TURKEY
TURKEY (Meleagris), a genus of gallinaceous birds of the family Pavonidæ, or, according to some ornithologists, of a distinct family, Meleagridæ, both, however, being included by others in Phasianidæ. The head is bare, the neck wattled, and the bill of the male surmounted with a conical fleshy caruncle, sometimes erected, sometimes elongated and pendulous. A curious tuft of long hair springs from the base of the neck of the male, and hangs down on the breast. The bill is rather short, strong, and curved; the tail is broad and rounded, capable of being erected and spread out, as the male delights to do when he struts about in pride, with wings rubbing’ on the ground, uttering his loud peculiar gobble. The COMMON T. (M. gallo-pavo), the largest of gallinaceous birds, well known as an inmate of our poultry-yards, is a native of North America. It appears to have been introduced into Europe in the beginning of the 16th c., and is naturalized in some places; as it may be said to have been in the royal park of Richmond, near London, in the first half of the 18th c., when that park contained about two thousand turkeys; but in consequence of the frequent fights between poachers and keepers, it was thought proper to destroy them. Fewer attempts have been made than might have been expected to introduce the T. in parks and woods in Britain, where it might probably be expected to succeed as well as the pheasant. In a domesticated state, the T. varies much in plumage; in its wild state, this is not the case. The plumage of the wild T. is also richer, and its power of wing greater; but the wings even of the wild bird are short, scarcely extending beyond the base of the tail. The darkest-colored of domesticated turkeys most nearly resemble the wild T. in plumage. In its native woods, it seems to attain even a larger size than in the poultry-yard.
Turkeys were once plentiful in the forests of the Atlantic states of North America, and as far north as Lower Canada, but have disappeared as cultivation has advanced, and have become rare even in the eastern parts of the Valley of the Mississippi, where their numbers were once very great. The T. is found as far south as the Isthmus of Darien, but does not occur to the west of the Rocky Mountains. It inhabits the woods of the larger islands of the West Indies. In warm climates, it is said to produce two or three broods a year; but in colder countries it produces only one. The males associate in flocks of from ten to one hundred, and seek their food during great part of the year apart from the females, which go about singly with their young, or associate in flocks, avoiding the old males, which are apt to attack and destroy the young. At the pairing-time, desperate combats take place among the males. Wild turkeys roost on trees. They feed on all kinds of grain, seeds, fruits, grass, insects, and even on young frogs and lizards. They make their nests on the ground, merely gathering together a few dry leaves, and often in a thicket. The eggs are usually from nine to fifteen in number, sometimes twenty. They spread themselves in summer over the higher grounds; but in winter, congregate in the rich low valleys. The sexes mingle in winter, and form larger flocks than in summer.
On account of its size, and the excellence of its flesh and eggs, the T. is one of the most valued kinds of poultry. The management of it differs little from that of the common fowl. The young are tender for the first few weeks, and require care, particularly to keep them from getting wet by running among wet grass, or the like; but afterwards they are sufficiently hardy. Nettles are excellent food for turkeys, and are often chopped up for them, to be given in addition to grain, bran, boiled potatoes, and other such food.
The only other known species of T. is Meleagris ocellata, a native of the warmest parts of North America. It is not quite so large as the Common T., and has a smaller tail. The neck is less wattled, but the head has a number of fleshy tubercles. The plumage is beautiful, rivaling that of the peacock in metallic brilliancy : blue, green, bronze, red, and golden hues being intimately and finely mingled, and forming eyes on the tail; whence the specific name.