# Wild turkey (*Meleagris gallopavo*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/wild-turkey  
Data as of: 2026-11-11

The wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) is a bird in the family Phasianidae and the order Galliformes, also called the Turkey, American turkey, Domestic Turkey, Great American hen or Great American fowl. It is a medium-sized bird with an adult body mass of 5.791 kg (from 4.3 to 7.4 kg reported) and a wingspan of 1.19 m (from 1.03 to 1.35 m reported). This terrestrial, sedentary omnivore lives in forest, and its main foods are acorn, grain, insect and nut. It lays 11 eggs per clutch, one clutch per year, with an incubation period of 28 days, and the IUCN Red List classes it as Least Concern, not a threatened category.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 4.3 kg – 7.4 kg |
| Length | Not recorded |
| Wingspan | 1.03 m – 1.35 m |
| Lifespan | 12.8 years |
| Diet | Omnivore |
| Longest recorded lifespan | 13 years |
| Main food | acorn, grain, insect, nut |
| Habitat | forest |
| Egg incubation | 28 days |
| Young per litter or clutch | 11 |
| Age at maturity | 9.99 months – 12 months |
| Litters or clutches a year | 1 |
| Lifestyle | Terrestrial |
| Migration | Sedentary |
| Conservation status | Least Concern (IUCN) |
| Countries on record | Not recorded |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Aves
- order: Galliformes
- family: Phasianidae
- genus: Meleagris
- species: *Meleagris gallopavo* Linnaeus, 1758

Synonyms: *Ardea sellardsi*, *Meleagris galloparvo*

## Common questions

### How heavy is a wild turkey?

An adult Wild turkey has a body mass of 5.791 kg, with reported values from 4.3 to 7.4 kg.

### What does the wild turkey eat?

The wild turkey is an omnivore whose main foods are acorn, grain, insect and nut.

### Is the wild turkey endangered?

No. The wild turkey is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.

### How long does a wild turkey live?

The wild turkey has a lifespan of 12.75 years, with values up to 13 years reported.

### How many eggs does a wild turkey lay?

The wild turkey lays 11 eggs per clutch and has one clutch per year; the eggs incubate for 28 days.

### When does a wild turkey reach sexual maturity?

A wild turkey reaches sexual maturity at 334.5 days, with reported values from 304 to 365 days (1 year).

### What kind of animal is the wild turkey?

The wild turkey is a bird of the order Galliformes and the family Phasianidae, living in forest habitat.

### Who named the wild turkey?

The wild turkey, Meleagris gallopavo, was named by Linnaeus, 1758.

## Sources

- [An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1), CC0 1.0, E096-269. Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1
- [AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7), CC BY 4.0, v7. Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7
- [Catalogue of Life eXtended Release](https://www.checklistbank.org/dataset/316691), CC BY 4.0, 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf
- [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org), per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed), 2026-11-11. Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence).
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org), CC0 1.0, 2026-11-11. Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service).
- [Wikipedia (English)](https://en.wikipedia.org), CC BY-SA 4.0, 2026-11-11. Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).

Cite as: Wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/wild-turkey