For many people, the word “turkey” conjures up visions of a delicious roasted bird on the Thanksgiving table. However, beyond being a main course, turkeys are interesting animals with unique traits and behaviors. One fascinating aspect of turkeys is the special terminology used to describe male turkeys. So what exactly is a male turkey called?
Male turkeys go by several distinctive names that highlight their masculinity. The most common terms for a male turkey are “tom” and “gobbler.” Less frequently used names include “jake” for a young male and “stag” for a mature breeding male. Let’s take a closer look at the origin and meanings behind these colorful names for the male of the species.
Tom Turkey
The most popular name for a male turkey is simply “tom.” This common label likely originated from the practice of distinguishing animal genders using human names, such as tomcat for a male cat and jenny for a female donkey.
Just as “tomcat” emphasizes the cat’s masculine identity, calling a turkey a “tom” defines him as male. “Tom turkey” first appeared in print back in 1710 and has been widely used ever since. The shortened “tom” emerged later around the 1830s and has now become the most ubiquitous term for a male turkey.
Gobbler
Another widely used moniker for a male turkey is “gobbler.” This name derives directly from the unique vocalization adult male turkeys make. Male turkeys have an organ called a syrinx that allows them to produce the characteristic “gobble” mating call.
The gobble is a loud, shrill, throaty sound that male turkeys make to attract females and announce their presence to competitors. Since a gobble noise is exclusive to male turkeys, they earned the descriptive name “gobblers.”
Jake
While most male turkey terminology refers to adults, the name “jake” specifically denotes a young male. Jake refers to a male turkey less than one year old that is just beginning to strut and gobble but hasn’t reached full maturity.
A jake is characterized by small spurs and feathers just starting to fill out in adult male patterns. After a year or so, a jake matures into a fully capable tom or gobbler ready to breed.
Other Variations
A couple other less common names for male turkeys also exist:
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Stag – A mature, breeding male turkey can be called a stag turkey. This name compares the turkey’s dominance to the maturity and antlers of a male deer.
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Covey – Historically, a group of male turkeys was referred to as a “covey” while a group of females was called a “flock.” The term covey to describe male turkeys has faded in popularity.
Female Turkey Terms
For completeness, we should also cover the main terminology used for female turkeys. The female counterparts to the male terms include:
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Hen – The most widely used name for an adult female turkey just as “tom” is for a male.
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Jenny – The juvenile female version comparable to a “jake.”
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Flock – The appropriate group name for multiple female turkeys.
Turkey Terminology in Action
Now that we’ve covered the basic turkey vocabulary, let’s see these terms in action:
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The jake tried his first clumsy gobble, eager to one day become a booming gobbler like the toms.
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The hunter carefully confirmed his target was a mature tom, not one of the juvenile jakes wandering below.
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The experienced brood hen ruffled her feathers when a jenny invaded her territory.
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The stag turkey faced off against a younger challenger, asserting his dominance to breed another season.
Why Special Names for Male Turkeys?
This brings up the question – why do we use distinct terminology for male turkeys instead of just saying “male”? There are a few practical reasons:
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Hunting regulations often restrict harvesting hens so hunters must be able to distinguish toms.
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Turkey farmers must determine the sex of poults to manage breeding stock.
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Unique names help observers identify and discuss turkey behavior and biology.
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It allows people to admire the male turkey’s striking feathers and breeding displays.
So whether you are a hunter, farmer, bird watcher, or simply a turkey enthusiast, knowing the proper vernacular helps appreciate the biology and splendor of the male turkey.
Next time you see a swaggering turkey fanning his tail feathers and puffing up his chest, you can aptly call him by his rightful descriptive names – a stunning tom or resplendent gobbler!
Turkey Basics-Gobblers and Hens
Let’s begin with the basics of distinguishing male wild turkeys (gobblers) from females (hens).
Gobblers are larger-bodied birds, with a darker coloration, at times appearing almost black. In bright sunlight, their feathers cast a brilliant bronze or metallic iridescence. Gobblers have a featherless, red head (sometimes with blue and white coloring, too) with prominent wattle and fleshy, red growths (called caruncles) on their neck. They also have a “beard”—a tuft of black, hair-like strands—protruding from their chest.
