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Beard Modified feathers that grow out from the chest of male turkeys (and some hens). They average 9 inches long. The longest beard to date is recorded at just over 18 inches. It is not uncommon for some turkeys to have multiple beards. Hens can have beards, although only about 10 percent do.

Box call A turkey hunting classic, the box call was patented by Henry Gibson in 1897. As the name implies, the call is a small coffin-shaped box that creates a sound chamber and is operated by running the lid of the call along the edges of the box. These calls offer the great volume that is needed on windy days and can be used to replicate the entire range of turkey vocalizations, including gobbles.

Breeding Mating season is anytime between the end of February to the end of May, depending on the latitude and elevation. The courtship begins when turkeys are still flocked together in wintering areas. The process is basically controlled by day length but also influenced by weather.

Caller (or call) Device used to mimic various sounds of the wild turkey. (See diaphragm call, push-pin call, box call, slate call, tube call and wingbone call.)

Calling When the hunter imitates the sounds made by the desired game animal with the goal of enticing the animal into shooting range.

Call-shy Used to describe individual animals that have heard hunters using calls so much that they avoid the call rather than come to it.

Characteristic differences of male and female turkeys Male and female turkeys are distinguished by two main characteristics: spurs and beards. Both sexes are born with a small button spur on the back of their legs. Soon after hatching, the male's spur begins to grow pointed and curved, and eventually reaches lengths of up to 2 inches. Hen's spurs don't normally grow. Gobblers, or male turkeys, also always have beards. Also can be distinguished by a difference in head color, breast feathers, size, their droppings and the calls they make.

Chufa A grass-like plant. Turkeys dig up the tuber and eat it in the winter and spring.

Cluck The cluck consists of one or more short, staccato notes. Many times, plain clucks include two or three single-note clucks. It's generally used by one bird to get the attention of another. And it's a good call to reassure an approaching gobbler that a hen is waiting for him.

Cutt A series of fast, loud, erratic single notes. It's a modified cluck and a distinct abrupt call. A cutt can be heard at great distances and is often used by a hen turkey on the prowl for a partner.

Decoys They come in several styles, ranging from photo-image silhouettes to foldouts and inflatables. A typical decoy setup includes a pair of hens and a single jake. Be sure to check with state regulations to make sure they are legal.

Diaphragm (or mouth) call One of the more difficult calls to learn to use. It is also the most common because of its effectiveness and hands-free operation. The call is simply a small horseshoe-shaped frame, wrapped in tape with latex stretched across the opening of the frame. Many turkey sounds can be made by holding the call in the roof of the mouth and exhaling air between the call and the tongue. A caller uses his or her tongue to adjust pressure and alter the sounds of the call.

Dogs Dogs are used to hunt turkeys in the fall in states where it's legal. Any breed that can cover a lot of ground, bark on the flush then sit still while a hunter works birds back in can be a turkey dog. Historically, hunters used a dog, called a feist. Once a dog finds a flock, its main job is to achieve a good scattering of birds.

Drag marks During the spring, gobblers put on a show to attract the attention of hens. They fan their tails out, drag their wings on the ground and take a series of steps in a display that's called strutting. The feathers on their wings leave marks on the ground when they strut. These marks look like someone drew a line in the sand. If you look, you might find these "drag marks" along sunlit roads and at the edge of fields.

Dusting Found in areas where mounds of dry sand, burned stumps or old rotted stumps are present. The turkeys lie on their breasts and kick dust and dirt on to their backs. The dust filters through their feathers, removing mites, lice and other parasites.

Eastern Wild Turkey The most common of the five subspecies. They are found throughout the Eastern half of the United States.

Feathers An adult turkey has between 5,000 and 6,000 feathers, which are a color combination of green, red, bronze, copper and gold. A gobbler is more colorful than a hen, which helps keep her camouflaged from predators and other dangers. Gobblers like to show off their tail feathers.

Feathers (as sign) If you find a feather, you can be sure a turkey was there. Feathers under a tree may mean turkeys spent the night roosted in that tree.

