Bronzato comune

Geographic origin: Veneto

Geographic distribution: Veneto

Estimated total population size: 445 (Castillo et al., 2021)

Extinction risk status (FAO, 1998): Threatened conserved

Any other specific information: Very good brooding aptitude

Historical origin of the breed

Bronzato comune is an ancient breed from the Veneto region, locally widespread and successfully exploited for biological productions, as it easily adapts to natural breeding.
Today turkeys derive from wild turkeys of the Meleagris genus, domesticated by Aztec people and brought to Spain from the Americas at the beginning of the XVI century (bronze turkeys with white in tail, Meleagris gallopavo gallopavo). From Spain, turkeys quickly spread throughout Europe in several newly-selected colours, and then went back to north-America at the beginning of the XVII century with colonists. At present, bronze turkeys are included in several European countries’ standards (e.g. Italy, UK, Germany).

Bibliography

Lehner F (2022) Turkey color genetics.
British Poultry Standards. Sixth Edition. Blackwell Publishing

Pictures from the archives of Prof. Gabriele Baldan and Prof. Massimo De Marchi

Bronzato comune – male (UniPD)

Bronzato comune – female (UniPD)

Qualitative morphological traits

Plumage colours: Bronze

Colour features: Single colour

Colour pattern: Breast, neck, and saddle brilliant black with intense iridescent bronze sheen. From the shoulders and back down to the tail, each feather has a bronze band with gold to purple-red luster extending across it near the end, the feather ending in a narrow velvet-black and dark brown-brown edging. Feathers on shoulders and on the sides of the breast show an intense velvet black edging, that can be dark brown in the female. Wings crossed with a broad olive-green band, feathers terminating with a brilliant velvet black band. Primaries grey-white, crossed with typical black bands. Main tail feathers broad, brown-black with black bands and one-two centimeters-wide barring followed by dark-grey to golden-black edging. Tail coverts with a bronze band across the feathers. Feathers of the legs black, bronze on the end with a velvet black edging, that is dark brown in the female. Black down.

Chick plumage pattern: Straw yellow

Head: Free from feathers in the male, slightly feathered in the female, with a fleshy protruberance, and red caruncles

Face: Free from feathers, bluish-red

Neck: Free from feathers

Caruncles: Well-developed, spread on the head and on the part of the neck free from feathers; the colour is bluish-red, changeable with excitement.

Throat wattle colour: Red, fleshy

Iris colour: Dark

Beak colour: Horn; strong and long

Skin colour: White

Shank colour: Dark brown in the young, pink to flesh coloured in the adult

Shank feathering: Free from feathers

Other specific and distinct visible traits: Spurs very developed in the male