Turkey (bird)

North American genus of large birds

This article is about all species of turkey. For its meat, see Turkey meat. For other uses, see Turkey (disambiguation).

Turkey

Temporal range: 23–0 Ma

PreꞒ

Early Miocene – Recent

A male wild turkey strutting
Scientific classification
Kingdom:  | Animalia
Phylum:  | Chordata
Class:  | Aves
Order:  | Galliformes
Family:  | Phasianidae
Subfamily:  | Phasianinae
Tribe:  | Tetraonini
Genus:  | Meleagris
Linnaeus, 1758
Type species
Meleagris gallopavo (wild turkey)

Linnaeus, 1758

Species

* M. gallopavo
* M. ocellata
* †M. californica
* †M. crassipes

Egg of wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo)

The turkey is a large bird in the genus Meleagris, native to North America. There are two extant turkey species: the wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) of eastern and central North America and the ocellated turkey (Meleagris ocellata) of the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico. Males of both turkey species have a distinctive fleshy wattle, called a snood, that hangs from the top of the beak. They are among the largest birds in their ranges. As with many large ground-feeding birds (order Galliformes), the male is bigger and much more colorful than the female.

The earliest turkeys evolved in North America over 20 million years ago. They share a recent common ancestor with grouse, pheasants, and other fowl. The wild turkey species is the ancestor of the domestic turkey, which was domesticated approximately 2,000 years ago by indigenous peoples. It was this domesticated turkey that later reached Eurasia, during the Columbian exchange.

A male ocellated turkey (Meleagris ocellata) with a blue head

## Taxonomy

[edit]

The genus Meleagris was introduced in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae.[1] The genus name is from the Ancient Greek μελεαγρις, meleagris meaning "guineafowl".[2] The type species is the wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo).[3]

Turkeys are classed in the family Phasianidae (pheasants, partridges, francolins, junglefowl, grouse, and relatives thereof) in the taxonomic order Galliformes.[4] They are close relatives of the grouse and are classified alongside them in the tribe Tetraonini.[5]

### Extant species

[edit]

The genus contains two species.[6]

Genus Meleagris  – Linnaeus, 1758 – two species  Common name  | Scientific name and subspecies  | Range  | Size and ecology  | IUCN status and estimated population

|
|
|
|

Wild turkey and domestic turkey

Male

Female named Zelda

| Meleagris gallopavo
Linnaeus, 1758

Six subspecies

* M. g. silvestris (Vieillot, 1817)
* M. g. osceola (Scott, 1890)
* M. g. intermedia (Sennett, 1879)
* M. g. merriami (Nelson, 1900)
* M. g. mexicana (Gould, 1856)
* M. g. gallopavo (Linnaeus, 1758)

| The forests of North America, from Mexico (where they were first domesticated in Mesoamerica)[7] throughout the midwestern and eastern United States and into southeastern Canada
| Size:

Habitat:

Diet:  |  LC

Ocellated turkey

Male

Female

| Meleagris ocellata
Cuvier, 1820 | The forests of the Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico[8]
| Size:

Habitat:

Diet:  |  NT

### Fossil species

[edit]

* Meleagris californica Californian turkey – Southern California
* Meleagris crassipes Southwestern turkey \- New Mexico[9]

## Names

[edit]

Plate 1 of The Birds of America by John James Audubon, depicting a wild turkey

The linguist Mario Pei proposes two possible explanations for the name turkey.[10] One theory suggests that when Europeans first encountered turkeys in the Americas, they incorrectly identified the birds as a type of guineafowl, which were already being imported into Europe by English merchants to the Levant via Constantinople. The birds were therefore nicknamed turkey coqs. The name of the North American bird may have then become turkey fowl or Indian turkeys, which was eventually shortened to turkeys.[10][11][12]

A second theory arises from turkeys coming to England not directly from the Americas, but via merchant ships from the Middle East, where they were domesticated successfully. Again the importers lent the name to the bird; hence turkey-cocks and turkey-hens, and soon thereafter, turkeys.[10][13]

In 1550, the English navigator William Strickland, who had introduced the turkey into England, was granted a coat of arms including a "turkey-cock in his pride proper".[14] William Shakespeare used the term in Twelfth Night,[15] believed to be written in 1601 or 1602. The lack of context around his usage suggests that the term was already widespread.[citation needed]

Other European names for turkeys incorporate an assumed Indian origin, such as dinde ('from India') in French, индюшка (indyushka, 'bird of India') in Russian, indyk in Polish and Ukrainian, and hindi ('Indian') in Turkish. These are thought to arise from the supposed belief of Christopher Columbus that he had reached India rather than the Americas on his voyage.[10] In Portuguese a turkey is a peru; the name is thought to derive from the country in South America 'Peru'.[16]

Several other birds that are sometimes called turkeys are not particularly closely related: the brushturkeys are megapodes, and the bird sometimes known as the Australian turkey is the Australian bustard (Ardeotis australis). The anhinga (Anhinga anhinga) is sometimes called the water turkey, from the shape of its tail when the feathers are fully spread for drying.[citation needed]

An infant turkey is called a chick or poult.[17][18]

## History

[edit]

"History of turkeys" redirects here. For the country's history, see History of Turkey.

