Local Gang War Escalates, Reaches Our Patio

We’ve been keeping an eye on three young male turkeys who have been hanging around our place for the last few weeks. At first they spent a lot of time showing off their tail feathers to each other (with no females anywhere in sight.) Now they’ve taken to fighting each other two at a time, while the third one watches (still no females anywhere in sight.) This rumble took place right on our patio outside the kitchen.

A turkey fight seems to involve trying to snake your neck around the other guy’s and knock him off balance, although it’s hard to be sure what they are really trying to do. One of the most notable things about a turkey is how small that brain pan is compared to the overall size of the bird. How much planning can really take place in there?