Gobbler

"Stupid bird! Stay away from my berries!"

- Wilson

Gobblers are turkey-like creatures that feed on Berries and all Vegetables, including Mandrakes. They spawn by jumping out of Berry Bushes and will quickly devour any nearby berries, whether picked or still on the bush. There is a 1 in 10 chance after each berry the player picks that a Gobbler will appear; this includes underground bushes. Gobblers take two hits from the Ice Staff to be frozen and drop two Drumsticks when killed.

With normal damage modifier characters, they take 2 hits with a Spear and Bat Bat and 1 with a Tentacle Spike, Ham Bat, Thulecite Club, and Dark Sword to be killed.

Behavior
Gobblers will run toward, and attempt to eat, any nearby berries or dropped vegetables. They can quickly devastate berry farms. They will also eat dug-up mushrooms and Mandrakes, whether they are still planted or following the player.

Gobblers will run away when approached by the player or certain mobs. They are much faster than the player, making them near impossible to hit unless cornered. When left alone, they will slowly wander around searching for food. When found, they run towards it and consume it. At dusk and night, they will run to a nearby Berry Bush for cover to sleep. If, after a certain time, the Gobbler doesn't find cover, they will go to sleep on the ground. When timed right, it's possible to kill the Gobbler immediately after it falls asleep.

Gobblers will continue to spawn at dusk or night, but they will rush for a bush instead of eating berries. Because of this, it is advised to farm berries at dusk or night, since Gobblers will consume berries much quicker than the player can gather them.

Hunting
Gobblers will eat most vegetable and fruit foodstuffs (like Carrots, Corn, or Berries) left on the ground. When placed nearby a Gobbler, they will slowly walk to the foodstuff and consume it while completely ignoring the character. As long as the creature doesn't make it to the bait before being attacked, it won't run like normal. If it reaches the bait, the Gobbler will instantly take it and run away from the player. Gobblers are not picky and will also eat Red Mushrooms on the ground nearby. If the Gobbler eats three of these, it will die, as Red Mushrooms are highly poisonous, with a loss of 20 health per unit eaten.

Another method to kill a Gobbler is to use the Boomerang. Two hits are required to kill a Gobbler in this way (with the exception of Wendy, Wes, and hungry Wolfgang, which take 3 hits). After the first hit, Gobblers will not run away; this makes Gobblers easy targets for a second strike. They can also be chased into Tooth Traps, one hit killing them instantly. If one feels like purposely spawning Gobblers for its meat, a Tooth Trap placed in front of each bush in the farm is guaranteed to kill the Gobbler as soon as it pops out of the bush.

Another easy method of killing Gobblers is to Freeze them with an Ice Staff when they emerge from their berry bushes, then kill them while they're vulnerable. It will take roughly 2 spear strikes to kill the Gobbler while it is frozen.

If none of these options are available, Gobblers can be herded into confined areas such as walled pens where they will be forced into the range of melee weapons or into wild Marshes where they can be killed by Tentacles. If a Gobbler is not near a Berry Bush at night, will fall asleep. It should be noted, however, that after one hit they will wake up and run away—this makes landing the second melee strike difficult.

And one more easy way to kill a Gobbler is to lead it to a group of Frogs. Since frogs are aggressive, they will immediately attack the Gobbler(s). It takes about four hits to kill a Gobbler by using frogs, and like using ranged weapons, Gobblers do not respond when attacked, making them easy kills.

If all else fails, corner the Gobbler to the edges of the island, where the ocean meets the land. The only bad thing about this is that the Drumsticks that drop may fall into the ocean, losing them permanently.

Trivia

 * The Gobbler's sound was voiced by Matt, one of the developers.
 * In the "customize world" screen, the Gobbler is called "Perd". According to the programmer, Kevin, it originally stood for 'pig bird'.
 * Prior to the "Six Feet Under" update, the Gobbler dropped one Drumstick and one Morsel.
 * Gobblers were added in the "Enter the Gobbler" update. This was the first 'named' update. The rest had been simply called Revision #####.
 * Despite the fact that Gobblers don't retaliate when attacked, they have a damage value of 20 in the game code.

Bugs

 * If a Gobbler jumps out of or into a dead Bush, the Bush will appear fertilized. Hovering over the Bush with Manure can create a glitch (see Bush glitch image). Upon world reload, they will become properly dead. These visually glitched Bushes don't grow Berries.
 * If a Gobbler jumps into a Berry Bush at dawn, the Berries will disappear because the Gobbler ate them, but hovering the mouse over the bush shows the option for harvesting berries.
 * It you harvest a berry bush at or near dusk, a Gobbler may jump in and out very quickly, making the berries reappear for some reason, even though they were already harvested.  Despite this, the berries cannot be harvested a second time.