Odd question but I know there must be someone here who knows.

[Doreen]

I was looking at the turkey that was pardoned. What is that long piece of skin hanging down on the turkey's beak and what is it for?

[captain queeg]

1. It's his Moscow Mitch disguise.

Sorry don’t know official name or function.

[MontanaMama]

3. That's called a snood.

The snood functions in both intersexual and intrasexual selection. Captive female wild turkeys prefer to mate with long-snooded males, and during dyadic interactions, male turkeys defer to males with relatively longer snoods.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkey_(bird)

the bigger the better in turkey world, I guess.

[Laelth]

4. Turkey chicks find it very attractive.

What other value it has, I do not know.



-Laelth

[unc70]

5. A wattle. Helps turkeys cool in hot weather

[magicarpet]

6. Info here,...

The one that flops over his beak is a snood. The red thing on his neck is a wattle. It’s just excess flesh that is typical in some breeds of birds.

More info at link below,...

https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-red-thing-on-a-turkey-s-neck-called

[lunatica]

7. It's that extra je non se qua

that makes the Turkey heads one of the best looking in the avian kingdom.