Flock A group of turkeys

Fly-down When a turkey flies down from a tree

Food Wild turkeys eat different things depending on the season. In summer, young turkeys, called poults, eat insects. Insects have lots of protein, which helps poults grow. Adults also eat insects as well as grasses, berries, young leaves, flowers and other green foliage. During fall and winter, wild turkeys eat more fruits and berries. They also like acorns, waste corn and pine seeds. They'll also look for waste grain in fields that have been harvested.

Foodplots You can attract turkeys by planting plots of corn, sorghum, chufa or millet.

Friction call As its name implies, this type of call uses a form of friction to make turkey sounds. Box calls use a lid, while a slate call uses a peg.

Gobbler Gobblers are the male wild turkey and are typically larger, darker and more shiny and colorful than hens. Their heads are especially colorful and can turn red, white and/or blue. One of the characteristics of a gobbler is a beard of modified feathers, which grows from their chest (some hens have these also). Gobblers also have long spurs, up to 2 inches long, growing from the back of their legs.

Gould's Subspecies of wild turkey that are found in central Mexico, southern Arizona and southern New Mexico.

Hen Hens, or female wild turkeys, are smaller and duller looking than the colorful gobbler. This allows them to sit on their nest without being seen by predators. Also, hens have more feathers on their head, which also helps them blend into their surroundings. While all gobblers have a beard, some hens have a beard, although it's rare.

Jake A gobbler less than a year old

Jenny A hen less than a year old

Lifespan A turkey is most vulnerable to predators and environmental elements during the first six weeks of its life. The average lifespan of wild turkeys is just under two years, but they've been known to live for over five years in the wild. The record is 17 years.

Merriam's This subspecies ranges along the Rocky Mountains and neighboring prairies of Montana, Wyoming and South Dakota, south into Arizona and New Mexico.

National Wild Turkey Federation In 1973, when the National Wild Turkey Federation was founded, there were an estimated 1.3 million wild turkeys and 1.5 million turkey hunters. Thanks to the work of wildlife agencies and the NWTF's many volunteers and partners, today there are more than 7 million wild turkeys and nearly 3 million turkey hunters. Since 1985, the NWTF and its cooperators have spent more than $230 million upholding hunting traditions and conserving more than 11.3 million acres of wildlife habitat. The NWTF is a nonprofit organization with 545,000 members in 50 states, Canada, Mexico and 14 other foreign countries. It supports scientific wildlife management on public, private and corporate lands as well as wild turkey hunting as a traditional North American sport. For more information on the National Wild Turkey Federation, call (803) 637-3106, check out our web site at www.nwtf.org or e-mail questions to nwtf@nwtf.net.

Nesting Hens actually nest on the ground. They pick places where they can hide among shrubs and other plants. They normally lay a clutch of 10 to 12 eggs during a two-week period. As soon as the young birds hatch after 28 days, they're ready to follow the hen to find food. By the time poults are two weeks old, they can fly up into low trees to spend the night.

Ocellated turkey A different species of turkey than the North American wild turkey (which is divided into five subspecies). It is found in the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico, northern Belize and the El Peten region of northern Guatemala. The bird is easily distinguished from its next of kin. The feathers of both males and females are a unique color combination of shimmering bronze and greens. Spots on the tail feathers are similar to a peacock's. Both sexes also have blue-colored heads that are covered with wart-like growths. They don't have a beard.

Osceola The subspecies of wild turkey found only on the Florida peninsula.

Predators Fox, skunks, snakes, bobcats, eagles, opossums, raccoons, coyotes, hawks and owls prey on wild turkey eggs and poults in their early stages.

Poult A turkey chick; term used to about six months of age

Purr Purring is a soft, rolling call turkeys make when they're content, like when feeding. This is not a loud call, but is good for reassuring turkeys as they get close to your position. May be loud and aggressive as gobblers fight.

