Wisconsin DNR identifies smoke-phase wild turkey in trail-camera photo

A smoke phase wild turkey with mostly white and light-gray feathers has turned up on a trail camera in Richland County, Wisconsin. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources shared the image and identified the unusual-looking bird as a naturally occurring color variation.

The photo came from a Snapshot Wisconsin trail camera, according to the DNR’s social-media post. Dark gray and black markings are visible on the turkey’s lower body, standing out against its paler plumage.

What is a smoke-phase wild turkey?

The DNR says a smoke-phase turkey has feathers with less of the usual brown and red pigment. The result is a bird that can look mostly white or light gray, with darker gray and black areas.

Wildlife biologists use “color phase” for irregular plumage linked to genetic mutations, the agency said. The DNR described the smoke phase as the most common of these variations.

The bird’s pale look does not mean it is a domestic turkey or a wild-domestic hybrid, according to the agency. The DNR said these genetic color variations occur naturally in fully wild turkey populations.

Other turkey color phases the DNR described

Smoke phase is not the only way a wild turkey’s feathers can depart from the familiar brown-and-bronze look. The DNR also pointed to erythristic birds, which have extra pheomelanin pigment and can appear mostly rusty red.

Melanistic turkeys, meanwhile, have excess eumelanin pigment and may look almost entirely black, the agency said.

The Richland County image was collected through Snapshot Wisconsin, a volunteer-based DNR partnership that monitors wildlife year-round through a statewide network of trail cameras. The agency says the project’s images provide data that can support wildlife-management decisions.

For this turkey, the camera caught a reminder that a bird can look far from ordinary while still being a wild Wisconsin turkey.

This story draws on original reporting from UPI.