Depiction of ocellated turkeys in Maya codices according to the 1910 book, Animal figures in the Maya codices by Alfred Tozzer and Glover Morrill Allen[19]

Turkeys were likely first domesticated in Pre-Columbian Mexico, where they held a cultural and symbolic importance.[20][21] The Classical Nahuatl word for the turkey, huehxōlō-tl (guajolote in Spanish), is still used in modern Mexico, in addition to the general term pavo. Mayan aristocrats and priests appear to have had a special connection to ocellated turkeys, with ideograms of those birds appearing in Mayan manuscripts.[22] Spanish chroniclers, including Bernal Díaz del Castillo and Father Bernardino de Sahagún, describe the multitude of food (both raw fruits and vegetables as well as prepared dishes) that were offered in the vast markets (tianguis) of Tenochtitlán, noting there were tamales made of turkeys, iguanas, chocolate, vegetables, fruits and more.[citation needed]

Turkeys were first exported to Europe via Spain around 1519, where they gained immediate popularity among the aristocratic classes.[23] Turkeys arrived in England in 1541. From there, English settlers brought turkeys to North America during the 17th century.[20]

### Destruction and re-introduction in the United States

[edit]

In what is now the United States, there were an estimated 10 million turkeys in the 17th century. By the 1930s, only 30,000 remained.[24] In the 1960s and 1970s, biologists started trapping wild turkeys from the few places they remained (including the Ozarks[24] and New York[25]), and re-introducing them into other states, including Minnesota[24] and Vermont.[25] Starting in 2014, researchers sent a survey to wildlife biologists in the National Wild Turkey Federation Technical Committee across the U.S. states to gather data regarding the population of turkeys. As of 2019, the wild turkey population declined by around 3% since 2014. Also as of 2019, the number of wild turkey hunters decreased by 18% since 2014 from the reports of the participating U.S. states. The 2019 data for population was missing information from 12 states and the 2019 hunter data was missing information from 8 states.[26]

In Brookline, Massachusetts, harming a wild turkey outside of the legal hunting seasons can lead to significant penalties.[27]

## Human conflicts with wild turkeys

[edit]

Turkey Sculpture outside Florida Ruffian School Brookline, MA

Turkeys have been known to be aggressive toward humans and pets in residential areas.[28] Wild turkeys have a social structure and pecking order and habituated turkeys may respond to humans and animals as they do to other turkeys. Habituated turkeys may attempt to dominate or attack people that the birds view as subordinates.[29]

In Brookline, Massachusetts, the 30,000 turkeys has become so prominent that the turkeys are considered the town's unofficial mascot. While some residents find them charming, others have experienced issues with aggressive behavior, particularly during mating season. Brookline has even installed turkey statues around town as part of a public art project. [30] In 2017, Brookline recommended a controversial approach when confronted with wild turkeys. Besides taking a step forward to intimidate the birds, officials also suggested "making noise (clanging pots or other objects together); popping open an umbrella; shouting and waving your arms; squirting them with a hose; allowing your leashed dog to bark at them; and forcefully fending them off with a broom".[31] This advice was quickly rescinded and replaced with a caution that "being aggressive toward wild turkeys is not recommended by State wildlife officials."[32]

## Fossil record

[edit]

A number of 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 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 Westmoreland County, Virginia.[8] In the modern genus Meleagris, a considerable number of species have been described, as turkey fossils are robust and fairly often found, and turkeys show great variation among individuals. Many of these supposed fossilized species are now considered junior synonyms. One, the well-documented California turkey Meleagris californica,[33] became extinct recently enough to have been hunted by early human settlers.[34] It has been suggested that its demise was due to the combined pressures of human hunting and climate change at the end of the last glacial period.[35]

The Oligocene fossil Meleagris antiquus was first described by Othniel Charles Marsh in 1871. It has since been reassigned to the genus Paracrax, first interpreted as a cracid, then soon after as a bathornithid Cariamiformes.

### Fossil species

[edit]

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

Turkeys have been considered by many authorities to be their own family—the Meleagrididae—but a recent genomic analysis of a retrotransposon marker groups turkeys in the family Phasianidae.[36] In 2010, a team of scientists published a draft sequence of the domestic turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) genome.[37] In 2023 a new improved haplotype-resolved domestic turkey genome was published, which confirmed the large inversion on the Z chromosome not found in other Galliformes, and found new structural variations between the parent haplotypes that provides potential new target genes for breeding.[38]

## Anatomy

[edit]

Anatomical structures on the head and throat of a domestic turkey. 1. caruncles, 2. snood, 3. wattle (dewlap), 4. major caruncle, 5. beard

In anatomical terms, a snood is an erectile, fleshy protuberance on the forehead of turkeys. Most of the time when the turkey is in a relaxed state, the snood is pale and 2–3 cm long. However, when the male begins strutting (the courtship display), the snood engorges with blood, becomes redder and elongates several centimeters, hanging well below the beak (see image).[39][40]

Snoods are just one of the caruncles (small, fleshy excrescences) that can be found on turkeys.[41]

While fighting, commercial turkeys often peck and pull at the snood, causing damage and bleeding.[42] This often leads to further injurious pecking by other turkeys and sometimes results in cannibalism. To prevent this, some farmers cut off the snood when the chick is young, a process known as "de-snooding".[43]

The snood can be between 3 and 15 centimetres (1 and 6 in) in length depending on the turkey's sex, health, and mood.[44]

### Function

[edit]