On adult gobblers (called toms), the beard can be 7-9 inches or more in length, but on young gobblers (called jakes) the beard is <6 inches long. Typically, gobblers hang out away from hens during the summer since they take no part in raising young.
Hens are more brown in coloration and smaller in size than gobblers. They have a head that is more blue-gray in appearance, often with feathers continuing up the back of the head.
Occasionally hens will have a beard, but it is thinner than on gobblers and is quite often kinked. Hens can also have some feather iridescence, but not to the same extent as gobblers.
How many gobblers and hens do you see in this picture?
2 gobblers (both jakes, note the larger size, less-feathered red heads, and tiny stubble of a beard protruding from the chest of the jake on the right), 4 hens (one mostly hidden behind a jake, but you still can clearly see the typical head of a hen turkey poking out), 1 unknown. If we were here in person live, the birds would move about and we could probably determine that the unknown is another jake, but given what we can see in this photo, it’s best to just call this partially obstructed bird an unknown.
Poults develop very quickly (they must in order not to be eaten!) and feather types, appearance, and body size change rapidly as they age. Based on these characteristics, we can estimate the age of poults. For simplicity, we divide poults into three age classes.
1 week old or younger. Poults that are no more than about a week old are still covered with downy feathers and are very small (<5-6 inches tall). They look like little puff balls about the size of your fist.
Turkey Poult Class 1
2-5 weeks old. Poults in this class have grown longer wing feathers, but still are mostly covered with downy feathers on their body and still lack long tail feathers. They are about 6-10 inches tall, similar in size to a Blue Jay. In appearance, they look to be all wings (which is good because it means now they can fly into low trees to escape ground predators). Poults on the older end of this age class will have started to grow some juvenile plumage on their bodies, but still have short tail feathers.
Hen with class 2 age group poults
Hen with older class 2 age-group poult (borderline class 3)
Hen with class 2 age group poults
6-8 weeks or older. Poults early in this stage still have some down feathers occurring on the neck and head, but their body is covered with juvenile type contour feathers. They have visible tail feathers now, black-and-white barred wing feathers are emerging, and they stand about 10-12 inches tall, similar in size to a crow or a chicken. By about 8 weeks of age, poults are beginning to grow new “adult” looking body feathers and will have a mixture of juvenile feathers and adult feathers on their body. They are about half the size of the hen and will continue to grow to almost the same size as the hen by the end of the summer. Turkey Poults
Because they are very similar in size, late in the summer it can be very challenging to determine if a group of similar-sized turkeys is a flock of hens without poults or a hen and her older-age-class brood. If you’re unsure, it’s best to mark them as unknowns.
Wild Turkey Call
FAQ
Why is male turkey called Tom?
Is a male turkey called a Jenny?
Is a male turkey called a stag?
Is a male turkey a gobbler or tom?
Are male turkeys bigger than female turkeys?
Male turkeys are generally larger than female turkeys. Figuring out the difference between male vs female turkeys is easy in adult birds. Male turkeys are much larger and have more elaborate plumage. But there are a lot of differences between male and female turkeys that you can spot both in adult turkeys and even hatchlings!
What is a domestic turkey called?
The typical domestic variety on farms originated from wild turkeys. Six subspecies of wild turkeys exist, with at least one subspecies in every state of the United States except for Alaska. Mexico boasts the ocellated turkey. Turkey males are called toms or gobblers, and females are called hens.
Are domestic turkeys male or female?
Domestic turkeys are generally raised for meat, as breeders, or kept as pets. Unlike wild turkeys, male and female domestic turkeys generally have very similar coloring, especially when they are babies. Like wild turkeys, male domestic turkeys are significantly larger than females.
How much does a male turkey weigh?
Males weigh up to thirteen pounds and females weigh 6 to 8 pounds. Both males and females are 24 to 36 inches long with a wingspan of 26 to 30 inches. While male turkeys have more impressive plumage and display distinctive tail fan, only females have head feathers. All male turkeys are completely bald!