AGE AND GENDER CLASSIFICATION OF MERRIAM'S TURKEYS FROM FOOT MEASUREMENTS

Wild turkey sex and age information is needed to define population structure but is difficult to obtain. We classified age and gender of Merriam's turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo merriami) accurately based on measurements of two foot character- istics. Gender of birds was correctly classified 93% of the time from measurements of middle toe pads; correct classification of age and gender combined decreased to 78%. Measurements from the middle toenail to heel pad correctly classified gender 98% of the time; correct classification of age and gender of birds was 94%. An independent test of this technique on Merriam's turkeys from Colorado using measurements of the middle toe pads correctly classified the gender of Merriam's 99% of the time; gender and age combined were correctly classified only 50% of the time. Proc. Natl. Wild Turkey Symp. 7: 129-l 34.