I think ShallowRio's right, the pic is a little dark but it looks to me like you caught him in one of his "private times".

LOL!!!Good answers guys!!I've actually seen them do this on the roost before!You can call him a lazy strutter!!!

i think it's called masturbating........at least that is what i see the tamed wild gobblers do that my friend has.........

Thanks for the answers everyone.. I didnt have an idea what he was doing, but found it pretty interesting. I get some really neat pictures on my game cams, and it was no exception. Masterbating????[:-] Boy I never would have guessed that one!! lol

Called a longbeard,jake,and two hens in last year.They all laid down right out of range.So I clucked and the gobbler gobbled.He did this a few more times when I called.Eventually they turned and left.I've never seen them just lay down like that.
Oh yeah,later in the day the gobbler came back..his mistake.

LOL!! You guys have some good replies. I like the one that he's taking a squat.

Since it was in december when the pic was taken, maybe he's fluffling his feathers to stay warm. You mentioned that there was other turkeys around him at the time, so maybe he felt safe enough to do this????? My two cents on it. Either way, very unique photo for sure. Thanks for sharing.

Yes, I have seen this. It's a show of dominance. And yes, Turkeys will strut all year around, Just not nearly as much as they do in the spring. Sometimes it will be only the most dominant bird. If it is real cold they are less likely to strut because they lose alot of body heat when they open their feathers. Most people don't see all this because they are not in the woods during the winter months. I took this picture two days ago, the temp was only 10 above zero. Go to: www.pbase.com/mlo3135127

leave the bird alone! How else is he supposed to scratch his ass?

Mat

You got it.....
He was probably trying to remove a willnot. (like a dog on carpet)