Turkeys communicate using a diverse range of vocalizations, each serving a specific purpose within their social structures. These sounds allow turkeys to convey warnings, mating signals, and other information about their daily lives. Understanding these different noises helps to appreciate the complexity of their communication.
The Famous Gobble
The gobble is the most recognized turkey vocalization, a loud, rapid, gurgling sound primarily associated with male turkeys, known as toms or gobblers. This call is central to the turkey’s mating ritual, especially during the spring breeding season. Toms gobble to announce their presence to hens and to assert dominance over other males.
The gobble’s resonant nature allows it to travel long distances, effectively drawing in hens and signaling competition to other toms. Other turkeys may vocalize in response, creating a chorus in the woods. The intensity and frequency of gobbling often increase with the amount of daylight, peaking around sunrise.
Understanding Other Turkey Calls
Beyond the iconic gobble, turkeys employ a variety of other calls for different communication needs. The cluck is a short, single-note sound often used to get attention or locate another turkey, functioning like a “Marco” call. It can be a subtle, reassuring sound or a series of multiple clucks.
The putt is a sharp, staccato note that serves as an alarm call, signaling danger to other turkeys. Turkeys use this sound when they sense a threat. A purr is a soft, rolling sound, often indicating contentment or used for close-range contact within a flock, such as when turkeys are feeding.
The yelp is a common turkey sound, typically a two-note call. Hens frequently use yelps as locator calls or to assemble their brood, and it can also indicate a hen’s readiness to breed. A cackle consists of a rapid series of loud, irregularly spaced clucks, often made when turkeys fly down from a roost or when agitated.
A kee-kee run is a high-pitched, three-note whistle, often followed by a yelp, primarily used by young turkeys to communicate when lost or to regroup with their flock. The call evolves as turkeys mature. The kee-kee run is often heard during the fall but can also be used in spring.
Sounds by Age and Gender
Turkey vocalizations exhibit variations based on the bird’s age and gender, reflecting different roles and needs within the flock. While the gobble is predominantly a male vocalization, hens do not typically gobble. Hens, however, make a broader array of calls than toms, which are important for flock cohesion and reproduction.
For instance, the plain yelp is made by both sexes, but a gobbler’s yelp tends to be deeper, coarser, and slower-paced compared to a hen’s. Young turkeys, known as poults, produce distinct sounds like the high-pitched kee-kee, especially when separated from their mother or flock. As these young birds mature into jakes (juvenile males) and jennies (juvenile females), their kee-kee calls may develop into the yelps of adult birds. Adult turkeys, including hens and gobblers, can also make a variation of the kee-kee call.