Wild Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) Beard Bristles

In a typical manly fashion, male turkeys have beards. The beard consists of a tuft of coarse bristles (modified feathers) that grow from the center of their breast. Beards average 23 cm (9.1 in) in length! Occasionally, females will also have a beard, but it would be shorter than a male beard.

**I have a fairly large collection of natural curiosities and decided to share some on JungleDragon. I have been collecting bits of nature for years and also have many friends who have shared things with me. Everything in my collection was ethically collected/harvested/sourced and is cruelty-free.