The ocellated turkey: Not your average Thanksgiving turkey!
One of the advantages of having an annual pass to the San Diego Zoo is that if I miss seeing something today, I can go again tomorrow, or the next day, or next week. In fact, if I’m in the neighborhood, I can run in real quick just to see if the animal I haven’t seen is out and about. If it’s not, no big deal.
One of the birds that I have been wanting to see based on its picture plate is the ocellated turkey (Meleagris ocellata). This bird is not your average Thanksgiving turkey:
The ocellated turkey is indigenous to the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico, as well as the northern parts of Belize and Guatemala. Females weigh up to eight pounds with males weighing up to fifteen pounds. The feathers are quite irridescent, as better seen in this picture:
Females lay up to 15 eggs in a nest on the ground, and incubation is about 28 days. Although the feathers are very beautiful, the face is one that only a mother could love:
This post is dedicated to Peg Barcelo-Jackson, a home stager and owner of Fluff My House Home Staging in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. I have known Peg for a couple of years via the Internet and can highly recommend her for anyone needing home staging or decorating services in the Edmonton area.
Posted on February 28, 2012, in Birds, Fauna, Mother & Father Nature, Photos, Series, Zoo & Safari Park and tagged birds, ocellated turkey, san diego zoo. Bookmark the permalink. 10 Comments.
I pinned this on Pinterest. You might want to add Pinterest to your sharing options.
Hey, Roy. Thanks. I added Pinterest, as well as LinkedIn.
You are right – BEAUTIFUL body, not-so-beautiful face! Thanks for sharing your photos!
That’s the most colorful turkey I’ve seen so far!
Makes me want never to eat turkey again!
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Caliche! Thanx for the dedication! You are awesome! I’m glad Zoey the Cool Cat has approved! Hope you are well!
This would have to be the most beautiful turkey I’ve seen ever. Your photos show the colours really well too.
We did go to the zoo and will be posting about it but we didn’t see turkeys. Oh my, you made me laugh with the one about the face only a mother could love. So funny.
Don’t forget that the San Diego Zoo has a sister park, Safari Park, about 45 miles northeast in Escondo. That’s where these turkeys were.