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White Wild Turkey

This is a wild turkey, photographed in autumn/ early winter 2009, in Niantic, CT, 06357.

 

Reported to be at least 2 years old. He is distinguishable by his color and his badly healed injured left leg. He has a bad limp and large bump above his ankle.

 

(Location data fudged by 1 mile to protect privacy of homeowner where photo taken)

 

Reported range at least 1/2 mile.

 

Interesting that a bird with compromised camouflage has survived so long in woods that are mostly brown for the hungry part of the year.

 

I believe this is an example of leucism, but don't "know". The bird is NOT an albino, if the not-pink eye, and partial pigmentation is anything to go by.

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leucism

 

Travels with a flock of ordinary wild turkeys. (Meleagris gallopavo)

 

Wikipedia: Wild turkey

 

There's a useful discussion of color variants from the authoritative Cornell Lab of Ornithology

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Uploaded on January 15, 2010
Taken on September 22, 2009