Difference between revisions of "Turkey (bird)" - New World Encyclopedia
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In a similar confusion, Spanish explorers thought the turkey to be a kind of [[peacock]] and called it by the same word, ''pavo''. Today, the turkey is still called ''pavo'' in Spanish (except in Mexico where the [[Nahuatl]]-derived name ''guajalote'' is commonly used), and the peacock is commonly referred to as ''pavo real'' ("royal turkey"). | In a similar confusion, Spanish explorers thought the turkey to be a kind of [[peacock]] and called it by the same word, ''pavo''. Today, the turkey is still called ''pavo'' in Spanish (except in Mexico where the [[Nahuatl]]-derived name ''guajalote'' is commonly used), and the peacock is commonly referred to as ''pavo real'' ("royal turkey"). | ||
| + | |||
| + | ==Wild turkey== | ||
| + | {{Taxobox | ||
| + | | color = pink | ||
| + | | name = Wild Turkey | ||
| + | | status = LC | ||
| + | | status_ref =<ref>{{IUCN2006|assessors=BirdLife International|year=2004|id=47092|title=Meleagris gallopavo|downloaded=11 May 2006}} Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern </ref> | ||
| + | | image = wild_turkey_eastern_us.jpg | ||
| + | | image_width = 240px | ||
| + | | image_caption = Male Wild Turkey | ||
| + | | regnum = [[Animal]]ia | ||
| + | | phylum = [[Chordate|Chordata]] | ||
| + | | classis = [[Bird|Aves]] | ||
| + | | ordo = [[Galliformes]] | ||
| + | | familia = [[Phasianidae]] | ||
| + | | genus = ''[[Turkey (bird)|Meleagris]]'' | ||
| + | | species = '''''M. gallopavo''''' | ||
| + | | binomial = ''Meleagris gallopavo'' | ||
| + | | binomial_authority = [[Carolus Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], [[1758]] | ||
| + | }} | ||
| + | |||
| + | The '''Wild Turkey''' (''Meleagris gallopavo'') is native to North America and is the heaviest member of the [[Galliformes]]. It is one of two species of [[turkey (bird)|turkey]], the other being the [[Ocellated Turkey]], found in [[Central America|Central]] and [[South America]]. Adult Wild Turkeys have a small, featherless, bluish head; a red throat in males; long reddish-orange to greyish-blue legs; and a dark-brown to black body. The head has fleshy growths called caruncles; in excited turkeys, a fleshy flap on the bill expands, becoming engorged with blood. Males have red wattles on the throat and neck. Each foot has four toes, and males have rear spurs on their lower legs. | ||
| + | |||
| + | Turkeys have a long, dark, fan-shaped tail and glossy bronze wings. As with many other species of the [[Galliformes]], turkeys exhibit strong [[sexual dimorphism]]. The male is substantially larger than the female, and his feathers have areas of red, green, copper, bronze, and gold iridescence. Female feathers are duller overall, in shades of brown and gray. Parasites can dull coloration of both sexes; in males, coloration may serve as a signal of health.<ref>{{cite journal | first = G | last = Hill | coauthors = Doucet SM, Buchholz R | year = 2005 | title = The Effect of Coccidial Infection on Iridescent Plumage Coloration in Wild Turkeys | journal = Animal Behaviour | volume = 69 | pages = 387-94}}</ref> The primary wing feathers have white bars. | ||
| + | |||
| + | Turkeys have between 5,000 and 6,000 feathers. Tail feathers have the same length in adults, different lengths in juveniles. Males typically have a "beard" consisting of modified feathers that stick out from the breast. Beards average 9 inches in length. In some populations, 10 to 20 percent of females have a beard, usually shorter and thinner than that of the male. The average weight of the adult male is 8.2 kg (18 lb) and the adult female is 3.2 kg (8 lb). The average length is 1.09 m (3.5 ft) and the average wingspan is 1.44 m (4.8 ft). The record-sized adult male wild turkey, according to the National Wildlife Turkey Federation was (38 lbs). | ||
| + | |||
| + | ==Ocellated turkey== | ||
| + | {{Taxobox | ||
| + | | color = pink | ||
| + | | name = Ocellated Turkey | ||
| + | | status = NT | ||
| + | | status_ref = <ref name="iucn">{{IUCN2006|assessors=BirdLife International|year=2004|id=40168|title=Meleagris ocellata|downloaded=11 May 2006}} Database entry includes a range map and a brief justification of why this species is near threatened. [http://www.iucnredlist.org/search/rangemap.php?species=40168 RangeMap:] </ref> | ||
| + | | image = OccturkeyB6.jpg | ||
| + | | image_width = 270px | ||
| + | | regnum = [[Animal]]ia | ||
| + | | phylum = [[Chordate|Chordata]] | ||
| + | | classis = [[Bird|Aves]] | ||
| + | | ordo = [[Galliformes]] | ||
