This Turkey Tuesday is about the benefits of having a broad and diverse diet. Wild turkeys are known to consume > 1000 different food items although it’s likely the actual number of things that appear in wild turkey diets is even greater. That flexibility in what they can eat is one reason why wild turkeys are so adaptable. Having a diverse diet allows turkeys to obtain nutrients from many types of foods and successfully navigate times when availability of some food items is limited – the don’t put all your eggs in one basket approach. But if you look at classic research conducted on wild turkeys many decades ago, which involved collecting (shooting) birds to examine their digestive systems, you get a real sense for what a diverse diet really means. The late Henry Mosby detailed food items he recovered from the crop, proventriculus, and gizzard of a hen during May 1939. Plant items included acorns, grasses, various leaves, >55 flower heads, and >350 seeds from numerous plants. The hen also had been eating animal matter, including snails, centipedes, spiders, ants, cockroaches, stink bugs, and dozens of beetles. Dr. Mosby also detailed food items of another bird in his writings – one that had consumed >2000 seeds! Interestingly, there also appears to be much variation in what is consumed from one turkey to the next – even members of the same flock – because they simply peck at potential food items that draw their attention as they move along. The take home is, wild turkeys epitomize the approach of being flexible with their diet, while also taking advantage of abundant food items when they present themselves.
Picture by Gerald Martin.
