? Ocellated Turkey Conservation status: Lower risk (nt)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Order: Galliformes Family: Meleagrididae Genus: Meleagris Species: M. ocellata
Binomial name
Meleagris ocellata Cuvier, 1820
Distribution map

The Ocellated Turkey (Meleagris ocellata) is a large bird around 70-90 cm long and 3 kg (female) to 4 kg (male) weight. In the past, it has sometimes been treated in a genus of its own, as Agriocharis ocellata, but the differences between this species and Meleagris gallopavo are too small to justify generic segregation. Occelated Turkey, public domain from USFWS File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Scientific classification or biological classification is how biologists group and categorize extinct and living species of organisms (as opposed to folk taxonomy). ... Binomial name Aptenodytes forsteri Gray, 1844 For other uses, see Animal (disambiguation). ... Typical Classes Subphylum Urochordata - Tunicatas Ascidiacea Thaliacea Larvacea Subphylum Cephalochordata - Lancelets Subphylum Myxini - Hagfishes Subphylum Vertebrata - Vertebrates Petromyzontida - Lampreys Placodermi (extinct) Chondrichthyes - Cartilaginous fishes Acanthodii (extinct) Actinopterygii - Ray-finned fishes Actinistia - Coelacanths Dipnoi - Lungfishes Amphibia - Amphibians Reptilia - Reptiles Aves - Birds Mammalia - Mammals Chordates (phylum Chordata) include the vertebrates, together with... Orders Many - see section below. ... Families Megapodidae Numididae Odontophoridae Phasianidae Meleagrididae Tetraonidae Cracidae Mesitornithidae The Galliformes is an order of birds containing the turkeys, grouse, quails and pheasants. ... Species Meleagris gallopavo Meleagris ocellata A turkey is either of two species of large birds in the gamebird family with fan-shaped tails and wattled necks. ... Species M. gallopavo M. ocellata A turkey is either of two species of large birds in the genus Meleagris. ... In biology, binomial nomenclature is the formal method of naming species. ... Georges Cuvier Baron Georges Léopold Chrétien Frédéric Dagobert Cuvier (August 23, 1769 - May 13, 1832) was a French naturalist and zoologist. ... 1820 was a leap year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... add map with more accurate distribution File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Orders Many - see section below. ... Binomial name Meleagris gallopavo Linnaeus, 1758 This article is about the bird. ...

Range

The Ocellated Turkey exists only in a 50,000 square mile area comprised of the Yucatan Peninsula range includes the states of Quintana Roo, Campeche and Yucatan, as well as parts of southern Tabasco and northeastern Chiapas.^[1] The Yucatán Peninsula separates the Caribbean Sea from the Gulf of Mexico. ... Other Mexican States Capital Chetumal Other major cities Cancún Cozumel list of municipalities Area 50,212 km² Ranked 19th Population (2000 census) 873,800 Ranked 29th Governor of Quintana Roo (2005-2011) Félix González Cantú (PRI) Federal Deputies (2) PRI = 2 Federal Senators PRI = 2 PAN = 1... The State of Campeche was long a part of Yucatán and shared its history through the mid 19th century. ... The Yucatán Peninsula separates the Caribbean Sea from the Gulf of Mexico. ... This article refers to Tabasco state; for the condiment see Tabasco sauce Other Mexican States Capital Villahermosa Other major cities List of municipalities Area 25,267 km² Ranked 24th Population (2000 census) 1,889,370 Ranked 20th Governor (2001-07) Manuel Andrade Díaz (PRI) Federal Deputies (6) PRI = 6... Chiapas is a state in the southeast of Mexico. ...

Appearance^[1]

The body feathers of both sexes are a mixture of bronze and green iridescent color. Although females can be duller with more green, the breast feathers do not generally differ and can not be used to determine sex. Neither sex have beards. Tail feathers of both sexes are bluish-grey with an eye-shaped, blue-bronze spot near the end with a bright gold tip. The spots, for which the Ocellated is named, lead some scientists to believe that the bird is more related to peafowl than to Wild Turkeys. The upper, major secondary wing coverts are rich iridescent copper. The primary and secondary wing feathers have similar barring to that of North American turkeys, but the secondaries have more white, especially around the edges. The iridescence of the Blue Morpho butterfly wings. ... Species Pavo cristatus Pavo muticus Afropavo congolensis The peafowl consist of three species of bird in the genera Pavo and Afropavo of the pheasant family, Phasianidae. ... Binomial name Meleagris gallopavo Linnaeus, 1758 This article is about the bird. ... Secrecy is the condition of hiding information from others. ...

Both sexes have blue heads with some orange or red nodules, which are more pronounced on males. The males also have a fleshy blue crown covered with nodules, similar to those on the neck, behind the snood. During breeding season this crown swells up and becomes brighter and more pronounced in its yellow-orange color. The eye is surrounded by a ring of bright red skin, which is most visible on males during breeding season. The legs are deep red and are shorter and thinner than on North American turkeys. Males over one year old have spurs on the legs that average 1.5 inches, which lengths of over 2 inches being recorded. These spurs are much longer and thinner than on North American turkeys. A nodule describes similar aggregation of cells or particles in a number of scientific fields: In medicine it refers to a small aggregation of cells. ... Snood can refer to: A net men use to train their moustaches to grow into a desired shape and prevent it from getting in disarray while they are sleeping. ...

Ocellated Turkeys are much smaller than any of the subspecies of North American Wild Turkey, with adult hens weighing in at about 8 pounds before laying eggs and 6-7 pounds the rest of the year, and adult males weighing about 11-12 pounds during breeding season.

19th century naturalist picture of an Ocellated Turkey

Image File history File links Meleagris_ocellata_1. ... Image File history File links Meleagris_ocellata_1. ... Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Behavior

Turkeys spend most of the time on the ground and often prefer to run to escape danger through the day rather than fly, though they can fly swiftly and powerfully for short distances as the majority of birds in this order do in necessity. Roosting is usually high in trees away from night hunting predators such as Jaguars and usually in a family group. Binomial name Panthera onca (Linnaeus, 1758) The jaguar (Panthera onca) is a large member of the cat family found primarily in the warm regions of the Americas. ...

Female Ocellated Turkeys lay 8-15 eggs in a well concealed nest on the ground. She incubates the eggs for 28 days. The young are precocial and able to leave the nest after one night. They then follow their mother until they reach young adulthood when they begin to range though often re-grouping to roost. In biology, precocial species are those that are relatively mature and mobile from the moment of birth or hatching. ...

The voice is similar to the northern species too, the male making the "Gobbling" sound during the breeding season, while the female bird makes a "clucking" sound.

1. ↑ ^a b Occelated Turkey. National Wild Turkey Federation. URL accessed on 2006-03-29.