Common Redpoll Common Tern Common Yellowthroat Connecticut Warbler Cooper’s Hawk Cordilleran Flycatcher Costa’s Hummingbird Couch’s Kingbird Crescent-chested Warbler Crested Caracara Crissal Thrasher Curve-billed Thrasher Dark-eyed Junco Dickcissel Double-crested Cormorant Dovekie Downy Woodpecker Dunlin Dusky Flycatcher Dusky Grouse Eared Grebe Eastern Bluebird Eastern Kingbird Eastern Meadowlark Eastern Phoebe Eastern Screech-Owl Eastern Towhee Eastern Whip-poor-will Eastern Wood-Pewee Elegant Tern Elf Owl Emperor Goose Eurasian Collared-Dove Eurasian Tree Sparrow Eurasian Wigeon European Starling Evening Grosbeak Ferruginous Hawk Field Sparrow Fish Crow Flammulated Owl Florida Scrub-Jay Forster’s Tern Fox Sparrow Franklin’s Gull Fulvous Whistling-Duck Gadwall Gambel’s Quail Gila Woodpecker Gilded Flicker Glaucous Gull Glaucous-winged Gull Glossy Ibis Golden Eagle Golden-cheeked Warbler Golden-crowned Kinglet Golden-crowned Sparrow Golden-crowned Warbler Golden-fronted Woodpecker Golden-winged Warbler Grace’s Warbler Grasshopper Sparrow Gray Catbird Gray Flycatcher Gray Kingbird Gray Partridge Gray Vireo Gray-cheeked Thrush Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch Great Black-backed Gull Great Blue Heron Great Cormorant Great Crested Flycatcher Great Egret Great Gray Owl Great Horned Owl Great Kiskadee Great-tailed Grackle Greater Pewee Greater Prairie-Chicken Greater Roadrunner Greater Sage-Grouse Greater Scaup Greater White-fronted Goose Greater Yellowlegs Green Heron Green Jay Green-tailed-towhee Green-winged Teal Groove-billed Ani Gull-billed Tern Gunnison Sage-Grouse Gyrfalcon Hairy Woodpecker Hammond’s Flycatcher Harlequin Duck Harris’s Hawk Harris’s Sparrow Heermann’s Gull Henslow’s Sparrow Hepatic Tanager Hermit Thrush Hermit Warbler Herring Gull Hoary Redpoll Hooded Merganser Hooded Oriole Hooded Warbler Horned Grebe Horned Lark Horned Puffin House Finch House Sparrow House Wren Hudsonian Godwit Hutton’s Vireo Inca Dove Indigo Bunting Ivory-billed Woodpecker Juniper Titmouse Kentucky Warbler Killdeer King Eider King Rail Kirtland’s Warbler Ladder-backed Woodpecker Lapland Longspur Lark Bunting Lark Sparrow Laughing Gull Lawrence’s Goldfinch Lazuli Bunting Le Conte’s Sparrow Le Conte’s Thrasher Least Bittern Least Flycatcher Least Grebe Least Sandpiper Least Tern Lesser Black-backed Gull Lesser Goldfinch Lesser Prairie-Chicken Lesser Scaup Lesser Yellowlegs Lewis’s Woodpecker Limpkin Lincoln’s Sparrow Little Blue Heron Loggerhead Shrike Long-billed Curlew Long-billed Dowitcher Long-eared Owl Long-tailed Duck Louisiana Waterthrush Lucifer Hummingbird Lucy’s Warbler MacGillivray’s Warbler Magnificent Frigatebird Magnificent Hummingbird Magnolia Warbler Mallard Mangrove Cuckoo Marbled Godwit Marsh Wren Masked Duck McCown’s Longspur Merlin Mew Gull Mexican Jay Mississippi Kite Montezuma Quail Mottled Duck Mountain Bluebird Mountain Chickadee Mountain Plover Mountain Quail Mourning Dove Mourning Warbler Mute Swan Nashville Warbler Neotropic Cormorant Northern Bobwhite Northern Cardinal Northern Flicker Northern Fulmar Northern Gannet Northern Goshawk Northern Harrier Northern Hawk Owl Northern Mockingbird Northern Parula Northern Pintail Northern Rough-winged Swallow Northern Saw-whet Owl Northern Shoveler Northern Shrike Northern Waterthrush Northwestern Crow Nuttall’s Woodpecker Oak Titmouse Olive-sided Flycatcher Orange-crowned Warbler Orchard