Drumming and displaying

Spring is here and love is in the air. Our Royal Palm Turkey, Ozzie, knows it too. He’s been showing off mating behavior for the past week. Here’s a look at his show for the ladies– you can’t really hear, but he’s drumming (a quick thumping sound made in his chest) as he walks around like this. You can hear him occasionally do a quick “chh” sound, but most of the background noise is from the chickens who are nearby. Watch– as he displays, his wings draw lines on the ground ( he’ll wear his feathers down from doing this so much!) and watch how he turns his tail fan — really cool! (Sorry about my shaky video work!)

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2CjpJ0l55Pk[/youtube]

3 responses to Drumming and displaying

  1. Leslie says:

    Shame there are no lovely turkey ladies who would appreciate such a gesture, but I certainly enjoyed it. I love these ‘after hours’ Farmyard vidoes. It’s great to see the different animal behaviors that occur !

  2. Sherry says:

    Hi Leslie,We did have a female turkey living with Ozzie (her name: Harriet). Unfortunately, he was very aggressive with her, so she is now living elsewhere (with one of our keepers on his farm).

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