Before fighting, the initiating turkey tom provokes the opponent by standing in front of
him, raising his head and giving ‘fighting purrs’ (Healy, 1992). ‘Fights’ actually start when
the opponent is responsive and the two males face each other with raised heads, both giving
‘fighting purrs’. During the fight, opponents try to attack each other by pecking or leaping.
‘Fights’ end when one bird turns away from the opponent. When the opponent follows the
retreating bird and tries to attack it, a ‘chase’ starts. A ‘chase’ lasts till the persecutor stops
following the other bird and turns away. ‘Aggressive pecks’ are defined as pecks to the
head, neck or snood of the opponent. ‘Leaps’ are defined as leaping at the opponent’s
breast, extending the feet forward with the toes spread. ‘Aggressive pecks’ and ‘leaps’ were
also recorded when the birds were not fighting (80% of all aggressive pecks and 4% of all
leaps were observed in a non-fighting context). ‘Threats’ are defined as situations in which
the initiator stands with his head clearly raised in front of the recipient (who holds his head
at a lower level) and causes him to move away but does not physically attack or follow him.