Oriole Osprey Ovenbird Pacific Golden-Plover Pacific Loon Pacific-slope Flycatcher Painted Bunting Painted Redstart Palm Warbler Pectoral Sandpiper Pelagic Cormorant Peregrine Falcon Phainopepla Philadelphia Vireo Pied-billed Grebe Pigeon Guillemot Pileated Woodpecker Pine Grosbeak Pine Siskin Pine Warbler Pinyon Jay Piping Plover Plain Chachalaca Plumbeous Vireo Prairie Falcon Prairie Warbler Prothonotary Warbler Purple Finch Purple Gallinule Purple Martin Purple Sandpiper Pygmy Nuthatch Pyrrhuloxia Razorbill Red Crossbill Red Knot Red Phalarope Red-bellied Woodpecker Red-breasted Merganser Red-breasted Nuthatch Red-breasted Sapsucker Red-cockaded Woodpecker Red-eyed Vireo Red-faced Warbler Red-headed Woodpecker Red-naped Sapsucker Red-necked Grebe Red-necked Phalarope Red-shouldered Hawk Red-tailed Hawk Red-throated Loon Red-winged Blackbird Reddish Egret Redhead Ring-billed Gull Ring-necked Duck Ring-necked Pheasant Rock Pigeon Rock Ptarmigan Rock Sandpiper Rose-breasted Grosbeak Roseate Spoonbill Roseate Tern Ross’s Goose Rough-legged Hawk Royal Tern Ruby-crowned Kinglet Ruby-throated Hummingbird Ruddy Duck Ruddy Turnstone Ruffed Grouse Rufous Hummingbird Rufous-capped Warbler Rufous-winged Sparrow Rusty Blackbird Sabine’s Gull Sage Sparrow Sage Thrasher Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow Sanderling Sandhill Crane Sandwich Tern Savannah Sparrow Say’s Phoebe Scaled Quail Scarlet Tanager Scissor-tailed Flycatcher Scott’s Oriole Seaside Sparrow Sedge Wren Semipalmated Plover Semipalmated Sandpiper Sharp-shinned Hawk Sharp-tailed Grouse Short-billed Dowitcher Short-eared Owl Slate-throated Redstart Smith’s Longspur Smooth-billed Ani Snail Kite Snow Bunting Snow Goose Snowy Egret Snowy Plover Solitary Sandpiper Song Sparrow Sooty Grouse Sora Spotted Owl Spotted Sandpiper Spotted Towhee Sprague’s Pipit Spruce Grouse Steller’s Jay Stilt Sandpiper Summer Tanager Surf Scoter Surfbird Swainson’s Hawk Swainson’s Thrush Swainson’s Warbler Swallow-tailed Kite Swamp Sparrow Tennessee Warbler Thick-billed Murre Townsend’s Solitaire Townsend’s Warbler Tree Swallow Tricolored Heron Tropical Kingbird Trumpeter Swan Tufted Puffin Tufted Titmouse Tundra Swan Turkey Vulture Upland Sandpiper Varied Bunting Varied Thrush Vaux’s Swift Veery Verdin Vermilion Flycatcher Vesper Sparrow Violet-green Swallow Virginia Rail Virginia’s Warbler Warbling Vireo Western Bluebird Western Grebe Western Gull Western Kingbird Western Sandpiper Western Screech-Owl Western Tanager Western Wood-Pewee Western-Meadowlark Whimbrel White Ibis White-breasted Nuthatch White-crowned Pigeon White-crowned Sparrow White-eyed Vireo White-faced Ibis White-headed Woodpecker White-rumped Sandpiper White-tailed Hawk White-tailed Kite White-tailed Ptarmigan White-throated Sparrow White-throated Swift White-tipped Dove White-winged Crossbill White-winged Dove White-winged Scoter Whooping Crane Wild Turkey Willet Williamson’s Sapsucker Willow Flycatcher Willow Ptarmigan Wilson’s Phalarope Wilson’s Plover Wilson’s Snipe Wilson’s Warbler Winter Wren Wood Duck Wood Stork Wood Thrush Woodhouse’s Scrub-Jay Worm-eating Warbler Wrentit Yellow Rail Yellow Warbler Yellow-bellied Flycatcher Yellow-bellied Sapsucker Yellow-billed Cuckoo Yellow-billed Magpie Yellow-breasted Chat Yellow-crowned Night-Heron Yellow-headed Blackbird Yellow-rumped Warbler Yellow-throated Vireo Yellow-throated Warbler Zone-tailed Hawk

