Re: Ah ha! That's where therizinosaurs came from

[Don Ohmes <d_ohmes@yahoo.com>]

On 8/16/2011 2:03 PM, Demetrios Vital wrote:
> Dear Mr. (Dr.?) Ohmes,
>
> Do you by chance have photos of the dead turkey, or were you able to observe 
> whether the hallux was involved in the grip?

Just "Mr.", or "Don", and in some cases unprintables, but thanks.

No photos -- it is just my observation, which necessarily makes it a 
mere anecdote to you.

The height was around 8-9m (est), so I do not know exactly the toe 
orientation. Both feet clearly seemed attached to the branch, which 
makes a foot-caught-in-fork scenario seem unlikely, but there was no 
close examination. I assume the branch diameter is critical -- I 
estimate 3 cm from memory...

Yes, it is not uncommon w/ crows. This looked the same.

It should be noted that here in the SE US, turkeys roost in trees 
nightly, usually over or near water (i.e., in swampy areas).

They seem to prefer pines, the taller the better, and although the males 
will sometimes gobble on the roost until very late at night in the 
Spring, I have never seen a turkey off the roost at night, barring 
nesting hens.