Turkey Tidbits: Is it a wattle a snood or a dewbill?
Turkey Trivia and ‘My Life as a Turkey’ Video (Full Episode)
I love birds — owls, hawks, pelicans, woodpeckers, titmice (or titmouses?), peafowl, chickens and even big ole goofy turkeys — I have a soft spot for ’em all. I also have an affinity for useful knowledge and useless trivia, so here’s my contribution to both on behalf of Meleagris gallopavo, otherwise known as The Turkey:
Did ya know?
- Our North American wild turkeys are the largest game bird in the world. They are omnivores, social, and quite intelligent.
- The turkey is actually a type of pheasant.
- Turkeys, both wild and domestic, are fluent in Turkey Talk. These birds produce at least 20 distinct vocalizations and communicate individually, as well as communally.
- A group of turkeys is correctly called a “rafter” or a “gang” — although “flock” is the more common slang term.
Turkeys nearly went extinct in the 1930’s — due in part to over hunting as well as the rapid destruction of their woodland habitat.
- Turkeys have 18 large quill feathers in their tail. Before ink pens were invented, these were once the most popular tool used for writing.
- A gang of turkeys can consist of toms, hens, poults, jakes and jennies.
- Turkeys show their emotions by the changing the coloration of their head and necks.
- Tom turkeys have beards that hang up to 10 inches below their chest — these are actually modified feathers that are course like horse hair.
The first President on record issuing a “pardon” to his turkey was Ronald Reagan, who pardoned a turkey named Charlie and sent him to a petting zoo in 1987.
- “Gobbler” is a nickname for all turkeys, however, male turkeys are the only ones who actually gobble.
- You can tell the sex of a wild turkey by the shape of its droppings.
- The U.S. has 4 Turkey Towns : There’s a Turkey, Texas and North Carolina; and a Turkey Creek, Louisiana and Arizona.
- Sesame Street’s Big Bird is actually dressed in dyed turkey feathers — about 4000 of them! According to an interview with the New York Times, the costume weighs approximately 15 pounds.
Ben Franklin wanted the Wild Turkey to be our National Symbol– he said that they were respectable birds and “though a little vain & silly, a Bird of Courage, and would not hesitate to attack a Grenadier of the British Guards who should presume to invade his Farm Yard with a red Coat on.”
- A wattle is the fleshy part that hangs down under a turkey’s chin, the snood (or dewbill) dangles across the top of his beak.
- Contrary to popular folklore, turkeys are quite intelligent. And no, they most assuredly do not hold their faces up and drown when it rains.
- The Wild Turkey and the Muscovy Duck are the only two domesticated birds native to the New World.
- Some Native American cultures considered turkeys the symbol for friendship and providence.
Male turkeys take themselves very seriously when trying to impress a mate. With head held high, he fluffs his feathers up, raises his tail in an impressive fan-like display and struts proudly around gobbling about how fantastic he looks! (Check out the attached video)
- The average life span of a domestic turkey, from birth to freezer, is 26 weeks. The average life span of a wild turkey is up to five years.
- Domesticated turkeys are too heavy to fly. Wild turkeys, however, can fly up to speeds up to 55 miles per hour. They can also reach speeds of 25 miles per hour on the ground.
- Americans eat over 600 million pounds of turkey each Thanksgiving.
- Turkeys bred commercially for Thanksgiving are prone to health problems associated with obesity such as heart disease, respiratory failure and joint damage.
Turkey fossils have been unearthed across the southern United States and Mexico, some of them dating from more than 5 million years ago.
Turkeys, along with other poultry, are not protected by the federal Humane Slaughter Act, and are frequently raised, handled and killed in very inhumane ways. If you plan to eat a turkey this Thanksgiving, please consider letting your turkey dollars support farms who practice cruelty-free methods of raising these magnificent birds! (Helpful links at the bottom of this article)
If you’d like to discover more about the intriguing life of wild turkeys, I highly recommend watching this fantastic documentary from PBS — “My life as a turkey” — based on Joe Hutto’s novel, Illumination in the Flatwoods: A season with the wild turkey.
“One man’s remarkable experience of raising a group of wild turkey hatchlings to adulthood”. You can watch the full episode here:
Local Harvest will help you find legitimate, organic food sources for your holiday meal. And you can visit Farm Sanctuary to learn more about turkeys — you can even adopt one of your own!
Visit CertifiedHumane.org for more information about purchasing humanely raised food animals, during Thanksgiving and throughout the year. You can download the Certified Humane App HERE.
