Male turkeys, known as toms or gobblers, engage in a remarkable transformation called the strut, involving a dramatic change in posture and appearance. This conspicuous, ritualized communication behavior serves two primary functions in the turkey’s social structure. The action instantly changes the bird from a streamlined form into a much larger, iridescent spectacle, conveying the male’s status and quality to others.
The Physical Mechanics of the Strut
The visible puffing is accomplished through a physiological process called piloerection, where specialized muscles at the base of each feather contract, causing the feathers to stand erect. This action significantly increases the turkey’s apparent size, particularly around the chest and back, creating the characteristic rounded appearance. Simultaneously, the male elevates and spreads his eighteen tail feathers into a large, semicircular fan, which serves as a highly visible backdrop to the performance.
During the strut, the tom lowers his wings, dragging the primary wing feathers on the ground, which often produces a rattling or drumming sound. The most striking changes occur on the bird’s bare head and neck, which are covered in fleshy structures called the snood, wattle, and caruncles. These appendages lack feathers and are densely supplied with blood vessels that can be rapidly contracted or relaxed.
When the tom becomes aroused, a surge of blood engorges these structures, causing them to swell and dramatically change color, often shifting from pale tones to vibrant shades of red, white, and blue. The snood, a fleshy appendage hanging over the beak, elongates considerably. These anatomical structures serve as dynamic signals, instantly communicating the bird’s excitement level and vigor.
Puffing Up to Attract Mates
The strut is primarily a courtship display, reaching its peak frequency during the spring breeding season when the tom’s goal is to attract female turkeys, or hens. The display acts as a visual advertisement, communicating the male’s genetic fitness and overall health to potential mates. The more brilliant the colors, the larger the puffed-up size, and the more vigorous the strut, the more attractive the male appears to the hen.
Hens evaluate the brightness and size of the male’s colorful head appendages because those traits are linked to high testosterone levels and a robust immune system. Studies suggest that males with longer snoods tend to be more resistant to certain parasites, indicating good genetic quality that the female seeks to pass on to her offspring. The tom often performs this ritualized dance in a circular pattern, sometimes accompanied by a distinctive vocalization called a “gobble.”
The courtship ritual continues until a hen signals her readiness to mate, typically by crouching low to the ground in front of the strutting male. This presentation is a form of sexual selection, where the female actively chooses a mate based on the exaggerated traits he is displaying.
Puffing Up to Assert Dominance
Beyond attracting a mate, the strut is also used by male turkeys to establish and maintain a social hierarchy, or “pecking order,” among other toms. This intrasexual competition is a way for males to signal their dominance to rivals without always resorting to physical combat. By appearing larger and more aggressive, the dominant male can often deter a challenge before a fight begins.
The same physiological changes that make the bird attractive to hens—the puffed-up size and the intensely colored head—serve as a potent threat display to other males. When two toms encounter one another, they may engage in a parallel strut, posturing side-by-side to compare size and intensity. The male who maintains the most vigorous and prolonged display is often recognized as the superior individual.
While the display can prevent confrontation, a challenge to a dominant male’s status may escalate into a physical battle involving pecking, wing-beating, and spurring. The initial strutting serves as an energy-saving mechanism, allowing males to settle disputes using a visual warning instead of a damaging fight. Once the dominance order is established, lower-ranking males typically concede to the strutter’s authority.