Merriams and Rio’s

[DoubleDropMuley]

Any of you experts have any fool proof ways to tell the difference, been looking at pics trying to tell the diff but some look like the other on my guess! And if hybrid how do you classify, whatever characteristics are stronger? Thanks if anyone can help a beginner Turkey hunter

 

[ScottR]

I believe @THelms might be the guy to ask on this one.

 

[DoubleDropMuley]

I believe @THelms might be the guy to ask on this one.

Thanks Scott!! @ScottR

 

[gonhunting247]

I think the Merriams have a much more pronounced color line on the tail. The white barring on the primary and secondary feathers is really clear. The Rios have a more cream colored (primary) tail and secondary feather color barring that seems to blend together with less pronounced lines. Not positive this is totally correct, but is kind of my understanding. I think all subspecies have a lot of variations though! It will be interesting what Todd has to say on this subject for me also!

 

[THelms]

I think the Merriams have a much more pronounced color line on the tail. The white barring on the primary and secondary feathers is really clear. The Rios have a more cream colored (primary) tail and secondary feather color barring that seems to blend together with less pronounced lines. Not positive this is totally correct, but is kind of my understanding. I think all subspecies have a lot of variations though! It will be interesting what Todd has to say on this subject for me also!

Yup... what he said. However, we had a strain of Easterns on our farm in Michigan that carried creamy colored tips as well. Lot's of variation in each sub-species.

 

[ScottR]

Yup... what he said. However, we had a strain of Easterns on our farm in Michigan that carried creamy colored tips as well. Lot's of variation in each sub-species.

Todd and I had a detailed discussion this subject a few seasons back on a hunt. I haven't hunted an Eastern yet, which brought us to the biological differences traits, etc.

 

[DoubleDropMuley]

Thanks guys, hoping to go after a eastern next spring, until then I’ll try and get my wife’s and mine 1st birds here in Wyoming. Headed out here Wednesday evening for a few days!! Hopefully this weather cooperates

 

[CrimsonArrow]

Yup... what he said. However, we had a strain of Easterns on our farm in Michigan that carried creamy colored tips as well. Lot's of variation in each sub-species.

We shoot a fair amount of easterns here in Central Minnesota that have the cream colored tail tips

 

[Hilltop]

We have a bunch of hybrids here in Nebraska. It's not uncommon to see everything from dark fan tips to pure white ones in the same flock. Not sure if you can really label them as a particular species here.

 

[THelms]

We need to start throwing up some pics of these birds!

 

[Hilltop]

 

[Hilltop]

Here is a triple my son got. Bird on the right had bright white tips while the others were different shades.

 

[Hilltop]

This one had really white tips... truly a mixed bag here in Nebraska.

 

[jimss]

Here's a map to give you started: https://www.nwtf.org/hunt/wild-turkey-basics/habitat

Many years ago turkeys were scattered across the mid west and west. Turkeys obviously moved with time and it's getting tougher and tougher to find pure strains. Unfortunately Western states didn't stay consistent releasing pure merriams or rios so many are hybrids. There tend to be a lot of hybrids in areas with adjacent merriams/rios or rios/easterns, etc. As an example, here in Colo rios are generally found along the river bottoms east of the Rocky Mtns and merriams in the mountains. Along the Front Range and eastern plains of Colo almost all of the turkeys are rio-merriam crosses.

With that said, some areas across the US you'll stand a better chance of getting pure strains of merriams or rios. You may want to to some research if you want pure strains of a turkey slam.

 

[THelms]

View attachment 34388

YESSS!!