Kevin the turkey blamed for campaign of mass pecking violence

November is usually a bad time of year to be a turkey in the US, with 46 million of them ending up on dinner tables across the country for Thanksgiving.

But in Massachusetts, there is a small pocket of resistance, as a gang of fearsome fowl led by a bird named Kevin, is terrorising locals with pecking attacks, loud clucking and two-legged pursuits.

Residents of Woburn, a town of 40,000 people, have at times been forced to stay inside their homes or vehicles as the marauding group of five wild turkeys terrorise the neighbourhood.

“It started with one turkey. His name is Kevin. I named him,” Meaghan Tolson of Nashua Street told NBC.

“Kevin is the most aggressive,” she added.

“Even if you are parked, Kevin will try to get in your car.

“You have to open your passenger side door and lure them over there, then make a clean break to the house.”

The other turkeys are female and have been given the names Monica, Esther, Patricia and Gladys.

“I feel like Kevin kind of hypes them up, and Kevin is like ‘Let’s chase these people’, and they’re like, ‘Let’s do it’,” Ms Tolson told NBC.

The turkey gang even has its own Twitter account, with the tagline: “Fighting back against Massachusetts humans since the Pilgrims started this war.”

Posts are often lighthearted and in response to sightings in the area.

Irene Soto Marin, an assistant professor of classics at Harvard University, posted a picture of several birds perched on a bench, saying: “Campus turkeys making themselves a little too visible this close to Thanksgiving.”

The response: “Campus humans better back off.”

Many videos are posted online, including by Ms Tolson, showing the birds gobbling away at front doors or pecking in front gardens.

On Nashua Street, neighbours said they had “crazy stories to tell”.

“They’re up at 6am on my lawn and start chasing us, trying to pop the tyres. It’s wild,” Devin Farren told NBC.

“We were honking at them, and they don’t care,” said Rachel Dabriel. “They have some serious personalities.”

While the locals cannot pinpoint exactly when the feathered foes started to become a nuisance, experts say that the influx was likely caused by some residents feeding the birds.

Dave Scarpitti, a turkey and upland game project leader with Mass Wildlife, told CBS that feeding the birds could convince them that humans are part of their flock, and even cause them to try and establish dominance over them.

“Turkey behaviour starts to kick in where they become so habituated with people that they are not really seeing the distinction,” Mr Scarpitti said.

“It’s all about how they respond to the turkeys. If you run away, now you are subdominant. He just won that battle.”

Residents have resorted to tactics including wielding umbrellas and keeping their dogs close to fend off the invaders.

Ms Tolson is not entirely at her wits' end, though.

“They kind of grow on you a little,” she said. “Like when I don’t see him for a couple days, I’m like, ‘Oh no, did someone run Kevin over?’’’