Turkey (bird)

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

A turkey is either one of two species of large birds in the genus Meleagris. Turkeys are birds classed in the gamebird order with fan-shaped tails and wattled necks. As with many galliform species, the female is smaller than the male, and much less colourful. With their wingspans of 1.5-1.8 metres, the turkeys are by far the largest birds in the open forests in which they live, and are rarely mistaken for any other species. A juvenile turkey is known as a poult. The males are commonly called toms and the females hens.

The 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. The Ocellated Turkey was probably also domesticated by the Mayans. It has been speculated that this species is more tractable than its northern counterpart, and was the source of the present domesticated stock, but there is no morphological evidence to support this theory. In particular, the chest tuft of domestic turkeys is a clear indicator of descent from the Wild Turkey, as the Ocellated Turkey does not have this tuft.

Turkey hunting is a popular sport in North America. Although often deemed foolish and easily confused, the turkey is a game animal of considerable cunning. Unlike its domestic counterpart, the wild turkey is an intelligent, clever bird and an agile flyer.

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 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.

Wild Turkeys may occasionally be found in urban areas.

The names for the Turkey in other languages also frequently reflect its exotic origins, seen from an Old World viewpoint, and confusion about where it actually comes from.

In Turkish the bird is called hindi which means "from & related to India"; likewise the French d'inde ("from India").
In Maltese it is called dundjan (pronounced doonDYAHN), another, maybe not so obvious, reference to India.
In Hebrew the turkey is called tarnegol hodu (תרנגול הודו), which literally means "Indian chicken" Coincidentally, the Hebrew word for India (hodu) is a homonym for "thanks," contributing to a popular misconception that the word's etymology connotes "Thanksgiving chicken."
In Russian it is called indiuk (индюк), and in Yiddish indik (אינדיק), both relating to India.
In Catalan it is called gall dindi, literally meaning "Indian chicken"
The Dutch word is kalkoen derived from the city Calicut in India, likewise Danish and Norwegian kalkun, and Swedish kalkon, as well as in Papiamento kalakuna.
In Portuguese the word for turkey is peru which also refers to the country Peru.
In Arabic it is called deek roumi (ديك رومي) meaning Roman Rooster or, less commonly, "Ethiopian bird."
In Colloquial Egyptian Arabic it is called the "Greek Bird"
In Greek it is gallopoula which means "French girl" or "French bird"
In Scottish Gaelic it is called cearc frangach, meaning "French chicken".
In Italian it is called "tacchino".
In Japan the turkey is called shichimencho (七面鳥) and in Korea chilmyeonjo, both of which translate as "seven-faced bird". This is said to reflect the ability of the bird, particularly the male, to change the form of its face depending on its mood.
In Chinese it is called huoji (火鸡) which means "fire chicken", named after the color of the head.
In the Malay language of Malaysia it is called ayam belanda which literally means "Dutch chicken".
In Bahasa Indonesia it is called Kalkun and derived from Dutch word kalkoen
In Spanish, it's called Pavo or Guajolote

Wild turkey track, Georgetown, SC

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. Turkeys also have snoods, the flap of skin that hangs from their beaks.

External links

[Turkey videos] on the Internet Bird Collection
[Etymology of the word]

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Turkey (bird)

Naming

See also

External links