Image of Meleagris gallopavo intermedia Sennett 1879

Description:

"Rio Grande Wild Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo intermedia) 18 May 2016 Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge Oklahoma State Highway 49 Lawton, Comanche County, Oklahoma 73507 Images 1-2: Male in full display of its feathery regalia Image 3: Male with its regalia withdrawn, foraging Image 4: Male in full display, view from afar Image 5: Three females foraging Image 6: Group when first spotted from afar, 1 tom and 3 hens While leaving the wildlife refuge near dusk, we observed a group of Rio Grande Wild Turkeys led by a tom accompanied by three hens. They were all foraging though the tom took time to display its feathery regalia. The observation was made to the side of Oklahoma State Highway 49, which runs through the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge. There are four subspecies of wild turkey in Oklahoma according to the online site of the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation including: Merriam’s or Rio Grande/Merriam Hybrids, Eastern, Rio Grande/Eastern Hybrids, and Rio Grande. If we consult the map provided by this site for wild turkey in Oklahoma, we see that by far the most common of the four subspecies of wild turkey in the state (including Comanche County where the wildlife refuge is located) is Rio Grande Wild Turkey. This is the wild turkey subspecies that's found exclusively in Comanche County and the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge. Rio Grande Wild Turkey is an authentic resident of North America and the Western Hemisphere. The Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge is administered by the US Fish and Wildlife Service, US Department of the Interior. Sources: ""Oklahoma's Wild Turkeys,"" Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation, range map, description, photographs, accessed 5.20.16, http://www.wildlifedepartment.com/hunting/turkey.htm ""Current Wild Turkey Distribution,"" Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation, range map by county, accessed 5.20.16, http://www.wildlifedepartment.com/hunting/images/turkeydistribution.jpg"