The bird of the day for today was the runner up for the national bird of the United States. Benjamin Franklin wanted to wild turkey instead of the bald eagle.
When I was growing up in the Twin Cities, I never saw a wild turkey. They were even rare in far southern Minnesota. Through very successful reintroduction efforts (since 1971 according to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources), the wild turkey has spread across the bottom 2/3 of Minnesota. It is now a common bird.
The pictures of this wild turkey male were taken in the Twin Cities. There was a female nearby which he was trying to impress with this display.
