Wild turkeys are highly vocal animals, possessing a complex vocabulary that helps them navigate their social lives and environment. Biologists have identified a wide range of distinct calls, with various sounds serving purposes from locating flock members to signaling alarm. These vocalizations are essential for maintaining flock cohesion and reproductive success, communicating across different distances and contexts.
The Signature Sound: Gobbling
The most recognized turkey vocalization is the gobble, a loud, rapid, rolling sound primarily produced by the adult male turkey, or tom. This distinct call is essentially the turkey’s advertisement during the spring breeding season, serving multiple functions related to reproduction and dominance.
The gobble acts as a long-distance beacon, letting hens know the tom’s location and availability for mating. The volume and consistency of the gobble can signal the health and fitness of the male, which helps attract potential mates.
Beyond attracting females, the gobble is also a territorial assertion, announcing the tom’s presence to rival males. While gobbles are most frequent and aggressive during the spring, males may also gobble in response to loud, high-pitched noises year-round, such as crow calls or sirens. This vocalization is composed of 13 or more notes, lasting about two seconds, and its broad range of pitch allows it to travel effectively across different environments.
Daily Social Communication Calls
Turkeys use a variety of frequent, softer calls to manage daily activities, maintain flock contact, and express contentment. The cluck is a short, single or multi-note sound used to gain the attention of another bird or to confirm a location. It acts as a general communication tool to signal that everything is normal and can be used by both males and females.
The yelp is a series of calls, typically five to ten notes, used by both sexes, though the hen yelp is heard most often. These yelps are a fundamental means of communication, acting as a locator call to reestablish contact between birds or to gather a scattered flock. Hens in particular use yelps to communicate with gobblers during the mating season, signaling their eagerness or location to a potential mate.
A soft, rolling sound, the purr, indicates that a turkey is content and relaxed, often made while feeding or moving close to other birds. This quiet vocalization helps maintain space and signals to the rest of the flock that all is well. When a cluck is combined with a purr, it forms a cluck-and-purr, a sound of contentment used while feeding or traveling in a group.
Juvenile turkeys, known as poults, often use the kee-kee, a high-pitched, three-note whistle, when they are separated from their mother or the flock. This pleading sound is used to regroup, sometimes followed by a yelp to form a “kee-kee run.” Adult turkeys may also use a variation of the kee-kee when lost or attempting to reassemble a scattered group.
Warning and Distress Vocalizations
Turkeys have specific, sharp vocalizations reserved for moments of immediate danger, excitement, or agitation. The putt is a sharp, single, staccato note that serves as a distinct alarm signal, emitted when a turkey sees or senses a predator or other threat. This sound functions to warn other members of the flock.
Multiple putts delivered in rapid succession often indicate that the turkey is highly alarmed and may soon flee, causing the flock to scatter or freeze in place. The putt is distinct from a soft cluck primarily in its sharper delivery and context, as it is a sound of fear rather than general communication.
Another sound associated with high emotion is the cut, which is a fast, loud, and often erratic series of clucks. This vocalization indicates excitement or agitation and is frequently used by hens when they are challenging a rival or attempting to draw the attention of a tom. The volume and rapid tempo of the cut help a hen assert dominance or clearly broadcast her location.