| + | | familia = [[Meleagrididae]] | ||
| + | | genus = ''[[Turkey (bird)|Meleagris]]'' | ||
| + | | species = '''''M. ocellata''''' | ||
| + | | binomial = ''Meleagris ocellata'' | ||
| + | | binomial_authority = [[Georges Cuvier|Cuvier]], [[1820]] | ||
| + | | range_map = Agriocharis_distribution_map2.jpg | ||
| + | | range_map_width = 270px | ||
| + | | range_map_caption = Distribution map | ||
| + | }} | ||
| + | |||
| + | The '''Ocellated Turkey''' (''Meleagris ocellata'') is a large [[bird]], at around 70-100 cm (28-40 in) long and an average weight of 3 kg (6.6 lbs) in females and 5 kg (11 lbs) in males. In the past, it has sometimes been treated in a genus of its own, as ''Agriocharis ocellata'', but the differences between this species and ''[[Wild Turkey|Meleagris gallopavo]]'' are too small to justify generic segregation. | ||
| + | |||
| + | The Ocellated Turkey exists only in a 50,000 square mile range comprised of the [[Yucatán Peninsula]] which includes the states of [[Quintana Roo]], [[Campeche]] and [[Yucatán]], as well as parts of southern [[Tabasco]] and northeastern [[Chiapas]].<ref name="nwtf">{{cite web | title=Occelated Turkey | url=http://www.nwtf.org/all_about_turkeys/history_ocellated_wild_turkey.html | publisher=National Wild Turkey Federation | accessdate=2006-03-29}}</ref> | ||
| + | They also can be found in [[Belize]] and the northern part of [[Guatemala]]. | ||
| + | |||
| + | [[Image:Ocellated Turkey Meleagris ocellata National Aviary 2900px.jpg|left|thumb|At the [[National Aviary]]]] | ||
| + | The body feathers of both sexes are a mixture of bronze and green [[iridescent]] color. Although females can be duller with more green, the breast feathers do not generally differ and can not be used to determine sex. Neither sex have beards. Tail feathers of both sexes are bluish-grey with an eye-shaped, blue-bronze spot near the end with a bright gold tip. The spots, for which the Ocellated is named, lead some scientists to believe that the bird is more related to [[peafowl]] than to [[Wild Turkey]]s. The upper, major secondary wing [[covert]]s are rich iridescent copper. The primary and secondary wing feathers have similar barring to that of North American turkeys, but the secondaries have more white, especially around the edges. | ||
| + | |||
| + | Both sexes have blue heads with some orange or red [[nodules]], which are more pronounced on males. The males also have a fleshy blue crown covered with nodules, similar to those on the neck, behind the [[snood]]. During breeding season this crown swells up and becomes brighter and more pronounced in its yellow-orange color. The eye is surrounded by a ring of bright red skin, which is most visible on males during breeding season. The legs are deep red and are shorter and thinner than on North American turkeys. Males over one year old have spurs on the legs that average 1.5 inches, which lengths of over 2 inches being recorded. These spurs are much longer and thinner than on North American turkeys. | ||
| + | |||
| + | Ocellated Turkeys are much smaller than any of the subspecies of North American Wild Turkey, with adult hens weighing in at about 8 pounds before laying eggs and 6-7 pounds the rest of the year, and adult males weighing about 11-12 pounds during breeding season. | ||
| + | |||
==Fossil turkeys== | ==Fossil turkeys== | ||
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{{commons|Meleagris gallopavo|Turkey (bird)}} | {{commons|Meleagris gallopavo|Turkey (bird)}} | ||
[[Category:Life sciences]] | [[Category:Life sciences]] | ||
| − | {{credit|150793381}} | + | {{credit|Turkey_(bird)|150793381|Wild_Turkey|155879068|Ocellated_Turkey|151302826}} |
Revision as of 00:18, 6 September 2007
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| Wild Turkey, Meleagris gallopavo Wild Turkey, Meleagris gallopavo
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M. gallopavo |
A turkey is either one of two species of large birds in the genus Meleagris native to North America. Turkeys are classed in the order Galliformes. Formerly they were considered a distinct family, Meleagrididae, but more recently were reclassified as a subfamily (Meleagridinae) of the pheasants and their allies.[1] Turkeys have a distinctive fleshy caruncle that hangs from the beak, called a snood. As with many galliform species, the female is smaller than the male, and much less colorful. With wingspans of 1.5–1.8 meters (almost 6 feet), the turkeys are by far the largest birds in the open forests in which they live, and are rarely mistaken for any other species. The usual lifespan for a turkey is 10 years.
