Wild turkey
The wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) is the name of the more common of the two species of turkey. This large bird is found across much of the United States and southern Canada.[2][3][4]
| Wild turkey | |
|---|---|
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| Male (Tom) wild turkey displaying | |
| Conservation status | |
Scientific classification 
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| Unrecognized taxon (fix): | Meleagridinae |
| Genus: | Meleagris |
| Species: | M. gallopavo
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| Binomial name | |
| Meleagris gallopavo | |
Wild turkeys prefer hardwood and mixed conifer-hardwood forests with scattered openings such as pastures, fields, orchards and seasonal marshes. They can adapt to any dense plant community so long as there is cover and openings to fly out. Open, mature forests with a variety of tree species seem to be best.
The domesticated turkey has been tamed and bred from wild turkeys, by people, to raise on farms.
Wild Turkey Media
Portrait of a Wild Turkey with identifying labels.
Closeup of wild turkey tom
Male wild turkey in Brookline, Massachusetts, United States of America. He frequents the area on Beacon Street between Washington Square and Cleveland Circle.
Wild turkey agile in flight
Horseshoe Lake, 3/6/16
Wild Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) and eight Chicks
Wild turkeys foraging in the Appalachian Foothills of Pennsylvania
Nest found in Nelson County, Virginia
This Wild Turkey nest was found in Ontario in June 2023 when the hen was accidently flushed. it was found in a maple forest some 100m from open ground.
Wild Turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo), female with juveniles, Fort St. Joseph National Historic Site, Jocelyn, Ontario, Canada
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References
- ↑ BirdLife International (2018). "Meleagris gallopavo". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN. 2018: e.T22679525A132051953. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22679525A132051953.en. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
- ↑ Webster's II New College Dictionary. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt 2005, ISBN 978-0-618-39601-6, p. 1217
- ↑ Andrew F. Smith (2006). The turkey: an American story. University of Illinois Press 2006, ISBN 978-0-252-03163-2, p. 17.
- ↑ Dickson, 362; "Why a turkey is called a turkey". Npr.org. Retrieved on 2012-12-19.