The Rio Grande turkey is slightly smaller than the Eastern turkey. The tom's tail fan is edged in light tan or buff. The rump is glossy black with the upper rump feathers (coverts) buff to cinnamon.

Rio Grande turkeys prefer the arid and brushy environments found throughout the Rolling Plains, Edwards Plateau, southern Post Oak Savanna and the South Texas plains, while eastern turkeys prefer ...

Eastern turkeys have darker colorations and are found mostly in East Texas, where were reintroduced beginning in the 1980s. The Rio Grande subspecies is abundant in Central, West and South Texas.

Currently, wild turkey populations are thought to be thriving in Texas, with an estimated 500,000 Rio Grande turkeys, 16,000 eastern turkeys, and a few hundred Merriam’s turkeys.

The eastern wild turkey is the most abundant and widely distributed of the four turkey subspecies. Here is a guide the eastern gobbler.

Eastern wild turkeys occupy the Pineywoods and Post Oak Savannah ecoregions of east Texas. The population is estimated to be 16,000 birds, which is significantly fewer than the Rio Grande turkey.

Rio Grande turkeys, native to dryer parts of Texas, were not as adaptable to East Texas as hoped. TPWD then attempted stocking eastern turkeys, there. This also failed to answer declining populations.

Hunters in Bastrop, Caldwell, Colorado, Fayette, Jackson, Lavaca, Lee, Matagorda, Milam and Wharton counties are required to report Rio Grande turkey harvests.

The standard reference for all subspecies--Eastern, Gould's, Merriam's, Florida and Rio Grande--The Wild Turkey summarizes the new technologies and studies leading to better understanding and ...

Texas’ wild turkeys can weigh between 16 and 18 pounds if they’re a Rio Grande turkey, or between 19 and 21 pounds if an Eastern and Merriam subspecies.

Rio Grande turkeys prefer the arid and brushy environments found throughout the Rolling Plains, Edwards Plateau, southern Post Oak Savanna and the South Texas plains, while eastern turkeys prefer ...