Time to Talk Turkey

 The wild turkey is a large ground dwelling bird found in North America. They are the largest member of the order Galliformes and they were an important food source of the Native Americans. Early explorers brought turkeys back to Europe where they were domesticated, one of only two domesticated species that originated in North America. The birds that were brought back to Europe were from a subspecies in Mexico that had white tips on the end of the tail feathers, instead of a tan color like these wild turkeys do. Much of the early trade with North America went through Constantinople on its way to Britain which is how they got the name turkey. Wild turkeys were wiped out in much of their range by the early 1900's because of hunting and habitat lose. In the 1940's wild turkeys were trapped and released into areas where they were no longer found. They have recovered very well over the past 70 years and they are now found in every state in the U.S. except for Alaska.
In the late 1700's Benjamin Franklin sent a letter to his sister in which he expressed his opinion on why he thought that the turkey would be a more appropriate representative of the United States. The bald eagle was chosen to be the symbol of the new nation but the turkey became a symbol of one of our most honored national holidays.

Happy Thanksgiving!