The kind of food, cover and water present in an area determines the suitability of that habitat for turkeys. Different foods are preferred during the four seasons. Turkeys may use different areas in the winter than they do during the spring and summer.

Because food plants are distributed variably throughout turkey range, principal foods are given here as generalities.

Principal Foods During the Four Seasons

Winter	Spring	Summer	Fall
Acorns	Acorns	Grass, leaves	Sedges
Grass, sedge	Grass, sedge	Blackberries	Acorns
Corn	Corn	Acorns	Insects
Wild grapes	Beechnuts	Wild cherries	Beechnuts
Dogwoods	Burdock	Huckleberries	Wild grapes
Sumacs	Ferns	Bristle grasses	Wheat
Beechnuts	Non-woody legumes	Blueberries	Corn
Honeysuckle	Wild grapes	Wild grapes	Insects
Wild cherries	Insects	Black gum	Hawthorn
Insects		Buckwheat	Buttercup
Hawthorns		Sedges	Wild rye
Persimmons			Hornbeam
			Violets

By learning to recognize preferred foods, the turkey hunter can better identify where turkeys might be found. The amount of birds in a spring flock is a reflection of quality of habitat and the weather during the previous spring. Heavy spring rains and extended cold periods cause high polt mortality resulting In fewer jakes the following spring.