The snood functions in both intersexual and intrasexual selection. Captive female wild turkeys prefer to mate with long-snooded males, and during dyadic interactions, male turkeys defer to males with relatively longer snoods. These results were demonstrated using both live males and controlled artificial models of males. Data on the parasite burdens of free-living wild turkeys revealed a negative correlation between snood length and infection with intestinal coccidia, deleterious protozoan parasites. This indicates that in the wild, the long-snooded males preferred by females and avoided by males seemed to be resistant to coccidial infection.[45][46] Scientists also conducted a study on 500 male turkeys, gathering data on their snood lengths and blood samples for immune system functionality. They discovered a similar negative correlation. The presence of more red blood cells when the snood is not removed will help to fight off unwanted invaders in their immune system, explaining this trend.[47]

## Behavior

[edit]

A turkey in a petting zoo in Japan

See also: Wild turkey § Behavior

### Feeding

[edit]

Wild turkeys feed on various wildlife, depending on the season. In the warmer months of spring and summer, their diet consists mainly of grains such as wheat, corn, and of smaller animals such as grasshoppers, spiders, worms, and lizards. In the colder months of fall and winter, wild turkeys consume smaller fruits and nuts such as grapes, blueberries, acorns, and walnuts. To find this food, they have to continuously forage and feed most during the sunrise and sunset hours.

Domesticated turkeys consume a commercially produced feed formulated to increase the size of the turkeys. To supplement their nutrition, farmers will also feed them grains that wild turkeys eat, such as corn.[48]

### Grooming

[edit]

Turkeys participate in a number of grooming behaviors including: dusting, sunning, and feather preening. In dusting, turkeys get low on their stomach or side and flap their wings, coating themselves with dirt. This action serves to remove debris build-up on the feathers and also clog tiny pores that parasites such as lice can inhabit. Sunning for turkeys involves bathing in the sunlight, for their top and bottom halves. This can serve to liquidate the oil that turkeys naturally produce, spreading over their feathers and dry their feathers from precipitation at the same time. In feather preening, turkeys are able to remove dirt and bacteria, while also ensuring that non-durable feathers are removed.[49]

### Flight

[edit]

Though domestic turkeys are considered flightless, wild turkeys can and do fly for short distances. Turkeys are best adapted for walking and foraging; they do not fly as a normal means of travel. When faced with a perceived danger, wild turkeys can fly up to a quarter mile. Turkeys may also make short flights to assist roosting in a tree.[50]

## Use by humans

[edit]

See also: Domestic turkey and Turkey meat

A roast turkey surrounded by a Christmas log cake, gravy, sparkling apple cider and vegetables

The species Meleagris gallopavo is eaten by humans. They were first domesticated by the indigenous people of Mexico from at least 800 BC onwards.[51] By 200 BC, the indigenous people of what is today the American Southwest had domesticated turkeys; though the theory that they were introduced from Mexico was once influential, modern studies suggest that the turkeys of the Southwest were domesticated independently from those in Mexico. Turkeys were used both as a food source and for their feathers and bones, which were used in both practical and cultural contexts.[52] Compared to wild turkeys, domestic turkeys are selectively bred to grow larger in size for their meat.[53][54]

Turkey forms a central part of modern Thanksgiving celebrations in the United States of America, and is often eaten at similar holiday occasions, such as Christmas.[55][56]

### The Norfolk turkeys

[edit]

In her memoirs, Lady Dorothy Nevill (1826–1913)[57] recalls that her great-grandfather Horatio Walpole, 1st Earl of Orford (1723–1809), imported a quantity of American turkeys which were kept in the woods around Wolterton Hall[57] and in all probability were the embryo flock for the popular Norfolk turkey breeds of today.[citation needed]

## Gallery

[edit]

* Chan Chich Lodge area, Belize: the ocellated turkey is named for the eye-shaped spots (ocelli) on its tail feathers

* A male (tom) wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) strutting (spreading its feathers) in a field

