Turkey

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Turkey is a large bird in the genus Meleagris gallopavo, which is native to the Americas. One species, Meleagris gallopavo commonly known as the domestic turkey or wild turkey, is native to the forests of North America, mainly Mexico and the United States. Males of the species have a distinctive fleshy wattle called a snood. As in many galliformes, the male is larger and more colorful than the female. Turkeys are in the family of Phasianidae (pheasants, partridges, francolins, junglefowl, grouse…). Europeans first encountered turkeys in America and they incorrectly identified the birds as a type of guineafowl that is a members of a group of birds which were thought to typically come from the country of Turkey. The name of the North American bird became “turkey fowl” and later shortened to “turkey”. The wild male turkey is roughly 50in. long and weighs about 22lb, though average weigh less. The female turkeys weigh only half as much as the males. Domesticated strains can be much heavier.