It was a game of chicken.
A video of man being chased by a turkey in Dorchester on Saturday has gained thousands of views on social media.
Jeremy Harding, 32, started recording from his window on Savin Hill Avenue when he spotted the man getting out of his car to confront the brazen bird, which was blocking a line of cars.
The man approaches the turkey, making a series of aggressive gestures and shadowboxing in hopes of shooing it away. Once the bird reached the sidewalk, the man ran back to his car, with the turkey in hot pursuit.
Even as the man begins to drive away, the turkey circles his car.
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“The turkey did not back down — it just started going at him,” Harding said. “I don’t blame the man for running away.”
Harding posted the video Saturday on YouTube — fittingly titled “Man challenges turkey, loses.”
It’s not the first time Harding has seen drivers facing off with the birds, he said, although he had never seen someone actually get out of their car. That’s why he pulled out his camera.
“Usually people just lay on their horns, which does not work. The turkeys just don’t care at all. They just gobble right back,” Harding said.
A flock of about a dozen turkeys has been frequenting Harding’s neighborhood recently, almost always standing in the street, he said.
“A lot of people say, you know, they’re just waiting to cross the road,” Harding said. “I can tell you, as someone who lives at that intersection, that turkey has no interest in crossing the road. He’s hanging out there. "
Harding said he posted the video hoping others will find it as amusing he did.
“The guy who got out of the car took a boxing stance,” Harding said. “It was just kind of a bizarre thing to look out the window and see.”
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His advice?
“Just slow down, and it’ll move eventually on its own,” he said with a laugh.
Kate Armanini can be reached at kate.armanini@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @KateArmanini.