Turkey Vision

"In Maine, our fall turkey season overlaps our firearms season for deer and moose. Maine has a “hunter orange” safety regulation that requires anyone hunting any species (except waterfowl) with a firearm to wear two articles of hunter orange clothing during the deer season and one during the moose season. Can turkeys detect the color orange?" — Question submitted via email.

The short answer to your question is, “Yes, wild turkeys can detect the color orange.” The visual acuity of wild turkeys is legendary among turkey hunters. As is the case with other daylight active (diurnal) birds, color vision is one of their attributes. Color is important to most birds. If it were not, there would be little reason for many bird species to be so colorful. In the case of wild turkeys, head color and even the iridescence of their body feathers would serve little purpose.

Wild turkeys have vision comparable to that of humans and in some areas even better. For example, the rate of assimilation of detail is extremely rapid, enabling turkeys to detect movement much more quickly than humans can. Their vision is estimated to be three to four times more acute than ours.

Because the eyes of a wild turkey are located on the sides of the head, their vision is described as monocular periscopic. In other words, they can focus on different objects with each eye simultaneously. Their field of vision is about 270 degrees, but by turning their heads they can cover all the bases and head movement helps them to better judge distance. Human binocular vision enables us to judge distances simply by focusing on an object.

Structures within the eye called rods and cones are the source of color vision. Daylight active birds (and humans) have more cones than rods. Cones enable daytime vision and the ability to discern color. Rods enhance night vision. Neither wild turkeys nor humans have accurate night vision. Colored oil droplets in the cones and the number of cones within the retina affect color perception.

The bottom line is the structure of wild turkey eyes provides the birds with the ability to distinguish a range of color exceeding that of humans. Turkeys can probably see shades that we are not capable of seeing, and they are likely able to perceive colors in the ultraviolet range.

Hunter orange is not a color that is common to the natural world. Wild turkeys are not innately wary of hunter orange but a hunter exhibiting orange while calling turkeys will cause the bird to focus on the source of the call. The presence of orange items may cause the bird responding to calling to be more alert. Studies on the influence of blaze orange on spring turkey hunter success conducted in Virginia, Missouri and New Jersey indicated that the presence of orange clothing influenced hunter success more than any other variable tested.

Safety is paramount in any hunting situation. Concurrent fall turkey and big game hunting seasons may cause concern for wildlife agencies developing hunting regulations. A standalone fall turkey hunting season would be preferable to turkey hunters. However, there are only so many days in the fall calendar. Wildlife agencies do their best to provide opportunity to all hunters.