[Bristol-Birds] Smokey gray Wild Turkey recessive color trait seen in Shady Valley, TN

From: "Wallace Coffey" <jwcoffey@xxxxxxxxxx>
To: "'bristol-birds'" <bristol-birds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Wed, 7 Jan 2015 13:10:47 -0500

Wild Turkey with white birds Shady Valley TN 31 Dec 2011.JPG

 

 
(photo by Wallace Coffey)

 

This flock of Wild Turkey was photographed in Shady Valley, Johnson County,

TN on 31 December 2011 during the Christmas Bird Count.  

 

The group has at least six (6) smokey-gray birds which would be easy to pass


off as a group of domestic white barnyard birds but that may not be the
situation.  

 

Smokey-gray wild turkeys is a variation in wild turkeys and a recessive
trait,

more common in females than in males but is still occasionally seen in
gobblers. 

This color aberration in wild turkeys is not an indicator of birds with
domestic 

turkey genetics.

 

It is a trait similar to melinism or albinism and is found in wild turkeys.
This 

trait has been seen in Shady Valley birds for decades.  John and Lorrie
Shumate

saw the first of such white birds when one was observed in a flock of 10
normal 

colored Wild Turkey,  9 January 1993 - 22 years ago.  This is one of the
most 

common color variations and is often called the smokey-gray color morph by 

biologists. Turkeys with this color appear white from a distance. Upon
closer 

examination, however, it is obvious that these birds' appearance is due to a
loss 

of brown or bronze pigments while the black areas of the feathers remain. 

While this trait is probably detrimental to survival--it makes the turkey
more 

visible--some smokey-gray wild turkeys may survive for several years. One 

smokey-gray hen in Georgia was observed with a normal brood of poults each 

spring for five years.  Melanistic (black) and erythritic (red) color
variations 

also are reported, but are not as common as the smoky gray morph. 

 

Many of these turkeys are striking in appearance and stand out visibly when 

seen among flocks of normal looking wild turkeys.  The least common color 

variation is albinism, or the total lack of color pigments. True albinos are


seldom found among wild turkeys.  Many hunters see color variations for 

the first time and think that the condition is a result of crossbreeding
with 

a domestic turkey. Many wildlife biologists used to think the same thing. 

But, these differences occur regularly in flocks that have no contact with 

domestic turkeys and this seems to be the case in Shady Valley. 

 

Wallace Coffey

Bristol, TN

[Bristol-Birds] Smokey gray Wild Turkey recessive color trait seen in Shady Valley, TN

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