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Linnaeus, Carl (1758). Systema Naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis (in Latin). Vol. 1 (10th ed.). Holmiae (Stockholm): Laurentii Salvii. p. 156\. Archived from the original on 23 August 2021. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
2. ^ Jobling, James A. (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. p. 248\. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.
3. ^ Peters, James Lee, ed. (1934). Check-List of Birds of the World. Vol. 2\. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. p. 139\. Archived from the original on 24 August 2021. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
4. ^ Crowe, Timothy M.; Bloomer, Paulette; Randi, Ettore; Lucchini, Vittorio; Kimball, Rebecca T.; Braun, Edward L. & Groth, Jeffrey G. (2006a): "Supra-generic cladistics of landfowl (Order Galliformes)". Acta Zoologica Sinica 52(Supplement): 358–361. PDF fulltext Archived 23 June 2010 at the Wayback Machine
5. ^ Kimball, Rebecca T.; Hosner, Peter A.; Braun, Edward L. (1 May 2021). "A phylogenomic supermatrix of Galliformes (Landfowl) reveals biased branch lengths". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 158: 107091. Bibcode:2021MolPE.15807091K. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2021.107091. ISSN 1055-7903. PMID 33545275. S2CID 231963063. Archived from the original on 14 July 2021. Retrieved 1 August 2021.
6. ^ Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (July 2021). "Pheasants, partridges, francolins". IOC World Bird List Version 11.2. International Ornithologists' Union. Archived from the original on 5 October 2021. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
7. ^ "Earliest use of Mexican turkeys by ancient Maya". ScienceDaily. Archived from the original on 23 September 2017. Retrieved 23 September 2017.
8. ^ a b Farner, Donald Stanley & King, James R. (1971). Avian biology. Boston: Academic Press. ISBN 978-0-12-249408-6.
9. ^ Tyrberg, T. (2008). The Late Pleistocene continental avian extinction—An evaluation of the fossil evidence. Oryctos, 7, 249–269.
10. ^ a b c d Krulwich, Robert (27 November 2008). "Why A Turkey Is Called A Turkey". NPR. Archived from the original on 11 April 2016. Retrieved 18 July 2016.
11. ^ Webster's II New College Dictionary Archived 17 March 2019 at the Wayback Machine. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt 2005, ISBN 978-0-618-39601-6, p. 1217
12. ^ Smith, Andrew F. (2006) The Turkey: An American Story Archived 15 July 2020 at the Wayback Machine. University of Illinois Press. ISBN 978-0-252-03163-2. p. 17
13. ^ "The flight of the turkey". The Economist. 20 December 2014. Archived from the original on 21 December 2014. Retrieved 22 December 2014.
14. ^ Boehrer, Bruce Thomas (2011). Animal characters: nonhuman beings in early modern literature Archived 15 August 2021 at the Wayback Machine. University of Pennsylvania Press. p. 141. ISBN 0812201361.
15. ^ Twelfth Night: Act 2, Scene 5 Archived 26 April 2021 at the Wayback Machine No Fear Shakespeare
16. ^ Dicionário Priberam da Lingua Portuguesa, "peru".
17. ^ Dickson, James G. (1992). The Wild Turkey: Biology and Management. Stackpole Books. p. 39\. ISBN 978-0-8117-1859-2.
18. ^ Damerow, Gail (15 January 2013). Hatching & Brooding Your Own Chicks: Chickens, Turkeys, Ducks, Geese, Guinea Fowl. Storey Publishing. p. 20\. ISBN 978-1-61212-014-0.
19. ^ Tozzer, Alfred M.; Allen, Glover M. Animal figures in the Maya codices. Archived from the original on 25 November 2021. Retrieved 25 November 2021.
20. ^ a b "Turkey." Britannica Library, Encyclopædia Britannica, 13 Feb. 2019. Accessed 25 May 2022.
21. ^ Nield, David (18 January 2018). "Study Shows That Humans Domesticated Turkeys For Worshipping, Not Eating". sciencealert.com. Archived from the original on 22 April 2021. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
22. ^ Andrew F. Smith. The Turkey : AN AMERICAN STORY. University of Illinois Press, 2006. (p. 5) Accessed 25 May 2022.
23. ^ Andrew F. Smith. The Turkey : AN AMERICAN STORY. University of Illinois Press, 2006. Accessed 25 May 2022.
24. ^ a b c Stanley, Greg. "The fall and rise of Minnesota's wild turkeys". Star Tribune. Archived from the original on 21 November 2022. Retrieved 21 November 2022.
25. ^ a b Abbott, Brianna (20 November 2018). "How Wild Turkeys Took Over New England". Archived from the original on 21 November 2022. Retrieved 21 November 2022.
26. ^ Chamberlain, Michael J.; Hatfield, Mark; Collier, Bret A. (2022). "Status and distribution of wild turkeys in the United States in 2019". Wildlife Society Bulletin. 46 (2). doi:10.1002/wsb.1287. ISSN 2328-5540. S2CID 248933133.
27. ^ "General Law - Part I, Title XIX, Chapter 131, Section 90". malegislature.gov. Retrieved 3 July 2025.
28. ^ Annear, Steve (24 April 2017). "MassWildlife warns of turkey encounters". The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on 16 April 2019. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
29. ^ "Preventing Conflicts with Wild Turkeys". Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Archived from the original on 5 September 2017. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
30. ^ D'Souza, Ashley (12 November 2024). "Brookline's turkeys, explained". Brookline.News. Retrieved 3 July 2025.
31. ^ Sweeney, Emily (25 August 2017). "Don't let aggressive turkeys bully you, Brookline advises residents". The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on 25 August 2017. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
32. ^ Sweeney, Emily (28 September 2017). "Brookline backs down: Don't tussle with the turkeys". The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on 28 September 2017. Retrieved 22 June 2022.
