Weird Beards

My husband killed this one-of-a-kind turkey May 12, 2022! We wanted to share this photo with you all; he was very surprised to find out after killing it that it had not only one beard, but two (growing side by side instead of vertically). Amazing! ― Heather and Justin Owen, Chase City, Virginia

Based on checking the photos, I believe that Justin's gobbler had an injury that resulted in a deep laceration from near the dewlap (the flap of skin under the bird's head) through the naked skin and large caruncula down to the area where the beard emerges from the skin. The origin of that injury is hard to say, but it could have been from a fight where an adversary raked the bird's neck with a claw or spur. It might have been a mechanical injury from a branch when the bird flew or even an injury caused by a predation attempt. We can only speculate about the cause of the scar.

The scar tissue can be seen as dark bluish or blackened skin in the photos. The three large caruncles at the base of the neck are split cleanly as is the skin extending to the papilla from which the beard emerges. The injury might have split the papilla resulting in a double, side-by-side beard. Another option is that this gobbler already had two beards and the injury and subsequent scar offset the usual alignment of double beards, moving them into a side-by-side position. Either way this was a pretty unique gobbler that made a really interesting trophy.

Wild turkeys are amazing birds that are fascinating to those of us privileged to hunt them. Wild turkeys are strong and resilient, making them capable of surviving injuries and simply going on with life. Thank you again for sharing this unusual specimen with our readers.

Send your questions and photos/videos to Dr. Tom by emailing turkeycall@nwtf.net.