Hello folks who wonder if turkey is actually the pumpkin spice latte of November,
No matter how grown up you are, you will always be the sweet, innocent kid in front of your parents. All the things you had enjoyed your parents doing when you were in elementary school like your dad shouting your nickname after dropping you off at school or your mom telling stories about how you as a child got your head stuck in a pumpkin to your friends, start becoming more embarrassing the older you get. With the advent of social media, you might be posting spotless, curated Instagram photos of yourself as someone who has never had to deal with a single negative emotion in your life and then your mom posts a picture of you as a 3 year old taking a dump in the backyard.
Columbian black-tailed deer mothers will give birth to fawns in late spring. These young ones, if they survive the vulnerable first 3 months, will spend up to a year or longer with their mother to learn the tricks of the trade. And while they haven't moved out of the house, they have to endure the grooming sessions of the protective mother who uses grooming to remove external parasites and also to check if their kid still has that "new baby scent". They don't but that doesn't stop a mother from licking the fawn clean.
Ever seen a deer using a smartphone or reading a newspaper? Me neither, but then how do these critters come to know what Cardi B is going to name her next album or when the Royal Family announces another child is on the way? You see, as soon as TMZ leaks any such news, the chatty Cathies of the forest start discussing this gossip all around. Deer even though they pretend they aren't interested in other people's lives will be seen moving each of their ears independently to get in on the gossip. Oh yes, it also helps them with detecting if a predator is lurking around.
"Ooh no, this third child really put a dent in Prince Harry's plan for the royal throne" muttered the deer on hearing the news about Prince Louis.
Ever seen someone speak in public for the first time and the audience can already tell that the person is nervous and freaking out behind the mic. Signs like the speaker not making any eye contact with the audience, frequently adjusting their hair or speaking too fast give away clues about what emotions the speaker is going through at that moment. Wild Turkeys believe in a "cut to the chase" philosophy and don't have time to pick up on subtle clues to read emotions. That is why they have something called a snood on their foreheads. Snood is the protruding skin that hangs over the bill. When the turkey's snood is dangling like your car keys it means the turkey is feeling at home at that moment.
But when the snood is erect like a rhino horn, it means that the turkey is nervous or anxious. In this case, it was me asking "If we should constantly thank others, why don't we celebrate Thanksgiving every month?" followed by a "just kidding", to which it started to relax its snood.
Whether you fall in the camp that just loves their turkeys on Thanksgiving or simply loathes it along with the uncle that constantly brings up politics at the Thanksgiving table, one thing both camps can admire is the intricate arrangement of the thousands of feathers on an adult wild turkey.
I didn't know turkeys could pull in their "snood." And, I didn't know what it was called. I thought it was called a "waddle."
ReplyDeleteWhat's up with the long feathery thing hanging down from the lower neck of turkeys?
It looks like you spent a nice afternoon at Rancho San Antonio!
Well, that long feathery thing is called a "beard". All male and some female turkeys have it. I don't think there is a clear consensus on its use but it might be something used by the males to impress the females.
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