She’s gobbling up city life.
A rare wild turkey was spotted strutting her stuff around Manhattan Wednesday — dodging traffic and roosting in a tree after an epic journey across the East River from Queens, sources said.
The brassy bird spent a full day foraging for food in the urban jungle, near 49th Street and Madison Avenue beginning Tuesday — causing onlookers to squawk with confusion and delight, according to footage and local birders.
“It’s so extremely uncommon for a turkey to be in a place like Manhattan,” said David Barrett, who runs a popular birding account on X.
“This is a healthy bird that can fly 40 or 50 miles an hour. She won’t be easy to catch,” said Barrett, who filmed footage of the feathered critter. “She’s a survivor.”
The gutsy gobbler was first reported high-tailing it around Long Island City on May 2 via the bird tracking database ebird.org, Barrett said.
Despite only being able to fly short distances, she miraculously made it three miles across the East River before strolling into Midtown — where she was caught on camera weaving around traffic in a busy crosswalk next to a construction site.
“There’s a traffic risk, but so far she’s doing well, she’s staying on sidewalks and off of streets,” Barrett said. “A rescue may be needed if she can’t make it to Central Park for food.”
He said the turkey may have walked across the Queensboro Bridge or used Roosevelt Island as a flyover “stopping off point” from Queens.
Once in the Big Apple, she perched on several planters, drank water and munched blueberries provided by bird buffs at Fasano Restaurant on 49th Street.
“If we rolled the blueberries towards her, she would gobble them up quite delightedly,” said Barrett, adding that food sources were scarce for the bird.
At sunset, she flew over 49th Street into a tree, where she spent the night roosting without sparking fowl play.
“Turkeys have a reputation for being irritable but this turkey is mellow, and seems to be relaxed,” Barrett said. “It’s a special treat for Manhattanites to have a turkey. It’s a connection with the wild.”
Turkeys can survive in Manhattan greenspaces such as Central or Battery parks, where they are able to forage for insects and acorns.
Between 2003 and 2014, a wild turkey named Zelda famously lived in Battery Park. A turkey hasn’t been spotted in Central Park since 2017.
A rep from Animal Care Centers of NYC said the agency had no plans Wednesday to bag the bird.
Animal control generally prioritizes rescuing animals in New York City that pose a threat to people or themselves.