Species of turkey
The two species are the North American Wild Turkey (M. gallopavo) and the Central American Ocellated Turkey (M. ocellata).
The modern domesticated turkey was developed from the Wild Turkey by the indigenous people of Mexico. The Ocellated Turkey was probably also domesticated by the Mayans. Turkeys were taken to Europe by the Spanish who had found them as a favorite domesticated animal among the Aztecs. Since the modern domesticated turkey is a descendant of the Wild Turkey, it is concluded that the Aztecs had chosen to domesticate this species rather than the Ocellated Turkey which is found in far southern Mexico. The Aztecs relied on the turkey (Mexican Spanish guajolote, from Nahuatl huexolotl) as a major source of protein (meat and eggs), and also utilized its feathers extensively for decorative purposes. The turkey was associated with their trickster god Tezcatlipoca [3]. In Mexico today, turkey meat with mole sauce (mole de guajolote) is widely regarded as the official national dish [4].
Naming
When Europeans first encountered turkeys in the Americas, they incorrectly identified the birds as a type of guinea fowl (Numida meleagris), also known as a turkey-cock from its importation to Central Europe through Turkey, and the name of that country stuck as the name of the bird. The confusion is also reflected in the scientific name: meleagris is Greek for guinea-fowl.
The names for M. gallopavo in other languages 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 India seen in common names go back to a combination of two factors: first, the genuine belief that the newly-discovered Americas were in fact a part of Asia, 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 "Muscovy Duck" (which is from South America, not Muscovy). This was a major reason why the name "turkey-cock" stuck to Meleagris rather than to the guinea fowl (Numida meleagris): the Ottoman Empire represented the exotic East much the same as did India.
Several other birds which are sometimes called "turkeys" are not particularly closely related: the Australian brush-turkey is a megapode, and the bird sometimes known as the "Australian turkey" is in fact the Australian Bustard, a gruiform. The bird sometimes called a Water Turkey is actually an Anhinga (Anhinga rufa)
In a similar confusion, Spanish explorers thought the turkey to be a kind of peacock and called it by the same word, pavo. Today, the turkey is still called pavo in Spanish (except in Mexico where the Nahuatl-derived name guajalote is commonly used), and the peacock is commonly referred to as pavo real ("royal turkey").
Wild turkey
| Wild Turkey | ||||||||||||||
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 Male Wild Turkey
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| Scientific classification | ||||||||||||||
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| Meleagris gallopavo Linnaeus, 1758 |
The Wild Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) is native to North America and is the heaviest member of the Galliformes. It is one of two species of turkey, the other being the Ocellated Turkey, found in Central and South America. Adult Wild Turkeys have a small, featherless, bluish head; a red throat in males; long reddish-orange to greyish-blue legs; and a dark-brown to black body. The head has fleshy growths called caruncles; in excited turkeys, a fleshy flap on the bill expands, becoming engorged with blood. Males have red wattles on the throat and neck. Each foot has four toes, and males have rear spurs on their lower legs.
Turkeys have a long, dark, fan-shaped tail and glossy bronze wings. As with many other species of the Galliformes, turkeys exhibit strong sexual dimorphism. The male is substantially larger than the female, and his feathers have areas of red, green, copper, bronze, and gold iridescence. Female feathers are duller overall, in shades of brown and gray. Parasites can dull coloration of both sexes; in males, coloration may serve as a signal of health.[3] The primary wing feathers have white bars.
Turkeys have between 5,000 and 6,000 feathers. Tail feathers have the same length in adults, different lengths in juveniles. Males typically have a "beard" consisting of modified feathers that stick out from the breast. Beards average 9 inches in length. In some populations, 10 to 20 percent of females have a beard, usually shorter and thinner than that of the male. The average weight of the adult male is 8.2 kg (18 lb) and the adult female is 3.2 kg (8 lb). The average length is 1.09 m (3.5 ft) and the average wingspan is 1.44 m (4.8 ft). The record-sized adult male wild turkey, according to the National Wildlife Turkey Federation was (38 lbs).