33. ^ Formerly Parapavo californica and initially described as Pavo californica or "California peacock"
34. ^ Broughton, Jack (1999). Resource depression and intensification during the late Holocene, San Francisco Bay: evidence from the Emeryville Shellmound vertebrate fauna. Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-09828-2.; lay summary Archived 24 October 2017 at the Wayback Machine
35. ^ Bochenski, Z. M., and K. E. Campbell Jr. (2006). The extinct California Turkey, Meleagris californica, from Rancho La Brea: Comparative osteology and systematics Archived 12 April 2019 at the Wayback Machine. Contributions in Science, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Number 509.
36. ^ Jan, K.; Andreas, M.; Gennady, C.; Andrej, K.; Gerald, M.; Jürgen, B.; Jürgen, S. (2007). "Waves of genomic hitchhikers shed light on the evolution of gamebirds (Aves: Galliformes)". BMC Evolutionary Biology. 7 (1): 190. Bibcode:2007BMCEE...7..190K. doi:10.1186/1471-2148-7-190. PMC 2169234. PMID 17925025.
37. ^ Dalloul, R. A.; Long, J. A.; Zimin, A. V.; Aslam, L.; Beal, K.; Blomberg Le, L.; Bouffard, P.; Burt, D. W.; Crasta, O.; Crooijmans, R. P.; Cooper, K.; Coulombe, R. A.; De, S.; Delany, M. E.; Dodgson, J. B.; Dong, J. J.; Evans, C.; Frederickson, K. M.; Flicek, P.; Florea, L.; Folkerts, O.; Groenen, M. A.; Harkins, T. T.; Herrero, J.; Hoffmann, S.; Megens, H. J.; Jiang, A.; De Jong, P.; Kaiser, P.; Kim, H. (2010). Roberts, Richard J (ed.). "Multi-Platform Next-Generation Sequencing of the Domestic Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo): Genome Assembly and Analysis". PLOS Biology. 8 (9): e1000475. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.1000475. PMC 2935454. PMID 20838655.
38. ^ Barros, Carolina P; Derks, Martijn F L; Mohr, Jeff; Wood, Benjamin J; Crooijmans, Richard P M A; Megens, Hendrik-Jan; Bink, Marco C A M; Groenen, Martien A M (12 December 2022). "A new haplotype-resolved turkey genome to enable turkey genetics and genomics research". GigaScience. 12. doi:10.1093/gigascience/giad051. PMC 10360393. PMID 37489751.
39. ^ ENature.com (2010). "Snoods and wattles? A turkey's story". Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 3 May 2013.
40. ^ Graves, R.A. (2005). "Know your turkey parts". Archived from the original on 23 November 2020. Retrieved 3 May 2013.
41. ^ Dickson, James G. (1992). The Wild Turkey: Biology and Management. Stackpole Books. p. 33\. ISBN 978-0-8117-1859-2.
42. ^ Boden, Edward; Andrews, Anthony (24 March 2017). Black's Student Veterinary Dictionary. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 235\. ISBN 978-1-4729-3203-7.
43. ^ Boden, Edward (1998). Black's Veterinary Dictionary. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 133\. ISBN 978-0-389-21017-7.
44. ^ Melissa Mayntz (28 August 2019). "The Turkey's Snood". The Spruce. Archived from the original on 25 December 2019. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
45. ^ Buchholz, R. "Mate choice research". Archived from the original on 16 January 2013. Retrieved 3 May 2013.
46. ^ Anne Readel (21 November 2022). "How Wild Turkeys Find Love". The New York Times. Retrieved 21 November 2022.
47. ^ Buchholz, R.; Jones Dukes, M. D.; Hecht, S.; Findley, A. M. (2004). "Investigating the turkey's 'snood' as a morphological marker of heritable disease resistance". Journal of Animal Breeding and Genetics. 121 (3): 176–185\. doi:10.1111/j.1439-0388.2004.00449.x. ISSN 0931-2668. Archived from the original on 7 March 2023. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
48. ^ "What Do Wild Turkeys Eat?". The Spruce. Archived from the original on 3 June 2023. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
49. ^ "Daily Rituals of the Wild Turkey - The National Wild Turkey Federation". www.nwtf.org. Archived from the original on 23 May 2024. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
50. ^ "Can Wild Turkeys Fly? (Height, Speed, Distance + FAQs)". BirdFact. Archived from the original on 18 May 2024. Retrieved 19 February 2023.
51. ^ Aslam, Muhammad L; Bastiaansen, John WM; Elferink, Martin G; Megens, Hendrik-Jan; Crooijmans, Richard PMA; Blomberg, Le Ann; Fleischer, Robert C; Tassell, Curtis P Van; Sonstegard, Tad S; Schroeder, Steven G; Groenen, Martien AM; Julie, A Long (2012). "Whole genome SNP discovery and analysis of genetic diversity in Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo)". BMC Genomics. 13: 391. doi:10.1186/1471-2164-13-391. PMC 3496629. PMID 22891612.
52. ^ Speller, Camilla F.; Kemp, Brian M.; Wyatt, Scott D.; Monroe, Cara; Lipe, William D.; Arndt, Ursula M.; Yang, Dongya Y. (16 February 2010). "Ancient mitochondrial DNA analysis reveals complexity of indigenous North American turkey domestication". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 107 (7): 2807–2812\. Bibcode:2010PNAS..107.2807S. doi:10.1073/pnas.0909724107. ISSN 0027-8424. PMC 2840336. PMID 20133614.
53. ^ "Amazing Facts About Turkey". OneKind. Archived from the original on 21 November 2016. Retrieved 24 December 2015.
54. ^ "My Life as a Turkey – Domesticated versus Wild Graphic". PBS. 14 November 2011. Archived from the original on 9 October 2019. Retrieved 27 December 2015.
55. ^ "Why do we eat turkey for Thanksgiving and Christmas?". Slate. 25 November 2009. Archived from the original on 7 October 2018. Retrieved 24 December 2015.
56. ^ "Why Do We Eat Turkey on Thanksgiving?". Wonderopolis. Archived from the original on 9 October 2019. Retrieved 24 December 2015.
57. ^ a b Nevill, Lady Dorothy (1894). Mannington and the Walpoles, Earls of Orford. With ten illustrations of Mannington Hall, Norfolk (PDF). London: Fine Art Society. p. 22\. Archived (PDF) from the original on 12 April 2019. Retrieved 2 December 2019.

