Turkey Hearing

[g8rvet]

Not to be too skeptical about it, but my first question would be "by what means did they discover this phenomenon?"     

Second thing based on my own personal experience is that I am not completely sold on the concept that a turkey can pinpoint where sounds are coming from with the precision that seems to be commonly accepted as fact. I have had plenty of encounters where gobblers I was calling had to be "redirected" a bit while on their way to me. In my experience, they seem to get off course pretty often.

Of course, I am sure some of that has to do with how far away they are when that calling connection is made. Around here, it is not unusual to make that connection from many hundreds of yards away...or further. No doubt, however, that there is a point where they pretty much have you pinpointed. 

I would assume one of two ways.  Dissection of the head to see how the nerve fibers run to a certain part of the brain
and/or
an encephalogram with audio input into each ear to see which region of the brain responds.  I lean to this one as that is the only definitive way to test hearing in an animal. Known as a BAER ( Brainstem Auditory Evoked Response) test. 

[Marc]

I believe I have had birds both hear and see me blinking....

I have had a number of times were I call to a distant bird, forget about it, relax against a tree to eat lunch or something, and then have a bird startle me to death by suddenly gobbling behind the tree I am sitting against...  It is the reason I wear brown pants turkey hunting.

[g8rvet]

Opening day this year, no gobbles on the limb so I worked my way into the swamp.  Slipped along and called. Stopped when I saw a sow and a couple of pigs.  Was standing and watching them and they were feeding my way.  I hit the slate and one gobbled about 150 yards and across a creek.  So i eased away from the hogs (worried they would spook the bird) and found a spot to sit I could see the creek. The gobbler proceeded to close the distance, gobbling to my sweet talk and walked right to the spot I had first called from when I struck him, within 5 yards of it and proceeded to strut and gobble for an hour straight right there.  Would NOT come the 50 yards to me.  If I had sat right down I would have killed him. He got bored and walked away.  Could not every get back in front of him. 

[Will]

If turkeys could smell we wouldn't stand a chance!

[Tom007]

Thanks Greg, great info!

[Ihuntoldschool]

If you're having to "redirect" the turkey coming to your calling it's not because he doesn't know where you are.  He knows.