I like big spurs way better than a big beard ~ but the interesting thing to me the first time I saw this bird - the beard was longer than most I have seen in my 25 yrs of hunting them.
The day before in the rain the beard was long and straight and rather thin. The picture (dang flash spooked it) was taken on a dry day and the beard looked a bit fluffier and had a curl to the end. That picture was taken from inside looking out my kitchen window. The fence is a dog kennel and the bird is approx. 50 yards away. There are 3 jakes but they are hard to pick out. One has its back to you and is next to the pine tree.
JW