## External links

[edit]

* View the melGal1 genome assembly in the UCSC Genome Browser
* Turkey at the Wikibooks Cookbook subproject

* v
* t
* e

Phasianidae

* Kingdom: Animalia
* Phylum: Chordata
* Class: Aves
* Order: Galliformes

Subfamily Phasianinae

| Tribe Lerwini|

| Lerwa|

* Snow partridge (L. lerwa)

|

Tribe Ithaginini|

| Ithaginis|

* Blood pheasant (I. cruentus)

|

Tribe Lophophorini|

| Tragopan|

* Blyth's tragopan (T. blythii)
* Cabot's tragopan (T. caboti)
* Western tragopan (T. melanocephalus)
* Satyr tragopan (T. satyra)
* Temminck's tragopan (T. temminckii)

|

Tetraophasis|

* Verreaux's monal-partridge (T. obscurus)
* Szechenyi's monal-partridge (T. szechenyii)

Lophophorus|

* Himalayan monal (L. impejanus)
* Sclater's monal (L. sclateri)
* Chinese monal (L. lhuysii)

Tribe Pucrasiini|

| Pucrasia|

* Koklass pheasant (P. macrolopha)

|

Tribe Meleagridini|

| Meleagris|

* Wild turkey (M. gallopavo)
* Ocellated turkey (M. ocellata)
* † Californian turkey (M. californica)

|

Tribe Tetraonini
Grouse|

| Canachites|

* Spruce grouse (C. canadensis)
* Franklin's grouse (C. canadensis franklinii)

|

Falcipennis|

* Siberian grouse (F. falcipennis)

Dendragapus|

* Dusky grouse (D. obscurus)
* Sooty grouse (D. fuliginosus)

Lagopus|

* Willow ptarmigan (L. lagopus)
* Red grouse (L. l. scotica)
* Rock ptarmigan (L. muta)
* White-tailed ptarmigan (L. leucura)

Tetrao|

* Western capercaillie (T. urogallus)
* Cantabrian capercaillie (T. u. cantabricus)
* Black-billed capercaillie (T. urogalloides)

Lyrurus|

* Black grouse (L. tetrix)
* Caucasian grouse (L. mlokosiewiczi)

Tetrastes|

* Hazel grouse (T. bonasia)
* Chinese grouse (T. sewerzowi)

Bonasa|

* Ruffed grouse (B. umbellus)

Centrocercus|

* Greater sage-grouse (C. urophasianus)
* Gunnison grouse (C. minimus)

Tympanuchus|

* Sharp-tailed grouse (T. phasianellus)
* Columbian sharp-tailed grouse (T. p. columbianus)
* Greater prairie-chicken (T. cupido)
* Heath hen (extinct)
* Attwater's prairie-chicken (T. c. attwateri)
* Lesser prairie-chicken (T. pallidicinctus)

Tribe Rhizotherini|

| Rhizothera|

* Long-billed partridge (R. longirostris)
* Dulit partridge (R. dulitensis)

|

Tribe Phasianini|

| Perdix|

* Grey partridge (P. perdix)
* Daurian partridge (P. dauurica)
* Tibetan partridge (P. hodgsoniae)

|

Syrmaticus|

* Elliot's pheasant (S. ellioti)
* Mrs. Hume's pheasant (S. humiae)
* Mikado pheasant (S. mikado)
* Copper pheasant (S. soemmerringi)
* Reeve's pheasant (S. reevesi)

Chrysolophus|

* Lady Amherst's pheasant (C. amherstiae)
* Golden pheasant (C. pictus)

Phasianus|

* Common pheasant (P. colchicus)
* Green pheasant (P. versicolor)

Catreus|

* Cheer pheasant (Catreus wallichi)

Crossoptilon|

* Blue eared pheasant (C. auritum)
* White eared pheasant (C. crossoptilon)
* Tibetan eared pheasant (C. harmani)
* Brown eared pheasant (C.mantchuricum)

Lophura|

* Bulwer's pheasant (L. bulweri)
* Siamese fireback (L. diardi)
* Edward's pheasant (L. edwardsi)
* Crestless fireback (L. erythrophthalma)
* Vietnamese pheasant (L. hatinhensis)
* Crested fireback (L. ignita)
* Imperial pheasant (L. imperialis)
* Salvadori's pheasant (L. inornata)
* Hoogerwerf's pheasant (L. i. hoogerwerfi)
* Kalij pheasant (L. leucomelanos)
* Silver pheasant (L. nycthemera)
* Swinhoe's pheasant (L. swinhoii)

Subfamily Rollulinae

| Xenoperdix|

* Rubeho forest partridge (X. obscuratus)
* Udzungwa forest partridge (X. udzungwensis)

|

Caloperdix|

* Ferruginous partridge (C. oculeus)

Rollulus|

* Crested partridge (R. rouloul)

Melanoperdix|

* Black partridge (M. niger)

Arborophila|

* Hill partridge (A. torqueola)
* Sichuan partridge (A. rufipectus)
* Chestnut-breasted partridge (A. mandellii)
* White-necklaced partridge (A. gingica)
* Rufous-throated partridge (A. rufogularis)
* Red-billed partridge (A.a rubrirostris)
* Siamese partridge (A. diversa)
* Chestnut-headed partridge (A. cambodiana)
* Hainan partridge (A. ardens)
* Taiwan partridge (A. crudigularis)
* White-cheeked partridge (A. atrogularis)
* Bar-backed partridge (A. brunneopectus)
* Orange-necked partridge (A. davidi)
* Red-breasted partridge (A. hyperythra)
* Malayan partridge (A. campbelli)
* Roll's partridge (A. rolli)
* Sumatran partridge (A. sumatrana)
* Chestnut-bellied partridge (A. javanica)
* Grey-breasted partridge (A. orientalis)

