I love following drainages out of the mountains and across the deserts, observing all the plants and animals that follow them as well. Do I always tell you that? Having wild turkeys come out of the nearby mountains and wander by our little homestead reminded me about the magic of canyons and arroyos that cross our deserts.
The reintroduction of the Gould’s turkey into the mountain ranges of southeastern Arizona began in the early 1980s and continued through the 1990s. There were failures and successes, but now a days you can’t go into the woodlands or forest of the borderlands without seeing turkeys. Success!
The scientific name for the Gould’s turkey is Meleagris gallopavo mexicana. I’m suggesting perhaps a new subspecies name. Instead of mexicana, how about ubiquiticola? It’s from the Latin: ubique for everywhere and cola for inhabitant. So hey, “present everywhere inhabitant.” Yay!
The photos are mine and taken in the nearby forest.
