White Turkeys and Weird Whitetails

The TF&G Report
March 13, 2018
Texas Guns by Steve LaMascus
March 13, 2018

Texas Outdoor Nation Feature Story

WHAT IS THE GREATEST TROPHY a turkey hunter can bag in the United States?

Is it the Grand Slam with all varieties in the U.S.? Or is it simply a giant, bearded, heavy-spurred bird of one’s favorite subspecies? A Merriam’s, perhaps, TF&G Hunting Editor Lou Marullo’s favorite?

In my opinion, it would be one of the super rare color variants that occasionally creep into the gene pool.

According to the National Wild Turkey Federation, individual differences in feather coloration are probably the most reported oddities. “The late James Kazmierski and his son, Steven, compiled a detailed article titled, “Turkey Plumage: Color and Composition,” in which they state that the genetics responsible for these variations have not been well documented.”

They noted the Kazmierskis have listed eight plumage types found in domestic turkeys. They go on to speculate that because domestic turkeys originated from wild stock, the genes responsible for such plumage types are probably found in wild populations as well.

“One of the most common color variations is the “smoky gray” color phase,” the Kazmierskis wrote. “Turkeys with this variation appear white from a distance. Upon closer examination, however, it is obvious that these birds’ appearance is due to a loss of brown or bronze pigments, while the black areas of the feathers remain.” 

“Every year, the NWTF receives reports of turkeys in a smoky gray color phase, and many turkey hunters have seen at least one during their time in their field. This recessive trait seems to occur more frequently among hens, but is still occasionally seen in gobblers.”

Flambeau

ADVERTISEMENT

NWTF officials said this trait is probably detrimental to survival—it makes the turkey more visible. However, some smoky gray wild turkeys may survive for several years. One smoky gray hen in Georgia was observed with a normal brood of poults each spring for five years.

They added that melanistic (black) and erythristic (red) color variations also are reported each year, but are not as common as the smoky gray phase. Albinism is also reported.

Have you ever seen a turkey with one of these color phases? If so, email me at cmoore@fishgame.com and share your story or photo/video if you have one.

Off-colored whitetails are a more common but still striking sighting.

On rare occasions, an albino whitetail will make it to adulthood in the wild—a remarkable sight. They are striking animals. Over the last five years, I have had the pleasure of being around one at my friend Ken Swenson’s Swenson Whitetail Ranch. Their buck “Rusty” is becoming quite an impressive specimen.

Think of a piebald as an animal with partial albinism, or simply a lack of pigment in certain areas instead of all over the body. 

Over the years, there have been a number of piebald whitetails taken.

My father, my wife Lisa and I saw a piebald doe while hunting aoudads on a beautiful spread called the Greenwood Valley Ranch in 1993. She had big blotches on her side and several along the neck.

Piebalds are also called “calico deer” and seem to be most commonly killed in the Pineywoods region of the state but they could turn up anywhere.

 

Capital Farm Credit

ADVERTISEMENT

Last year reader Charlie Hennigan sent images of a black deer he encountered near Luling, Texas. It was a black (melanistic) whitetail.

Whereas albinism is a lack of pigment, melanism is a hyper blast of black pigment. It is fairly common in some species such as fox squirrels and is evident in jaguars and leopards. “Black panthers” are not a separate species but simply melanistic jaguars and leopards.

Luling is located 49 miles south of Austin, and over the years I have documented a number of melanistic whitetails within about a 50-mile radius of Austin. Several have been northwest of Austin around San Marcos.

Hennigan said the owner of the land where he was hunting reported seeing numerous does this color over the years, but very few bucks. This is probably because that part of the state has what wildlife managers would consider an out of whack buck to doe ratio. It can run as high as 10 does to one buck on certain tracts of land, so it would not be surprising to see far more melanistic does than bucks.

Also, hunters are more likely to kill the bucks. In recent years several melanistic bucks have been reported taken in Texas. It’s not illegal to kill color-phase whitetails in Texas, and there is no official count of them among the 600,000 plus deer killed here every year.

Whitetails and turkeys are intriguing animals, so encountering a rare color phase is a reminder of the excitement that comes with venturing into the great outdoors.

—Story by Chester Moore

Loading

Comments are closed.