Air Date: Week of November 17, 2023

Wild turkeys make a number of vocalizations other than the famous “gobble gobble”. (Photo: Viktor Talashuk, Unsplash, Unsplash License)

The wild cousins of the centerpiece on many Thanksgiving tables do more than just gobble. Turkeys squawk, chirp, and even softly “purr” to express contentment in a flock.

Transcript

DOERING: The wild cousins of the centerpiece on many Thanksgiving tables do more than just gobble. Turkeys squawk –

[FLUTTERING AND SQUAWKING SFX, Jay McGowan / Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology]

DOERING: Chirp when they’re poults, or chicks –

[CHICKS AND HEN CALLING SFX, Jay McGowan / Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology]

DOERING: And even softly “purr” to express contentment in a flock.

[TURKEY ‘PURR’ SFX, Geoffrey Keller / Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology]

DOERING: And of course, there’s the gobble itself.

[TURKEY GOBBLES SFX, Brian Sullivan / Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology]

DOERING: Toms use it to attract hens and fend off rivals.

[TURKEY GOBBLES SFX, Brian Sullivan / Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology]

DOERING: The National Wild Turkey Federation lists a dozen types of turkey calls. (Hunters hone the skill of “turkey calling” to bring their quarries into range to become Thanksgiving dinner.)

[FLUTTERING AND SQUAWKING SFX, Jay McGowan / Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology]

DOERING: These calls come from the Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

[MUSIC: Marcus Roberts, “Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow” on A Merry Jazzmas, BMG Music]

Links

Learn more about wild turkeys here

Read about the many different calls of wild turkeys