Female Turkey (Male vs Female Comparison)

Female Turkeys

Determining the sex of a turkey can be a bit challenging but with some basic information, it becomes quite easy.

Female turkeys, or “hens”, are smaller and less colorful, with shorter tails and legs.

Male turkeys, also known as “toms,” are generally larger in size and sport a prominent fleshy protuberance on their bills called a “snood.”

Female turkeys are called “hens“, male turkeys are called “toms

In this guide, we’ll go over some of the key differences between male and female turkeys and give you tips on how to tell them apart.

 

Female vs Male Turkey

At first glance, it may seem that male and female turkeys are quite similar. However, upon closer examination, you will see that there are many differences between the two. From behavior to appearance, these birds have distinct characteristics that set them apart from one another.

Male turkeys, also known as “toms,” are known for their dominant behavior and aggressive mating displays. They will puff up their feathers, fan out their tail, and gobble to attract mates.

On the other hand, female turkeys, or “hens,” have more passive and nurturing behavior, spending much of their time searching looking after their young, but are aggressive when fending off predators to protect their offspring. This is one of the reasons females tend to have a lower life expectancy.

Female Turkey flying

© Tom Grey

Male turkeys are known for their distinctive gobbling sounds, which they use to attract mates and establish dominance. Female turkeys, on the other hand, make soft clucking sounds, which are used to communicate with their offspring and other hens.

Appearance-wise, males are generally larger and have longer tail feathers, as well as a fleshy protuberance hanging from their bill called a snood. Females are smaller and less colorful, with shorter tails and legs.

Male turkeys have feathery “beards” on their chests and although females typically do not have it, it is not a sure-fire way to distinguish them.

 

Scientific Information

FEMALE TURKEY MALE TURKEY
AVG. LIFE EXPECTANCY 3 years 4 years
SIZE Smaller.

Length: 36 inches

Weight: 8-12 pounds

Larger.

Length: 48 inches

Weight: 15-25 pounds

APPEARANCE Shorter legs and tails.

Duller and neutral coloring.

Has some feathers on their head.

Snood is very short.

Longer legs and tails.

More colorful.

Completely bald.

Snood is long and hanging down from the bill.

Spurs on legs.

PLUMAGE Brown-tipped breast feathers.

Typically don’t have breast beards.

Little shine to feathers.

Black-tipped breast feathers.

Feathery beards on their chest.

Iridescent feathers.

BEHAVIOR Rarely fluff up their feathers.

Incubates and takes care of the young.

Fan out their tail and fluff their plumage in display.

Provide no parental care.

SOUNDS Do not gobble.

Yelp and cluck

Gobble.
MISC. Droppings are in a spiral shape. Droppings are in a J-shape.

 

Female Turkeys Are Smaller

Determining whether a turkey is male or female is easiest by looking at its size. Male turkeys, both wild and domesticated, are larger and heavier than females. Females are around 35 inches long and weigh 8-12 pounds, whereas the males are around 45-48 inches long and weigh 15-25 pounds.

wild-turkey-strut-sc

Male turkeys are recognizable by their sheer size, especially when they look this magnificent.

Their weight fluctuates depending on food availability. Interestingly, their wingspan is quite similar, around 50-56 inches.

