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I AM A TURKEY, WOOF WOOF WOOF
{{Taxobox
| name = Turkey
| fossil_range = Early ] to Recent
| image = Meleagris gallopavo Wild Turkey.jpg
| image_caption = ], ''Meleagris gallopavo''
| regnum = ]ia
| phylum = ]
| classis = ]
| ordo = ]
| familia = '''Meleagrididae'''
| familia_authority = ], 1840
| genus = '''''Meleagris'''''
| genus_authority = ], 1758
| subdivision_ranks = Species
| subdivision =
'']''<br>
'']''
<!-- | wikispecies = Meleagris | itis = 176135-->
}}

A '''turkey''' is either of two ] of large ]s in the ] '''''Meleagris'''''. One species, '']'', commonly known as the ], is native to the forests of ]. The other species, '']'', known as the ], is native to the forests of the ].

The ] is a descendant of the ] and features prominently in the Canadian and U.S. holidays of ].

Turkeys are classed in the ] ] of ]. Within this order they are relatives of the ]/] ] (]). Turkeys have a distinctive fleshy ] that hangs from the underside of the beak, and a fleshy protuberance that hangs from the top of its beak called a ]. With wingspans of {{convert|1.5|-|1.8|m|ft|lk=on}}, the turkeys are by far the largest birds in the open forests in which they live. As with many Galliform species the female (hen) is smaller than the male (tom or gobbler) and is much less colorful.

== History and naming ==
When ]ans first encountered turkeys in the Americas they incorrectly identified the birds as a type of ] (Numididae), also known as Turkey fowl (or Turkey hen and Turkey cock) from their importation to Central Europe through ], and that name, shortened to just the name of the country, stuck as the name of the bird. The confusion between these kinds of birds from related but different families is also reflected in the ] for the turkey ]: '']'' ({{polytonic|μελεαγρίς}}) is ] for guineafowl. The domesticated turkey is attributed to ] agriculture, which addressed one subspecies of ] local to the present day states of ] and ].<ref>C. Michael Hogan. 2008. </ref>

The ] also frequently reflect its exotic origins, seen from an Old World viewpoint, and add to the confusion about where turkeys actually came from. The many references to ] seen in common names go back to a combination of two factors: first, the genuine belief that the newly-discovered ] were in fact a part of ], and second, the tendency during that time to attribute exotic animals and foods to a place that symbolized far-off, exotic lands. The latter is reflected in terms like "]" (which is from South America, not ]). This was a major reason why the name Turkey fowl stuck to ''Meleagris'' rather than to the guinea fowl (''Numida meleagris''): the ] represented the exotic East.

The name given to a group of turkeys is a ''rafter'', although they are sometimes incorrectly referred to as a gobble or flock.<ref>Collins English Dictionary</ref>

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

==Flight==
While large domesticated turkeys are generally unable to fly, smaller, lighter domesticated turkeys known as heritage turkeys and wild turkeys can fly. In domesticated turkeys the ability to fly depends directly on weight, while even heavy adult wild turkeys can fly well enough to avoid predators by taking off and flying up to {{convert|100|yard|m}} and perching in tree branches. Turkey poults (chicks) cannot fly for the first two weeks after hatching.<ref></ref>

==Fossil record==
Many turkeys have been described from ]s. The Meleagrididae are known from the ] (c. 23 ]) onwards, with the ] ] '']'' (Early Miocene of Bell, U.S.) and '']'' (Kimball ]/] of Lime Creek, U.S.). The former is probably a basal turkey, the other a more contemporary 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 ].<ref>{{cite book |author= Donald Stanley Farner and Jamres R. King|title=Avian biology |publisher=Academic Press |location=Boston |year=1971 |pages= |isbn=0122494083 |oclc= |doi=}}</ref>
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 fossilized species are now considered ]s. One, the well-documented ] ''Meleagris californica'',<ref>
Formerly ''Parapavo californica'' and initially described as ''Pavo californica'' or "California ]"</ref> became extinct recently enough to have been hunted by early human settlers<ref>{{cite book |author=Jack Broughton|title=Resource depression and intensification during the late Holocene, San Francisco Bay: evidence from the Emeryville Shellmound vertebrate fauna |publisher=University of California Press |location=Berkeley |year=1999 |pages= |isbn=0-520-09828-5 |oclc= |doi=}}; </ref>
and it is believed its demise was due to the combined pressures of ] at the end of the ] and hunting.<ref>Bochenski, Z. M., and K. E. Campbell, Jr. 2006. The extinct California Turkey, Meleagris californica, from Rancho La Brea: Comparative osteology and systematics. Contributions in Science, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Number 509:92 pp.</ref> 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 leopoldi'' (Late Pliocene of Cita Canyon, U.S.) - formerly ''Agriocharis''
*''Meleagris progenes'' (Rexroad Late Pliocene, Meade County, U.S.) - formerly ''Agriocharis'' -->
*''Meleagris'' sp. (Late Pliocene of Macasphalt Shell Pit, U.S.)
<!-- *''Meleagris anza'' (Early Pleistocene of San Diego County, U.S.) -->
*''Meleagris californica'' (Late Pleistocene of SW U.S.) - formerly ''Parapavo/Pavo''<!-- Auk62:596; Condor32:81; Condor38:249; Condor44:283 -->
*''Meleagris crassipes'' (Late Pleistocene of SW North America)<!-- Condor42:154; Condor96:577; RevMexCiencGeol20:79 -->

Turkeys have been considered by many authorities to be of their own family, the ''Meleagrididae'' but a recent genomic analyses of a ] groups turkeys in the family ].<ref name=Jan>{{cite journal | author = Jan, K. | coauthors = Andreas, M.; Gennady, C.; Andrej, K.; Gerald, M.; Jürgen, B.; Jürgen, S. | year = 2007| title = Waves of genomic hitchhikers shed light on the evolution of gamebirds (Aves: Galliformes) | journal = BMC Evolutionary Biology | url = http://www.doaj.org/doaj?func=abstract&id=242693 | accessdate = 2008-02-15| doi = 10.1186/1471-2148-7-190| volume = 7| pages = 190}}</ref>

==Footnotes==
{{reflist}}

==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
* Porter, W. F. (1994). Family Meleagrididae (Turkeys). Pp.364–375 in; del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A. & Sargatal, J. eds. Handbook of the Birds of the World, Vol. 2. New World Vultures to Guineafowl. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. ISBN 8487334156

==External links==
{{commons|Meleagris gallopavo|Turkey (bird)}}
* on eNature.com
* on the Internet Bird Collection
*

{{North American Game}}

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Revision as of 22:16, 27 September 2009

I AM A TURKEY, WOOF WOOF WOOF