The wings are relatively small, as is typical of the galliform order, and the wingspan ranges from 1.25 to 1.44 m (4 ft 1 in to 4 ft 9 in). Per two large studies, the average weight of adult males is 7.6 kg (17 lb) and the average weight of adult females is 4.26 kg (9.4 lb). The adult female (or 'hen') is typically much smaller at 2.5–5.4 kg (5.5–11.9 lb) and is 76 to 95 cm (30 to 37 in) long. The adult male (or 'tom') normally weighs from 5 to 11 kg (11 to 24 lb) and measures 100–125 cm (39–49 in) in length.

Approximately 10% of females have a beard, usually shorter and thinner than that of the male. Beards grow continuously during the turkey's lifespan and a one-year-old male has a beard up to 5 in (13 cm) long. Males typically have at least one 'beard', a tuft of coarse hair-like filaments ( mesofiloplumes), growing from the center of the breast. Tail feathers are of the same length in adults, different lengths in juveniles. The primary wing feathers have white bars. Parasites can dull coloration of both sexes in males, coloration may serve as a signal of health. Females, called hens, have feathers that are duller overall, in shades of brown and gray. In contrast to the majority of other birds, they are colonized by bacteria of unknown function ( Corynebacterium uropygiale).

The preen gland ( uropygial gland) is also larger in male turkeys compared to female ones.

The male is substantially larger than the female, and his feathers have areas of red, purple, green, copper, bronze, and gold iridescence. As with many other species of the Galliformes, turkeys exhibit strong sexual dimorphism. Male turkeys have a long, dark, fan-shaped tail and glossy bronze wings.

Featherless turkey coloring pages