Subfamily Pavoninae

| Tribe Pavonini|

| Rheinardia|

* Vietnamese crested argus (R. ocellata)
* Malayan crested argus (R. nigrescens)

|

Argusianus|

* Great argus (A. argus)

Afropavo|

* Congo peafowl (A. congensis)

Pavo|

* Indian peafowl (P. cristatus)
* Green peafowl (P. muticus)

Tropicoperdix|

* Chestnut-necklaced partridge (T. charltonii)
* Green-legged partridge (T. chloropus)

Tribe Polyplectronini|

| Haematortyx|

* Crimson-headed partridge (H. sanguiniceps)

|

Galloperdix|

* Red spurfowl (G. spadicea)
* Painted spurfowl (G. lunulata)
* Sri Lanka spurfowl (G. bicalcarata)

Polyplectron|

* Grey peacock-pheasant (P. bicalcaratum)
* Bronze-tailed peacock-pheasant (P. chalcurum)
* Palawan peacock-pheasant (P. emphanum)
* Germain's peacock-pheasant (P. germaini)
* Mountain peacock-pheasant (P. inopinatum)
* Hainan peacock-pheasant (P. katsumatae)
* Malayan peacock-pheasant (P. malacense)
* Bornean peacock-pheasant (P. schleiermacheri)

Tribe Gallini|

| Bambusicola|

* Mountain bamboo partridge (B. fytchii)
* Chinese bamboo partridge (B. thoracicus)
* Taiwan bamboo partridge (B. sonorivox)

|

Gallus|

* Red junglefowl (G. gallus)
* Sri Lankan junglefowl (G. lafayetii)
* Grey junglefowl (G. sonneratii)
* Green junglefowl (G. varius)

Peliperdix|

* Latham's francolin (P. lathami)

Ortygornis|

* Crested francolin (O. sephaena)
* Grey francolin (O. pondicerianus)
* Swamp francolin (O. gularis)

Francolinus|

* Black francolin (F. francolinus)
* Painted francolin (F. pictus)
* Chinese francolin (F. pintadeanus)

Campocolinus|

* Coqui francolin (C. coqui)
* White-throated francolin, (C. albogularis)
* Schlegel's francolin (C. schlegelii)

Scleroptila|

* Ring-necked francolin (S. streptophora)
* Red-winged francolin (S. levaillantii)
* Finsch's francolin (S. finschi)
* Moorland francolin (S. psilolaema)
* Grey-winged francolin (S. afra)
* Orange River francolin (S. gutturalis)
* Shelley's francolin (S. shelleyi)

Tribe Coturnicini|

| Tetraogallus|

* Caucasian snowcock (T. caucasicus)
* Caspian snowcock (T. caspius)
* Himalayan snowcock (T. himalayensis)
* Tibetan snowcock (T. tibetanus)
* Altai snowcock (T. altaicus)

|

Ammoperdix|

* See-see partridge (A. griseogularis)
* Sand partridge (A. heyi)

Synoicus|

* Brown quail (S. ypsilophorus)
* Snow Mountain quail (S. monorthonyx)
* Blue quail (S. adansonii)
* King quail (S. chinensis)

Margaroperdix|

* Madagascar partridge (M. madagarensis)

Coturnix|

* Rain quail (C. coromandelica)
* Harlequin quail (C. delegorguei)
* Common quail (C. coturnix)
* Japanese quail (C. japonica)
* Stubble quail (C. pectoralis)

Alectoris|

* Arabian partridge (A. melanocephala)
* Przevalski's partridge (A. magna)
* Rock partridge (A. graeca)
* Chukar partridge (A. chukar)
* Philby's partridge (A. philbyi)
* Barbary partridge (A. barbara)
* Red-legged partridge (A. rufa)

Perdicula|

* Jungle bush quail (P. asiatica)
* Rock bush quail (P. argoondah)
* Painted bush quail (P. erythrorhyncha)
* Manipur bush quail (P. manipurensis)

Ophrysia|

* Himalayan quail (O. superciliosa) (possibly extinct)

Pternistis|

* Hartlaub's spurfowl (P. hartlaubi)
* Mount Cameroon spurfowl (P. camerunensis)
* Handsome spurfowl (P. nobilis)
* Chestnut-naped spurfowl (P. castaneicollis)
* Black-fronted spurfowl (P. atrifrons)
* Erckel's spurfowl (P. erckelii)
* Djibouti spurfowl (P. ochropectus)
* Swierstra's spurfowl (P. swierstrai)
* Ahanta spurfowl (P. ahantensis)
* Grey-striped spurfowl (P. griseostriatus)
* Jackson's spurfowl (P. jacksoni)
* Red-billed spurfowl (P. adspersus)
* Cape spurfowl (P. capensis)
* Natal spurfowl (P. natalensis)
* Hildebrandt's spurfowl (P. hildebrandti)
* Double-spurred spurfowl (P. bicalcaratus)
* Scaly spurfowl (P. squamatus)
* Heuglin's spurfowl (P. icterorhynchus)
* Clapperton's spurfowl (P. clappertoni)
* Harwood's spurfowl (P. harwoodi)
* Swainson's spurfowl (P. swainsonii)
* Yellow-necked spurfowl (P. leucoscepus)
* Grey-breasted spurfowl (P. rufopictus)
* Red-necked spurfowl (P. afer)

