Video: Michael Waddell Hammers Jet Black Osceola Turkey
OutdoorHub Reporters 04.01.19
Michael Waddell’s turkey hunting expertise is certainly nothing to shake a stick at. He’s hunted in numerous states and harvested countless numbers of birds over the years, but perhaps none as fascinating as the jet black Osceola turkey featured in this video.
Wild turkeys are notorious for strutting around and flashing their strikingly-colorful feathers, but this big ol’ gobbler caught Waddell’s attention for a different reason.
Osceola turkeys, also called the Florida turkey, is one of five subspecies of wild turkey in North America. According to Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, “the Osceola lives on the Florida peninsula and nowhere else in the world, making it popular with out-of-state hunters. It’s similar to the eastern subspecies (found in the Panhandle) but tends to be slightly smaller and darker with less white barring on the wings’ flight feathers.”
“It’s the black bars of the Osceola that actually dominate the feather. In conjunction, secondary wing feathers also are darker. When the wings are folded across the back, the whitish triangular patch formed is less visible on the Osceola. Osceola feathers also show more iridescent green and red colors, with less bronze than the eastern.
Or as Waddell says:
“Jet black Osceola.. I’m talkin’ about 3 o’clock in the morning black wings.”
