Rugged, hilly terrain may have played a role in predator avoidance, in California, adding to their success. Their feeding habits are varied. Turkeys readily eat seeds, berries, leaves, mollusks, buds, acorns, pine nuts, and arthropods. A hen tending a brood will often bring her young to grassy opening during the summer to feed. The young are dependant on grasshoppers and other insects during the summer months for protein and these openings are relied upon for foraging.
Turkeys are polygynous with males gathering and defending harems of five or more females.
Turkeys are ground nesters. A female will lay between 8-15 buffy, spotted eggs in a shallow nest lined with grass and leaves concealed in thick grass or woody vegetation in or near a forest clearing. The nests are often near permanent water. Incubation takes 28 days. Within a few days of hatching the young are able to fly and soon begin roosting in trees to avoid predation.