Tropical Gobbler:
Ocellated Turkey The Ocellated Turkey is the gaudier tropical cousin of the world’s only other turkey species, our familiar Thanksgiving bird. Watching a strutting male display is like seeing a Wild Turkey through a colorized filter: The baby-blue head is dotted with red and orange wart-like bumps. Metallic body feathers shimmer in colors from electric blue to green, growing more vivid on wings also banded with bronzy-orange and white. Its striking tail recalls the peacock’s famous plumes. (In Spanish, this bird is sometimes called pavo real, a term both for peacock and “royal turkey.”) Unlike its northern relative, the Ocellated Turkey does not have a broad range. It’s only found on the Yucatán Peninsula, which embraces a few Mexican states, the northern half of Belize, and Guatemala’s northern Petén region. Despite its size and eye-popping plumage, this bird lurks mostly unseen amid thick foliage, like other turkey-like birds such as the Great Curassow. The peninsula’s remaining forests also support a number of wild cat species. What does the Ocellated Turkey have in common with one of these slinky felines? | |
