Identification - The breeding male, with his iridescent bronze body, has a large tail that it fans during courtship displays as it droops its wing feathers. It has a naked red or bluish head and neck and usually sports a black "beard" or tuft on its breast. It is a weak flier and prefers to run to escape danger.
Morsels - All birds have a gizzard which forms part of their stomach. In some birds, such as loons and owls, the gizzard is weak. However, seed eaters such as the Wild Turkey, have strong, muscular gizzards that grind their foods. Experiments have shown that turkeys can grind up 24 walnuts in four hours, their gizzards exerting pressures of over 300 pounds per square inch on the nuts. They can even grind up steel needles in these muscular organs!
