🐦 Ostrich vs Wild turkey 🦃
The ostrich is about twice as tall as the wild turkey. The wild turkey is a bit faster than the ostrich. The ostrich weighs about 10 times as much as the wild turkey.
| Row | 🐦 Ostrich | 🦃 Wild turkey |
|---|---|---|
| Top speed The wild turkey is a bit faster than the ostrich. | 43 mph69 km/h1 | 54 mph87 km/h2 |
| Weight The ostrich weighs about 10 times as much as the wild turkey. | 198 to 300 lb90 to 136 kg1 | 15 to 25 lb6.8 to 11 kg2 |
| Lives The ostrich usually lives about 9 times as long as the wild turkey. | 30 to 40 years30 to 40 years1 | 3 to 5 years3 to 5 years2 |
| Eats Both eat plants and animals. | seeds, grass, leaves, flowers and insects | acorns, nuts, seeds, berries and insects |
| Lives in They live in different kinds of places, so they would hardly ever meet. | the savannas and dry plains of Africa | forests and woodland edges across much of North America |
Which one? Ostrich or wild turkey
🏁 Who would win the race?
The wild turkey gets to the tree first. Over a short dash it is a bit faster than the ostrich. It isn't quite fair: the ostrich is running and the wild turkey is flying.
We only race. Real animals mostly avoid each other. A race is the only fair contest: who reaches the tree first, by top speed.
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The link carries only the two animals’ names: peabody.kids/animals/compare/ostrich-vs-wild-turkey
Where these numbers come from
- Smithsonian's National Zoo, Ostrich, checked 30 October 2026.
- Smithsonian's National Zoo, checked 30 October 2026.