It has one of the greatest pleasures of my life, to video hours of Wild Turkey during spring mating. This photo is of a rare breaded hen parading for two gobblers . There actually are four gobblers present standing in a group in the middle of about twenty hens. The gobblers had just finished their parade and display. Drumming is another method the males use to attract hens, this is accomplished by beating their wings on the sides of their bodies. Usually, drumimng is done in the earliest part of the breeding season. They were observed about a week prior to the capture of this photo, in their drumming ritual.

When wild turkey travel, they are usually in single file with any companion gobblers in the middle of the line. When he feels safe, usually with cover of brush or trees, the gobble will stop and try to bump the hens as they pass. He throws out his huge chest and if a female is receptive she will touch her chest to his. This bumping ritual continues through out the season until all the hens are breed and on a nest. Hens that are ready to mate, will bump back.

I have created a blog by the same name as this hub to post the various edited videos of these rituals. It is amazing how quite the entire process is. No gobbling or clucking, just the most graceful movements of feather displays and positioning. SEE VIDEOS

While feeding, someone always has a head up. It appears the gobblers actually are acting as guards to the hens. The males feed very little when they are with hens.