Ocellated turkey
| Ocellated Turkey | ||||||||||||||
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| File:OccturkeyB6.jpg | ||||||||||||||
| Scientific classification | ||||||||||||||
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| Meleagris ocellata Cuvier, 1820 | ||||||||||||||
| Distribution map Distribution map
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The Ocellated Turkey (Meleagris ocellata) is a large bird, at around 70-100 cm (28-40 in) long and an average weight of 3 kg (6.6 lbs) in females and 5 kg (11 lbs) in males. In the past, it has sometimes been treated in a genus of its own, as Agriocharis ocellata, but the differences between this species and Meleagris gallopavo are too small to justify generic segregation.
The Ocellated Turkey exists only in a 50,000 square mile range comprised of the Yucatán Peninsula which includes the states of Quintana Roo, Campeche and Yucatán, as well as parts of southern Tabasco and northeastern Chiapas.[5] They also can be found in Belize and the northern part of Guatemala.
The body feathers of both sexes are a mixture of bronze and green iridescent color. Although females can be duller with more green, the breast feathers do not generally differ and can not be used to determine sex. Neither sex have beards. Tail feathers of both sexes are bluish-grey with an eye-shaped, blue-bronze spot near the end with a bright gold tip. The spots, for which the Ocellated is named, lead some scientists to believe that the bird is more related to peafowl than to Wild Turkeys. The upper, major secondary wing coverts are rich iridescent copper. The primary and secondary wing feathers have similar barring to that of North American turkeys, but the secondaries have more white, especially around the edges.
Both sexes have blue heads with some orange or red nodules, which are more pronounced on males. The males also have a fleshy blue crown covered with nodules, similar to those on the neck, behind the snood. During breeding season this crown swells up and becomes brighter and more pronounced in its yellow-orange color. The eye is surrounded by a ring of bright red skin, which is most visible on males during breeding season. The legs are deep red and are shorter and thinner than on North American turkeys. Males over one year old have spurs on the legs that average 1.5 inches, which lengths of over 2 inches being recorded. These spurs are much longer and thinner than on North American turkeys.
Ocellated Turkeys are much smaller than any of the subspecies of North American Wild Turkey, with adult hens weighing in at about 8 pounds before laying eggs and 6-7 pounds the rest of the year, and adult males weighing about 11-12 pounds during breeding season.
Fossil turkeys
Many 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 (Olson, 1985).
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 junior synonyms. One, the well-documented California Turkey Meleagris californica,[6] became extinct recently enough to have been hunted by early human settlers, though its actual demise is more probably attributable to climate change at the end of the last ice age. 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 sp. (Late Pliocene of Macasphalt Shell Pit, U.S.)
- Meleagris californica (Late Pleistocene of SW U.S.) - formerly Parapavo/Pavo
- Meleagris crassipes (Late Pleistocene of SW North America)
ReferencesISBN links support NWE through referral fees
- Madge and McGowan,Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse ISBN 0-7136-3966-0
- "National Geographic" Field Guide to the Birds of North America ISBN:0792268776
- Olson, Storrs L. (1985): Section VIII.H.4.d. Meleagridinae. In: Farner, D.S.; King, J.R. & Parkes, Kenneth C. (eds.): Avian Biology 8: 118-119. Academic Press, New York.
Footnotes
- ↑ The A.O.U. Check-list of North American Birds, Seventh Edition (HTML Public). The American Ornithologists' Union (2007). Retrieved 2007-01-21.
- ↑ BirdLife International 2004. [1]. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species., World Conservation Union. Retrieved on 11 May 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern
- ↑ Hill, G and Doucet SM, Buchholz R (2005). The Effect of Coccidial Infection on Iridescent Plumage Coloration in Wild Turkeys. Animal Behaviour 69: 387-94.
- ↑ BirdLife International 2004. [2]. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species., World Conservation Union. Retrieved on 11 May 2006. Database entry includes a range map and a brief justification of why this species is near threatened. RangeMap:
- ↑ Occelated Turkey. National Wild Turkey Federation. Retrieved 2006-03-29.
- ↑ Formerly Parapavo californica and initially described as Pavo californica or "California Peacock"
See also
- Wild Turkey
- Domesticated turkey
External links
- Turkey videos on the Internet Bird Collection
- Etymology of the word
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