Turkey (bird)

This article is about the bird. For the country Turkey and other uses, see Turkey (disambiguation).

Turkey
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Wild Turkey, Meleagris gallopavo
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Galliformes
Family:	Phasianidae
Subfamily:	Meleagridinae Gray, 1840
Genus:	Meleagris Linnaeus, 1758
Species
M. gallopavo M. ocellata

A turkey is either one of two species of large birds in the genus Meleagris native to North America. Turkeys are classed in the order Galliformes. Formerly they were considered a distinct family, Meleagrididae, but more recently were reclassified as a subfamily (Meleagridinae) of the pheasants and their allies. Turkeys have a distinctive fleshy wattle that hangs from the beak, called a snood. As with many galliform species, the female is smaller than the male, and much less colourful. With wingspans of 1.5–1.8 meters (almost 6 feet), the turkeys are by far the largest birds in the open forests in which they live, and are rarely mistaken for any other species. The usual lifespan for a turkey is 10 years.

Species of turkey

A young Turkey

The two species are the North American Wild Turkey (M. gallopavo) and the Central American Ocellated Turkey (M. ocellata).

The modern domesticated turkey was developed from the Wild Turkey by the indigenous people of Mexico. The Ocellated Turkey was probably also domesticated by the Mayans. Turkeys were taken to Europe by the Spanish who had found them as a favorite domesticated animal among the Aztecs. Since the modern domesticated turkey is a descendant of the Wild Turkey, it is concluded that the Aztecs had chosen to domesticate this species rather than the Ocellated Turkey which is found in far southern Mexico. The Aztecs relied on the turkey (Mexican Spanish guajolote, from Nahuatl huexolotl) as a major source of protein (meat and eggs), and also utilized its feathers extensively for decorative purposes. The turkey was associated with their trickster god Tezcatlipoca [1], perhaps because of its humorous behavior, an aspect which it has retained up to the present. In Mexico today, turkey meat with mole sauce (mole de guajolote) is widely regarded as the official national dish [2].

Turkeys are widely hunted, particularly the Wild Turkey in North America. Unlike their domestic counterparts, the turkeys are wary and agile flyers.

Naming

When Europeans first encountered these species in the Americas, they incorrectly identified them with the African Helmeted Guineafowl (Numida meleagris), also known as the turkey-cock from its importation to Central Europe through Turkey, and the name of that country stuck as also the name of the American bird. The confusion is also reflected in the scientific name: meleagris is Greek for guinea-fowl.

The names for the domesticated Turkey in other languages also frequently reflect its exotic origins, seen from an Old World viewpoint, and confusion about where it actually comes from. The many references to India seen in common names go back to a combination of two factors: first, the genuine belief that the newly-discovered Americas were in fact a part of East Asia, and second, the tendency to attribute exotic produce to some particular place that at that time symbolized far-off, exotic lands. The latter is reflected in terms like "Muscovy Duck" (which is from South America, not Muscovy) and indeed was a major reason why the name "turkey-cock" was transferred to Meleagris species.

For names in other languages for the Wild Turkey, see list of names for the Wild Turkey.

Several other birds which are sometimes called "turkeys" are not particularly closely related: the Australian brush-turkey is a megapode, and the bird sometimes known as the "Australian turkey" is in fact the Australian Bustard, a gruiform. The bird sometimes called a Water Turkey is actually an Anhinga (Anhinga rufa)

Fossil turkeys

Many turkeys have been described from fossils. The Meleagridinae are known from the Early Miocene (c. 23 mya) onwards, with the extinct genera Rhegminornis (Early Miocene of Bell, U.S.) and Proagriocharis (Kimball Late Miocene/Early Pliocene of Lime Creek, U.S.). The former is probably a basal turkey, the other a more modern bird not very similar to known turkeys; both were much smaller birds. A turkey fossil not assignable to genus but similar to Meleagris is known from the Late Miocene of Westmoreland County, Virginia (Olson, 1985).

Wild turkey track, Georgetown, South Carolina

In the modern genus Meleagris, a considerable number of species have been described, as turkey fossils are robust, fairly often found, and turkeys show much variation among individuals. Many of these supposed fossil species are now considered junior synonyms. One, the well-documented California Turkey Meleagris californica, became extinct recently enough to have been hunted by early human settlers, though its actual demise is more probably attributable to climate change at the end of the last ice age. The modern species and the California Turkey seem to have diverged approximately one million years ago. Turkeys known only from fossils:

• Meleagris sp. (Early Pliocene of Bone Valley, U.S.)
• Meleagris sp. (Late Pliocene of Macasphalt Shell Pit, U.S.)
• Meleagris californica (Late Pleistocene of SW U.S.) - formerly Parapavo/Pavo
• Meleagris crassipes (Late Pleistocene of SW North America)

Wild Turkey

References

• Madge and McGowan,Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse ISBN 0-7136-3966-0
• "National Geographic" Field Guide to the Birds of North America ISBN:0792268776
• Olson, Storrs L. (1985): Section VIII.H.4.d. Meleagridinae. In: Farner, D.S.; King, J.R. & Parkes, Kenneth C. (eds.): Avian Biology 8: 118-119. Academic Press, New York.

Footnotes

Wild Turkeys may occasionally be found in urban areas.

See Also

Wild Turkey
Domesticated turkey

External links

• Turkey videos on the Internet Bird Collection
• Etymology of the word