Turkey

Two domestications

Wild turkeys exist as a single species (Meleagris gallopavo) with multiple subspecies. Domestic turkeys descended from the southern Mexican subspecies (M. g. gallopavo) — domesticated by Indigenous Mexicans over 2,000 years ago.

A separate, lost domestication in the southwestern U.S. by Ancestral Pueblo peoples produced different turkeys around the same era; that population’s lineage didn’t survive.

Spanish conquistadors brought Mexican-domesticated turkeys to Europe in the early 1500s, where they spread quickly. Pilgrims at Plymouth then brought European-domesticated turkeys back to North America in the 1600s — completing a transatlantic round trip from the bird’s native land.

Holiday tradition

The American Thanksgiving tradition of roasting turkey traces to a 1621 harvest feast at Plymouth Colony, though contemporary accounts mention only “wild fowl” rather than specifically turkey. The bird became fixed as the Thanksgiving centerpiece in the 19th century through Sarah Josepha Hale’s decades-long campaign for a national Thanksgiving holiday, achieved when Lincoln declared it in 1863.

Christmas turkey is the British and Commonwealth tradition — earlier than the American Thanksgiving, dating to the 16th century when wealthy households began serving turkey at Christmas as an alternative to goose.

Near extinction and recovery

Wild turkey populations collapsed to fewer than 30,000 birds across the U.S. by 1900 — driven by overhunting, deforestation, and habitat loss. By the 1930s, the species had been extirpated from most of its historical range.

Modern wildlife management — habitat restoration, protected hunting seasons, and reintroduction programs — drove a remarkable recovery. Today there are over 6 million wild turkeys in North America, occupying their historical range plus expanded territory in the West and Hawaii.

Tom and hen

Adult male turkeys are toms (or gobblers); females are hens. Toms have:

• Distinctive iridescent body feathers
• A snood (fleshy projection over the bill) that elongates in display
• A wattle under the chin
• Spurs on the legs for combat
• The famous gobble call

Hens are smaller, browner, and lack most of the dramatic features. The conspicuous male display is for attracting mates and intimidating rivals — typical of the strongly-dimorphic Galliformes.

Wild bird flight

Domestic turkeys (especially the broad-breasted white meat-bird) cannot fly — the artificial selection for breast meat created proportions that don’t allow flight. Wild turkeys, however, fly well for short distances — they roost in trees nightly and can burst-fly to escape predators at speeds up to 90 km/h.