185 living species in 32 genera

* v
* t
* e

Genera of landfowl and their extinct allies

* Kingdom: Animalia
* Phylum: Chordata
* Class: Aves
* Superorder: Galloanserae
* Clade: Pangalliformes

Pangalliformes

| incertae sedis|

* †Anisolornis?
* †Archaeophasianus?
* †Argillipes?
* †Austinornis?
* †Chambiortyx
* †Coturnipes?
* †"Gigantibis"?
* †Litoripes?
* †Percolinus?
* †Tegulavis?

|

†Gallinuloididae|

* Gallinuloides
* Paraortygoides

†Paraortygidae|

* Paraortyx
* Pirortyx
* Scopelortyx
* Xorazmortyx

†Quercymegapodiidae|

* Ameripodius
* Quercymegapodius
* Taubacrex

†Sylviornithidae|

* Megavitiornis
* Sylviornis

Galliformes|

*     * See below ↓

Galliformes

Galliformes

* †Amitabha
* †Bumbanipodius
* †Bumbanortyx
* †Linquornis
* †Namaortyx
* †Palaeoalectoris
* †Procrax
* †Sobniogallus
* †Taoperdix

Megapodiidae|

* †Garrdimalga?
* †Mwalau
* †Ngawupodius

Alecturini|

* Aepypodius
* Alectura
* †Latagallina
* Leipoa
* †Progura
* Talegalla

Megapodiini|

* Eulipoa
* Macrocephalon
* Megapodius

Cracidae|

* †Archaealectrornis
* †Boreortalis
* †Palaeonossax
* †Procrax

Penelopinae|

* Aburria
* Chamaepetes
* Penelope
* Penelopina
* Pipile

Cracinae|

* Oreophasis
* Ortalis

Cracini|

* Crax
* Mitu
* Nothocrax
* Pauxi

Phasianoidea|

*     * See below ↓

Phasianoidea

| Numididae|

* Acryllium
* Agelastes
* Guttera
* Numida
* †Telecrex

|

Odontophoridae|

* †Miortyx
* †Nanortyx
* †Neortyx

Ptilopachinae|

* Ptilopachus

Odontophorinae|

* Callipepla
* Colinus
* Cyrtonyx
* Dactylortyx
* Dendrortyx
* Odontophorus
* Oreortyx
* Philortyx
* Rhynchortyx

Phasianidae|

*     * See below ↓

Phasianidae

Phasianidae

* †Bantamyx
* †Centuriavis
* †Diangallus
* †Eurobambusicola
* †Gracilisgallus
* †Lophogallus
* †Megalocoturnix
* †Miogallus
* †Mioryaba
* †Palaeocryptonyx
* †Palaeortyx
* †Panraogallus
* †Pliogallus
* †Plioperdix
* †Rustaviornis
* †Schaubortyx
* †Shandongornis
* †Shanxiornis
* †Titanoperdix
* †Tologuica

Rollulinae|

* Arborophila
* Caloperdix
* Melanoperdix
* Rhizothera
* Rollulus
* Xenoperdix

Pavoninae|

* Tropicoperdix

Coturnicini|

* Alectoris
* Ammoperdix
* Coturnix
* Margaroperdix
* †?Ophrysia
* Perdicula
* Pternistis
* Synoicus
* Tetraogallus

Gallini|

* Bambusicola
* Campocolinus
* Francolinus
* Gallus
* Ortygornis
* Peliperdix
* Scleroptila

Pavonini|

* Afropavo
* Argusianus
* Pavo
* Rheinardia

Polyplectronini|

* Galloperdix
* Haematortyx
* Polyplectron

Phasianinae|

* †Chauvireria
* Ithaginis
* Lerwa

Lophophorini|

* Lophophorus
* Tetraophasis
* Tragopan

Phasianini|

* Catreus
* Chrysolophus
* Crossoptilon
* Lophura
* Perdix
* Phasianus
* Syrmaticus

Tetraonini|

* Bonasa
* Canachites
* Centrocercus
* Dendragapus
* Falcipennis
* Lagopus
* Lyrurus
* Meleagris
* †Palaealectoris
* †Proagriocharis
* Pucrasia
* †Rhegminornis
* Tetrao
* Tetrastes
* Tympanuchus

Portals:

* Birds
* Agriculture

Turkey at Wikipedia's sister projects:

* Definitions from Wiktionary
* Media from Commons
* Quotations from Wikiquote
* Taxa from Wikispecies

Taxon identifiers

Meleagris|

* Wikidata: Q43794
* Wikispecies: Meleagris
* ADW: Meleagridinae
* AFD: Meleagris
* BOLD: 6833
* CoL: 5NN8
* EoL: 45510618
* EPPO: 1MLEAG
* Fauna Europaea (new): 59c67e1b-7bce-4eab-8234-2313ad71fdf8
* GBIF: 2473548
* iNaturalist: 905
* ITIS: 176135
* NBN: NHMSYS0000533447
* NCBI: 9102
* NZOR: 4382cb1a-7f62-4b04-b96f-0dd6bf111607
* Open Tree of Life: 446481
* Paleobiology Database: 39341
* Plazi: 9380B902-73DD-F0F0-0409-BDF93A25CCEA
* ZooBank: 39CB6BC6-C4E5-482F-97D2-9A525D770581

Authority control databases

National|

* Germany
* United States
* 2
* Czech Republic
* Spain
* Israel
* 2

Other|

* Yale LUX

*[c.]: circa
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template
*[†]: Extinct