Talk:Turkey (bird)/Archive 1

Number of Species
I know I flunked sandbox in kindergarten but "either of two or three living species"? I count two. One...two. Oh yes, there's also the third unmentioned turkey that comes in a bottle. -rudyard (talk) 17:55, 4 July 2010 (UTC)

Ahh, I see, I found a website that lifted the bulk of its text from wikipedia, and it uses the line "A turkey is either of two extant species of large birds..." which must have been an older opening. -rudyard (talk) 18:07, 4 July 2010 (UTC)

Chicken Picture?
Why does it say "a young turkey similar to this picture of a young chicken." Why not just find a picture of a young turkey? Why use a chicken? That should probably be removed 63.26.109.139 (talk) 06:45, 4 November 2008 (UTC)eric

Now it says "A young turkey, also called a 'poult', looks similar to this young chicken. Notice the distinct comb, young chickens do not have this." So is this a picture of a young turkey or a young chicken? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.227.222.75 (talk) 06:32, 22 November 2008 (UTC)

The file name of the image is Turkey chick. If you doubt the legitemacy, ask the contributor of the image, User:Soumyasch. Stephen Charles Thompson (talk) 10:41, 26 November 2008 (UTC)

The picture with the caption: "A young turkey, called a poult. This poult is distinguished by a distinct snood above its beak even at an early age." This is NOT a turkey poult. This is a CHICKEN. The flesh above the beak is NOT a snood, it is comb. The confusion comes from the picture of the chick with bald flesh on its head. Day old turkey poults do not have bald heads/necks. Some breeds of chickens do, however, even as day old chicks. This picture is a baby chicken, not a turkey. The picture should be corrected to match the caption. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Torwyn (talk • contribs) 18:53, 26 November 2008 (UTC)

Missing information
I was interested in the life expectancy and age and flavor of maturity for the turkey, but couldn't find any info here. I think it should be added, but unfortunately I don't have that information (or else I wouldn't come here), and don't know where to find it (or I'd just go there instead of writing this). Cheers! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 84.208.73.27 (talk) 13:27, 8 June 2008 (UTC)

Same thing here. I found this article extremely lacking. No mention of the association in the US with ThanksGiving (which is something that many looking at this article will be looking for), no content about physiology, range, reproduction, their call, culinary aspects, almost nothing. About half of the article is about its fossil record (which in other birds pages takes maybe less than one tenth of this article). Can someone knowledgeable about the subject expand the article significantly? It is the most lacking article (with respect to the importance of the subject) I've found in wikipedia. Articles about obscure extinct animals have more information about physiology, behavior and geographic range than this one!!! 50.135.154.252 (talk) 08:09, 4 November 2011 (UTC)

I don't think the article even tells you what Turkeys eat... — Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.65.238.150 (talk) 21:02, 12 September 2014 (UTC)

I read that Christopher Columbus had many Jews sailing with him in 1492 as a result of the Inquisition in 1492 and he might have been of Jewish heritage as well. One man on his ship was a linguist and was aboard to act as a translator. He spoke Hebrew and when he was this funny looking bird he called it "tookie" which is Hebrew for tropical bird. In Israel turkeys are called tarnigold hudu or rooster of India. And Thanksgiving was inspired by Succot (The Feast of the Tabernacle).Adar2 (talk) 00:24, 1 February 2016 (UTC)

According to historians a group of turkeys is known as a 'circus' Konsickwence (talk) 03:47, 27 June 2019 (UTC)

meaning of the hebrew
I'd been taught since gradeschool that the turkey got its hebrew name from Jewish immigrants writing home and asking their rabbies whether turkey was kosher and if it was idol worship to celebrate thanksgiving. Reaching for words to describe the bird, they called it a 'chicken of thanksgiving'. My Hebrew grammar isn't the best, but I believe that "hodu" is, in fact, the adjective form of "hodah". Hodu does mean Indian, but it doesn't make sense, as the bird is from America, and that word applies to old world Indians. --REwhite 03:24, 10 Mar 2005 (UTC)


 * You will find, reading between the lines, that the older languages have appropriated the name Turkey from the American English idiom, hence calling both the actual Turkey Bird, as well as the Guinea Foul, by the same name. The Guinea foul being the Indian Chicken...Kingerik 04:18, 11 November 2005 (UTC)


 * Guinea_fowl are completely different from the Indian red jungle fowl. Liam Markham 15:41, 18 July 2007 (UTC)

For those who don't speak Hebrew, the Hebrew term for the Turkey bird is "hodu" (הודו), which is also the name of the country India. The root of the word hodu is the same root as the word for thankfulness. So it is logical that the name of the bird is related to the thanksgiving holiday (or India). Dotancohen (talk) 17:28, 5 February 2008 (UTC)


 * Given that there are several other countries that refer to India in their name for a turkey, it is unlikely that the name is at all related to the Thanksgiving holiday. See here: List of names for turkeys CrocodilesAreForWimps (talk) 16:05, 29 September 2015 (UTC)

Why is it called Turkey in English?
The turkey was a well known and tasty bird amnong the Aztecs, before Columbus reached America. Its original name was "Guajolote" and suddenly became a prefered dish among the Spaniards. There is an old tale that says that a cook, trying to hide the origin of the recipe, invented that it was a Turkish recipe, hence the name of Guajolote changed to Turkey. --Juan Antonio Wikipedio Franco. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 187.142.208.200 (talk) 19:17, 26 November 2011 (UTC)

