What is That Red Thing Hanging From a Turkey’s Neck Called?

As Thanksgiving approaches, turkey takes center stage. Most Americans will eat turkey during the holidays, whether it is the highlight of a home-cooked meal or the filling in a quick sandwich When we envision this quintessential holiday bird, often it is a fully cooked turkey coming out of the oven, golden and juicy and crowned with that odd red appendage. But what exactly is that fleshy red mass that hangs off a turkey’s neck and chin? Let’s find out!

The Wattle – Turkey’s Colorful Flap of Skin

That distinctive flap of bumpy red skin dangling under a turkey’s beak is called the wattle. It is an integral part of a wild turkey’s appearance and plays several important roles for the birds.

Wattles come in different sizes and shapes among various bird species but on wild turkeys they typically appear as a large, oblong mass of wrinkled skin. The wattle hangs from the turkey’s beak and throat in a loose pendulous manner. Often bright red in color, the turkey’s wattle can change hues depending on the bird’s mood and health.

Both male and female turkeys have wattles, but they are more prominent and colorful on the males. The wattle is one of the turkey’s caruncles, which are fleshy growths on the head and neck. Another caruncle often found on turkeys is the snood, a fleshy bump on the forehead. The caruncles on male turkeys tend to be larger, especially during mating season.

Why Do Turkeys Have Wattles?

Wattles serve multiple purposes for turkeys out in nature. Here are some of the key functions of the turkey wattle:

• Temperature regulation – The wattle has a rich network of blood vessels close to the surface, which helps release heat and cool the bird down. Bare skin allows for better heat dissipation than the feathered neck.

• Communication – The color changes in the wattle based on mood and health allow turkeys to communicate status within the flock. Bright red wattles signal aggression and dominance.

• Courtship display – Male turkeys use the wattle to attract females during mating season. It can engorge and become more vibrantly colored through increased blood flow.

• Social status – Dominant males tend to have larger, more colorful wattles than younger males. The size and hue advertise the bird’s status.

• Health indicator – Pale, shrunken wattles can signal sickness in a turkey. The state of the wattle provides insight into the bird’s overall health.

• Attracting mates – The red color stands out against the turkey’s other white and brown feathers, allowing males to better catch the eyes of females.

So in essence, the wattle functions as the turkey’s display board, signaling important information to other birds through its size, texture, and coloration.

Fun Turkey Wattle Facts

Beyond understanding the purpose of the turkey’s wattle, here are some interesting tidbits about this unique caruncle:

• Wattles get their name from the Old English word “watel” meaning a flexible piece of metal or wood. This refers to how the skin flap hangs loosely from the turkey’s neck.

• While uncommon, occasionally turkeys can be found with multiple wattles or abnormally shaped wattles.

• Commercial turkeys bred for meat tend to have smaller wattles than wild turkeys.

• The wattle enlarges and gets more colorful during the spring mating season. By summer, the color fades as mating ends.

• Some other birds with wattles include chickens, pheasants, pelicans, and cassowaries.

• While edible, the wattle has very little meat and is often removed before cooking.

• The wattle provides a large surface area of thin skin, allowing faster dissipation of excess heat through evaporation.

Diseases and Injuries Related to Turkey Wattles

While turkeys evolved to have wattles for good reason, the thin skin appendage does come with some health risks including:

• Wattles disease – Bacterial or viral infection causing swollen, inflamed wattles.

• Frostbite – Freezing temperatures can damage the wattles since they lack protective feathers.

• Wounds – The thin skin can easily get scraped, cut or punctured.

• Abrasions – Wattles often drag on the ground, leading to irritation.

• Pecking injuries – Dominant turkeys may peck at subordinates’ wattles.

So while indispensable for regulating temperature and communicating within the flock, the wattle does require some vulnerable exposed skin. Turkey’s must take care to prevent frostbite in winter and avoid scuffles that could damage the caruncle.

Identifying Gender Based on Wattles

Can you differentiate male from female turkeys based solely on the wattle? Since males have larger, more colorful wattles, it can be a clue, but is not 100% accurate. Some key points include:

• Older males have larger wattles than younger males.

• During mating season, male’s wattles enlarge and become more vibrantly red.

• Some females can have large wattles that approach the size of a male’s.

• The snood is often a better indicator of gender since males also have larger snoods.

So while wattle size can be a hint, to accurately sex a turkey requires looking at the full suite of characteristics including body size, feathers, and other caruncles. Never rely on just the wattle alone.

Why Don’t We Eat Turkey Wattles?

Although you won’t find wattles on your Thanksgiving plate, they are actually edible. However, there are some good reasons why turkey wattles rarely end up as food:

• They contain very little actual meat. It is mostly skin and collagen.

• The flavor is unappealingly gamy and irony compared to breast meat.

• The bright red color is unappetizing to some.

• Many find the wrinkly wattle skin unappealing to eat.

• Wattles are small and tedious to prepare compared to other parts.

• Removing wattles speeds up processing since they have few usable parts.

Next time you carve your holiday bird, know that while you can technically eat the wattle, it won’t provide the delicious white breast meat that turkey is prized for. The inedible wattle helps make the rest of the turkey possible!

From its charming name to its bright crimson color, the wattle is one of the most distinctive features of America’s most emblematic bird, the wild turkey. This essential caruncle aids thermoregulation, communication, courtship and health for turkeys navigating the landscapes of North America. While turkeys can manage fine without their wattle, it has evolved to provide key advantages that help males attract mates and all birds regulate body conditions. The next time you come across a turkey, take a moment to admire its vibrant wattle and appreciate how this flap of skin has become integral to the turkey’s success. With a better understanding of the turkey’s wattle, we gain more insight into what makes this iconic bird unique.