What is the purpose of the beard on the turkey?

The “beard” of a turkey hangs down from the middle of the turkey’s chest. It doesn’t hang down from the turkey’s chin. Though that would be cool if it did. It looks like a long, skinny, long-haired tail. Like the tail of a horse if the horse were as big as a miniature poodle and the tail were on the front, not the back. Scientists call the “hairs” of the beard “bristles” or “mesofiloplumes” (“MEZ-uh-FILL-uh-ploomz”) — stiff, feather-like structures.

A male turkey, called a tom, starts to grow a beard at about 11 weeks old. The beard gets longer as the tom gets older. Sometimes it gets up to 12 inches long. It helps the tom attract females, or hens. A big, long beard means a big, strong tom. Or at least an older one. One that knows what it takes to survive, to not get eaten by a fox or an owl, and live to a long-bearded age. Hens dig that.

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