That thing is called a snood.And it's there to let the other turkeys know that its owner is kind of a big deal. Snood: Hanging over a turkey's beak is a long flap of flesh called the snood.During courtship, the snood enlarges and becomes red as it fills with blood in the male. Why do turkeys have weird necks? However, their loss reduces the reproductive potential of the turkey population. Turkeys have a snood on top of their head that they can change the size of depending on mood. The hens’ snood will normally remain small (one indication of gender), but the males’ snood will shrink or elongate during episodes of anger or courtship. A small proportion of female turkeys may have a beard and therefore can be legally harvested. Compare overall body size if viewing several turkeys. The turkey has a large fan shaped tail to impress the female turkeys. The snood, like the turkeys head will turn bright red when elongated. Both sexes have these growths, even though the snood of an adult male is usually somewhat larger than that of a female turkey. Turkeys gobble. 7. Studies have shown that snood length is associated with male turkey health. The males with the longest, brightest snoods tend to attract the most mates. Birds bruise green generally, not brown, and the snood is a very unlikely place to get bruised on a female turkey. This snood is relatively larger in males than females. As a hunter, I have noticed all turkeys snoods vary in length depending on their general state of alert or alarm. Older more dominate wild turkeys have the … They alarmed the turkey becomes the shorter the snood becomes. Snood: Both male and female will have “ snood ” -a flap of skin that overhangs the turkeys’ beak. My toms would have occasional accidents where their snood flopped in the way while they ate and got pecked and yet they never got bruises you could see. As a turkey becomes more alert to something out of place the snood begins to shorten. Captive female wild turkeys prefer to mate with long-snooded males, and during dyadic interactions, male turkeys defer to males with relatively longer snoods. The snood functions in both intersexual and intrasexual selection. To avoid misidentification, use the following features below to accurately determine the turkey’s sex. The snood functions in both intersexual and intrasexual selection. The vast majority of female turkeys do not have a beard, so this can help you get an idea of the turkey's sex from a distance. Caruncles: These are fleshy bumps on the head and neck of both male and female turkeys.Sexually mature males may have large carnuncles with bright colors which are attractive to females. Head of male turkey is brilliantly colored and without features, whereas female turkey does have features on its dull-colored head Both sexes have fleshy dangling undergrowth from beak down the neck called a snood. When a turkey is relaxed and unalarmed, their snood is longer. A male turkey's snood turns bright red and elongated when trying to impress a female. The snood is that funny thingy hanging off the top of a male turkey's beak. While mature female turkeys develop a short snood of their own (evolutionary purpose unknown), on males it eventually grows up to 5 inches; when a male is trying to impress a female, the snood turns bright red and elongates even further. Female wild turkeys prefer to mate with long-snooded males, and during dyadic interactions, male turkeys defer to males with relatively longer snoods. In both intersexual and intrasexual selection bruise green generally, not brown, and the snood is longer on. 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