Did you recognize the sharp claw from last week’s puzzler as that of a turkey? In honor of Thanksgiving, I couldn’t resist highlighting this amazing animal. In the past I’ve featured a turkey feather as a puzzler, and also the track from a turkey. I’ve also written a post about turkeys called Ten Things You Might Not Know About Wild Turkeys.
You might be surprised to learn I have kept a running list of all of my puzzlers and rarely repeat one I’ve already done, even if it was featured YEARS ago! When I first began, my husband said, “Are you sure you’re going to be able to keep that going? Are there enough things you can feature?” Through the years I’ve learned that there are many, many things I can feature!! The world outside of our doors is amazing, and complicated and very full of interesting things I can use for my puzzlers. I can keep it going!
Anyway, the leg from the puzzler last week was from a wild turkey. Both photos were from a male turkey. Know how to tell? Male turkeys almost always have spurs on their legs. Females have a small knob where the spur would be if it were male, but they lack the sharp spurs of the males. Females sometimes have beards, but almost never have spurs. This photo shows a female turkey with a beard.
Turkey spurs are made of keratin, the same material as your fingernails, the claws of bears or talons of hawks. They can vary in color, from pink, to gray, or even black. They continue to grow throughout the turkey’s life. What are they for you wonder? Turkeys use them to establish dominance.
If you want to read more about turkeys, check out my previous post about them.
