In harkening back to the first Thanksgiving feast (even though there was probably more fish and clams than fowl) we celebrate the Wild Turkey.
America’s wild turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo) almost went extinct in 1930 from loss of forest habitat and over hunting. Recovery efforts, including those by the Wild Turkey Federation and state and federal wildlife agencies have been successful over the past 80 years and there are now an estimated 7 million wild turkeys in North America.
So in honor of this majestic fowl, let’s see how much of this Wild Turkey Trivia you know. Answers are below.
1. How large do wild turkeys grow?
2. Adult male turkeys are called what?
3. Females are called what?
4. Adolescent males are called what?
5. Very young turkeys are called what?
6. What are the “patriotic” colors of a turkey’s head?
7. How fast can an adult turkey run?
8. How fast can turkeys fly?
9. How many eggs can a female turkey lay?
10. How many subspecies of wild turkeys are found in the United States?
11. How many subspecies are found in Oklahoma?
12. What U.S statesman preferred the wild turkey to the eagle for our National Bird?
13. When was the first presidential pardon for a thanksgiving turkey?
14. What is a group of turkeys called?
15. How many tail feathers does a turkey have?
16. How long do wild turkeys live?
17. What do wild turkeys eat?
18. Where were wild turkeys first domesticated?
19. What are the fleshy bumps on a turkey’s head called?
20. What is the fleshy appendage that extends over the beak?
Answers
1. While domesticated birds grow much larger (86 lbs is the record) wild turkeys usually range from 20–25 lbs for males, 15–20 lbs for females. The record male turkey checked in at 37 pounds.
2. Toms
3. Hens
4. Jakes
5. Poults
6. The wild turkey’s bald head can change color in seconds with excitement or emotion. The birds’ heads can be red (pink), white, or blue.
7. Turkeys have a top running speed of about 25 miles per hour — about the same as a human track star.
8. Though they only fly for short distances, they are speedy and can hit about 55 miles per hour when going full tilt.
9. Turkeys have been known to lay as many as 18 eggs in a clutch, but average about 10-12 laid one per day for about two weeks. The female incubates the clutch for nearly a month before hatching.
10. Wild turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo) include Eastern, Osceola, Rio Grande, Merriam’s, and Gould’s subspecies. There are subtle plumage differences and different ranges that distinguish the birds.
11. Eastern, Rio Grande and Merriam’s subspecies can be found in Oklahoma (Merriam’s are only at the tip of the panhandle).
12. While Benjamin Franklin did not advocate for the turkey as our National Bird, he did prefer them to bald eagles. In a letter to his daughter, Benjamin Franklin called the bald eagle “a bird of bad moral character” because they steal from other birds. He called the turkey a “much more respectable bird,” “a bird of courage,” and “a true original native of America.”
13. It’s widely believed that the first presidential pardon for turkeys started when Abraham Lincoln’s son pleaded that the bird intended for Christmas dinner had a right to live just like any other creature, but it wasn’t until 1989 during George H.W. Bush’s administration that the official pardoning ceremony started.
14. A group of turkeys has many awesome and unusual descriptive nouns, including a “crop”, “dole”, “gang”, “posse”, and “raffle.”
15. There are approximately 5,500 feathers on an adult wild turkey, including 18 tail feathers that make up the male’s distinct fan.
16. The average lifespan of a wild turkey is three to five years, and the oldest known wild turkey lived about 13 years old.
17. Wild Turkeys eat plant matter that they forage for in flocks, mostly on the ground but sometimes climbing into shrubs or low trees for fruits. In fall, winter, and early spring they scratch the forest floor for acorns, pecans, white ash seeds, and other seeds and berries. During the spring they may dig up plant bulbs if nuts are scarce. In late spring and summer, Wild Turkeys strip seeds from sedges and grasses, occasionally supplementing their plant diet with snakes, salamanders, snails, ground beetles, and other insects.
18. The Aztecs domesticated another subspecies, M. gallapavo gallopavo, the south Mexican wild turkey, and the Spanish brought those turkeys to Europe. The pilgrims then brought several of these domestic turkeys back to North America.
19. The warty protuberances on the head of a turkey are called caruncles. Technically, wattles and snoods are types of caruncles, but on turkeys the term usually refers to all the flesh that is not a wattle or a snood.
20. While it looks like a pint-sized version of an elephant’s trunk, the purpose of the snood is not to grab food, it’s to grab the attention of a mate. While mature female turkeys develop a short snood of their own (evolutionary purpose unknown), on males it eventually grows up to 5 inches; when a male is trying to impress a female, the snood turns bright red and elongates even further.
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