Wild Turkey
Wild TurkeyWild TurkeyWild TurkeyWild Turkey

Wild Turkey

Meleagris gallopavo

Least ConcernNear ThreatenedVulnerableEndangeredCritically Endangered Endemic
Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
at Saguaro National Park
44 Verified sightings at Saguaro National Park From 2019 to 2026
21,933 Verified sightings across all 43 parks From 2019 to 2026
January Best month highest sighting rate
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted during daytime hours (6am–6pm)

About the Wild Turkey

The wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) is an upland game bird native to North America, one of two extant species of turkey and the heaviest member of the order Galliformes. It is the ancestor to the domestic turkey (M. g. domesticus), which was originally derived from a southern Mexican subspecies of wild turkey (not the related ocellated turkey).

The wild turkey was formally described in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae under its current binomial name Meleagris gallopavo. The type locality is Mexico. The genus name Meleagris is from Ancient Greek μελεαγρις/meleagris meaning "guineafowl". The specific epithet gallopavo is a late Medieval Latin word for a wild turkey: it combines Latin gallus meaning "fowl" and pavo meaning "peacock". The word was used in 1555 by the Swiss naturalist Conrad Gessner in his Historiae animalium.

Six subspecies are recognised: An adult male (tom or gobbler) normally weighs from 5 to 11 kg (11 to 24 lb) and measures 100–125 cm (39–49 in) in length. The adult female (hen) is typically much smaller at 2.5–5.4 kg (5.5–11.9 lb) and is 76 to 95 cm (30 to 37 in) long. Per two... Wikipedia →

Closest Relatives at Saguaro National Park

Chukar
LC

Chukar

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Alectoris chukar

Daily sighting probability Insufficient data
Ring-necked Pheasant
LC Endemic

Ring-necked Pheasant

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Phasianus colchicus

Daily sighting probability Insufficient data
Gambel's Quail
LC

Gambel's Quail

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Callipepla gambelii

Daily sighting probability ~40% · Likely
Helmeted Guineafowl
LC

Helmeted Guineafowl

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Numida meleagris

Daily sighting probability Insufficient data
Montezuma Quail
LC

Montezuma Quail

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Cyrtonyx montezumae

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare

Global Distribution

Where this species is recorded worldwide. Restricted to human observations from 2019 onwards — the same kind of record and the same period the probabilities on this page are built from, so collar-tracking studies, camera-trap arrays and museum specimens are excluded. Around Santa Rosa that removes 5,924 GPS fixes from a handful of tagged jaguars.

where this species is recorded (GBIF density — it tracks where observers go, not how likely a sighting is)  ·  parks where it occurs — tap a pin for the sighting probability there

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Point Pelee National Park 🇨🇦 Canada
~60%
2 Zion National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~30%
3 Great Smoky Mountains National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~20%
4 Rocky Mountain National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~20%
5 Riding Mountain National Park 🇨🇦 Canada
~10%
6 Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
7 Glacier National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
8 Acadia National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
9 Badlands National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
10 Big Cypress National Preserve 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
11 Shenandoah National Park 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
12 Congaree National Park 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
13 Los Haitises National Park 🇩🇴 Dominican Republic
<5%
14 Guadalupe Mountains National Park 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
15 Grand Canyon National Park 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
16 Redwood National Park 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
17 Yosemite National Park 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
18 Big Bend National Park 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
19 Olympic National Park 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
20 Everglades National Park 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
21 Saguaro National Park 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
22 Flinders Chase 🇦🇺 Australia
Insufficient data
23 Lake Nakuru National Park 🇰🇪 Kenya
Insufficient data
24 Kiskunság National Park 🇭🇺 Hungary
Insufficient data
25 Chagres National Park 🇵🇦 Panama
Insufficient data
26 Amacayacu National Natural Park 🇨🇴 Colombia
Insufficient data
27 Nahuel Huapi National Park 🇦🇷 Argentina
Insufficient data
28 Abel Tasman National Park 🇳🇿 New Zealand
Insufficient data
29 Snowdonia National Park 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
Insufficient data
30 Cañón del Sumidero National Park 🇲🇽 Mexico
Insufficient data
31 Bavarian Forest National Park 🇩🇪 Germany
Insufficient data
32 Channel Islands National Park 🇺🇸 United States
Insufficient data
33 Galápagos Islands 🇪🇨 Ecuador
Insufficient data
34 La Amistad International Park (Panama) 🇵🇦 Panama
Insufficient data
35 Tongariro National Park 🇳🇿 New Zealand
Insufficient data
36 Voyageurs National Park 🇺🇸 United States
Insufficient data
37 Ciénaga de Zapata 🇨🇺 Cuba
Insufficient data
38 Banff National Park 🇨🇦 Canada
Insufficient data
39 Yellowstone National Park 🇺🇸 United States
Insufficient data
40 Fiordland National Park 🇳🇿 New Zealand
Insufficient data
41 Gros Morne National Park 🇨🇦 Canada
Insufficient data
42 Sierra Nevada National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
Insufficient data
43 Great Bear Rainforest 🇨🇦 Canada
Insufficient data

Quick answers

What are the chances of seeing a Wild Turkey in Saguaro National Park?

Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Wild Turkey sighting in Saguaro National Park, based on 44 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data.

When is the best time to see Wild Turkey in Saguaro National Park?

January has the highest sighting rate for Wild Turkey in Saguaro National Park in our monthly data.

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