Push-pin call A friction call that consists of a small box with a rod that is pushed or pulled to make turkey sounds. Not only is it one of the easiest calls to use, it is also effective. These calls are great at making basic yelps, clucks, and content and aggressive purrs. With one-hand operation, push-pins allow the hunter to minimize movement. Some models are also easily fastened to the barrel of your shotgun, then operated with your finger as you hold your gun.

Putt The putt is a single note, generally associated as an alarm. It can also be several notes delivered in a sharp or rapid fashion, which usually means they have seen or heard something they don't like.

Rio Grande This subspecies roams throughout parts of Texas and into Oklahoma, Kansas and Colorado. Also has been introduced into California, Oregon, Washington and some other western states.

Rocket Net A rocket-propelled net fired over flocks of turkeys to catch them for transferring. Roost Trees used for nighttime safety.

Roosting Flying up to an elevated perch at dusk to avoid ground predators.

Scat You can also tell whether the turkey in an area is a gobbler or a hen by looking at its droppings. Gobbler droppings are shaped like a "J" or a fishhook while hen droppings look like a spiral-shaped pile. If droppings are old, they'll crumble when you touch them with a stick. Fresh droppings are soft, which means a wild turkey was recently in the area.

Shelter Turkeys like places with lots of trees. Trees provide food and a place to sleep. Trees also provide turkeys a place to hide from predators.

Shock gobble Instinctive gobble in response to a loud noise such as a crow call or gun shot. Sign: Ways to tell a wild turkey has been in an area (See tracks, scat, droppings, drag marks and feathers.)

Size Male turkeys typically weigh 17 to 21 pounds, while females weigh 8 to 11 pounds.

Slate (or pot and peg) call This call consists of a small pot that acts as a sound chamber and is covered by a surface made of slate, aluminum, glass or other synthetic material. The pot is held in one hand, while a striker, also made of various materials including wood, glass and graphite, is drawn across the surface to make turkey sounds.

Space Most eastern wild turkeys live their entire lives within five miles of where they hatched. They usually don't move more than two miles a day. Sometimes they do get an urge to wander, and may roam 12 to 50 miles in a year. (This usually happens in the West.)

Spurs Jakes grow 1/2-inch or shorter spurs their first year. Two-year-old toms sport blunt spurs that are less than 7/8 of an inch. By age 3, spurs can become sharp, unless worn down by rock terrain. The Merriam's and Gould's subspecies tend to have shorter spurs than the other subspecies. Gobblers living in areas with sandy soil tend to sport the sharpest spurs.

Strut Mating display of the gobbler, head tucked to body, feathers erect, tail fanned, used to attract and impress hens.

Subspecies There are five subspecies of wild turkey in North America. (See Eastern, Merriam's, Rio Grande, Gould's and Osceola.)

Tracks You can tell which way a turkey was moving by looking at its tracks. You can also tell whether the turkey is a male (gobbler or tom) or a female (hen). A gobbler's toes are wider and the middle one is longer than a hen's. (The middle toe is around 4-inches-long.)

Tube call A small tube covered on one end by latex, these calls were once crafted by hunters using old pill bottles.

Vocalizations Turkeys have 28 different calls. For example, males gobble; females yelp and cluck. Visit nwtf.org to hear a sample of turkey sounds.

Water They drink from streams, ponds, and manmade watering holes. Young turkeys also get water from the insects they eat. You will not find turkeys far from a permanent water source.

Wild turkey release At one time, wild turkeys almost disappeared from North America. Thankfully, biologists learned how to catch wild turkeys in areas where there were a lot of them and let them go in places where there weren't any. By doing this, state and provincial wildlife agencies, hunters and the NWTF helped build wild turkey populations to more than 7 million birds.

Wingbone call Native Americans created this call more than 4,000 years ago. Made by joining the small bones of a wild turkey's wing together, the call makes sounds by drawing air through the hollow bones.

Yelp The yelp sounds almost like it's spelled. It is often delivered in a series of single-note vocalizations and can have different meanings.

To receive more spring tips for the best hunting tactics or improving your land for more wildlife, click here or call the NWTF at 1-800-THE-NWTF.