Photographic Evidence and Chronology of Nest Parasitism by a Wild Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo)

Accounts of obligate nest parasitism (e.g., Brown-headed Cowbird, Molothrus ater) are common in the literature; however, reports of facultative nest parasitism are less frequent. Nest parasitism has been documented only rarely in Wild Turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo). We obtained photographic evidence...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Wilson journal of ornithology 2016-03, Vol.128 (1), p.204-207
Main Authors: Brautigam, Kathryn J., Osborne, Douglas C., White, Don
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal nesting
artificial nest
Behavior
Bird nesting
Bird nests
Birds
Brood parasitism
Cameras
Eggs
Eggs and nests
facultative nest parasitism
Females
Methods
Obligate parasites
Observations
Ornithology
Parasites
Parasitism
Predation
SHORT COMMUNICATIONS
Studies
trail camera
Turkeys
Wild Turkey
Wild turkeys
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Summary:Accounts of obligate nest parasitism (e.g., Brown-headed Cowbird, Molothrus ater) are common in the literature; however, reports of facultative nest parasitism are less frequent. Nest parasitism has been documented only rarely in Wild Turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo). We obtained photographic evidence of a female Wild Turkey parasitizing an artificial ground nest in Lincoln County, Arkansas, in June 2013. A series of photographs show the turkey finding the nest, moving the eggs 0.3 m from the original nest location, returning twice the following day, and parasitizing the nest by laying a single egg. The actual parasitism event occurred 33–55 hrs after the turkey discovered the nest. We are unaware of other published photographs documenting nest parasitism by Wild Turkeys and this series of photographs provides information on the chronology of nest parasitism by Wild Turkeys.
ISSN:1559-4491
1938-5447
DOI:10.1676/1559-4491-128.1.204