Female turkeys also have smaller and shorter legs than their male counterparts. A female turkey’s leg is on average 4.5 inches long, whereas a male turkey’s leg is 6 inches long. Males also have sharp spurs on their legs, which are at least half an inch long.

 

Female Turkeys Have Plumage on Their Heads

Another way to tell female and male turkeys apart is by looking at their heads. Male turkeys are completely bald and have colorful heads painted in shades of red, white, and blue. Females are more modest and have duller and more neutral-colored heads.

If you see a turkey with a few feathers on its head, then it’s definitely a female, since males are always bald.

Female wild turkey from the side.

Turkeys also have snoods, caruncles, and wattles. Both males and females have fleshy wart-like growths on their heads called caruncles. However, the snoods and wattles are different depending on the sex.

Males have long and drooping snoods whereas a female’s snood is short and small. Males also have larger red wattles that are basically fleshy lobes hanging from their chin or throat.

 

Female Turkeys Don’t Gobble

The distinctive “gobble” call is made primarily by male turkeys for the purpose of attracting females and deterring rivals and is unique to the male of the species, much like a rooster’s crow.

Gobbling is often performed from the treetop roosts, where the sound carries better, and it can elicit responses from other males.

Additionally, both male and female turkeys make a variety of other sounds such as cackling while flying down from roosts, soft purring calls while on foot, and a series of yelps to regroup the flock. Young turkeys also make a series of whistles when they are lost.

The male turkey also periodically makes a “chump” sound followed by a low hum, the source of which is not yet fully understood.

Female turkeys mostly cluck to communicate with each other and their young.

 

How to Tell Young Turkey’s Gender

Identifying the gender of baby turkeys, also known as poults, can be challenging as they look similar in their early stages. However, as they mature, they develop distinct characteristics that make gender identification easier.

To determine the gender of a baby turkey, examine its vent, which is located beneath its tail and between its legs. If the vent appears bumpy, the poult is male; if it is flat, the poult is female.

You can also determine its gender by picking it up and observing whether the chick pulls its legs up or leaves them dangling. Male poults tend to tuck in their legs when picked up, while female poults keep their legs dangling.

In addition, male poults tend to be more territorial and aggressive toward other birds and their companions than female poults.

 

Lifecycle of Female Turkeys

Wild turkeys breed once per year and have 4-17 eggs in a clutch. After mating, the female turkey is on her own and has to incubate and take care of the younglings with no help from the male.

The incubation takes around 25-31 days, and the chicks stay in the nest for only the first day. The female broods them at night for several weeks.

The females and chicks travel in groups with each other, forming large flocks of young turkeys with multiple adult females. The younglings follow the females and forage their own food. They reach independence in 4-10 months.

 

Frequently Asked Questions

What are female turkey’s called?

Female turkeys are called hens.

How can you tell a female turkey?

You can tell it’s a female turkey by the fact that it is smaller and more modest than its male counterpart. Females are duller, have shorter tails and legs, and have some feathers on their heads.

Do turkeys mate for life?

Turkeys do not mate for life, they don’t even choose one partner for one season and mate with multiple individuals. Males provide no parental care for the younglings.

 

Conclusions

In conclusion, although male and female turkeys look similar at first glance, they have many differences in their behavior, appearance, sounds, and other characteristics.

Males are larger and have longer tails and legs, a long and droopy snood on their bill, and make a distinctive gobbling sound. Females are smaller, have shorter tails and legs, have duller coloring, make soft clucking sounds, and aren’t as aggressive with members of their own species.

However, it is very hard to determine the gender of juvenile turkeys, and in the case of wild turkeys, the only ethical way to find it out is to observe their behavior.

About the Author

Heleen Roos

Heleen has loved the outdoors and nature since childhood and has always been fascinated with birds, leading her to research more about them. She has accumulated a lot of knowledge about their behaviors and habits through birdwatching tours and her own explorations. Her goal is to share the most interesting and useful facts about them.

Let others know your thoughts or ask an expert

Would you like to get new articles of birds (Once a month?)

No SPAM! We might only send you fresh updates once a month

Thank you for subscribing!

No thanks! I prefer to follow BirdZilla on Facebook