And not Kalkun (-and related), like in the other germanic languages? Is it because the Britons not liked Turks, so they named a ugly bird after them? --Comanche cph 20:47, 30 June 2006 (UTC)


 * See Turkey. Romperomperompe 06:08, 26 July 2006 (UTC)

I've separated list of names for the Wild Turkey because part of it is generic (in the opening paragraph, and the rest applies to the Wild Turkey or its domesticated descendants, and therefore falls between two stools. jimfbleak 11:00, 28 July 2006 (UTC)

How did the turkey get its name? Well, actually, it got its name from an African guineafowl. When the Spaniards took the bird from the Americas, the English saw it and they thought it was a bird that they usually saw shipped over from (you guessed it) Turkey. The rest is history.

The suggestion in the text that they were called "Turkey birds" for a time before this was shortened to "Turkeys". This appears to come from the Economist article cited. However, there is no evidence that anyone ever said or wrote "Turkey birds" in this period. In the collections of Early English Books Online and Eighteenth Century Collections online (by far the most comprehensive collections of printed works in the relevant periods), there are precisely 0 occurrences of "Turkey bird" or "Turkey birds". Turkey-cock occurs, but simply "Turkey and Turkeys are how they are usually referred to. There is also "The Indian Cock, commonly called , The Turkey-Cock" (Francis Bacon, http://purl.ox.ac.uk/ota/A01454). — Preceding unsigned comment added by Eiamjw (talk • contribs) 13:05, 8 October 2018 (UTC)

There is also no direct evidence for "Turkey coq". — Preceding unsigned comment added by Eiamjw (talk • contribs) 13:16, 8 October 2018 (UTC)

A group of turkeys is known as a 'circus'. Konsickwence (talk) 03:46, 27 June 2019 (UTC)

Taxonomy and classification
Turkeys are delicious and are currently included in the subfamily Meleagridinae (see the appropriate entries in Wikispecies and ITIS). Meleagrididae should be changed for Meleagridinae. --Michael Romanov 05:06, 29 September 2006 (UTC)

The taxonomy template refers to Family Phasianidae. Article Phasianidae mentions Meleagrididae as a sub-family according to the American Ornithologists' Union; this article calls the sub-family Meleagridinae. In the article Phasianidae the genus Meleagris does not occur in the list if genera. There is obviously not a censensus about the classification, but the lack of consistency between articles adds to the confusion. DavidCh0 16:00, 7 March 2007 (UTC)

The sentence on the page explaining this is a little convuluted--it isn't clear if "the bird" being named is the American 'turkey', or the Turkish guineafowl. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.177.238.147 (talk) 17:39, 16 October 2011 (UTC)

Turkey Eggs
Female turkeys lay eggs every 236 days beginning 412 days from hatching. There have been extensive studies to determine the timing of the cycle, most notably by MIT researcher Malakihi Samburoi. Hereto date there has been no conclusive evidence to support any one theory. The most popular theory has the turkey linked in a semi-symbiosis with the thartcher grub, a staple food source for the turkey. Normally a prey/predator relationship does not qualify for symbiosis, but given the dependence of the turkey's reproductive cycle on the thartcher grub, an exception is made. The thartcher grub is the larvae form of the North American Volutan Moth, the largest moth species to exist in both North and Central America. The grub contains large amounts of protein and calcium carbonate, both of which exist in only trace amounts in the adult moth (lost mainly in the formation of the cocoon). The grubs are prime as a food source just before they begin metamorphosis, which is when the turkeys ingest them. The grubs require 28 days to hatch from eggs, and 101 days to gestate before entering metamorphosis. This results in the timing of the turkey's egg-laying cycle (theoretically). —Preceding unsigned comment added by 206.180.38.20 (talk) 20:54, 28 September 2007 (UTC)

My 7yr old wanted to know how often turkeys lay eggs. I told her it was another Wiki quest but it wasn't here! Does anybody know? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 72.198.6.175 (talk) 02:35, 5 December 2006 (UTC).
 * All birds lay eggs. Stephen Charles Thompson (talk) 10:41, 26 November 2008 (UTC)
 * The question was about the frequency at which they lay eggs, not if they do it.50.135.154.252 (talk) 08:10, 4 November 2011 (UTC)


 * Turkeys only lay eggs after mating. After the hen mates, she lays approx. one egg a day for about two weeks, then stops. She sits on the eggs for four weeks until they hatch and does not lay any more eggs until the next mating. I think the mating happens once every 236 days. —Stephen (talk) 08:31, 4 November 2011 (UTC)

Questions: Are turkey eggs edible? What do they taste like? What do they look like?

"Unlike chicken, duck, and quail eggs, turkey eggs are not commonly sold as food due to the high demand for whole turkeys and lower output of eggs as compared with other fowl. The value of a single turkey egg is estimated to be about US $3.50 on the open market, substantially more than a carton of one dozen chicken eggs." Wiki article "Domesticated Turkeys"

Groups of Turkeys
A group of Crows is known as a "murder"...what is a group of Turkeys called ?
 * A flock, same as crows, "murder" is a made-up literary term. jimfbleak 06:22, 24 January 2007 (UTC)

As there is a "murder" of crows, there is a "rafter" of turkeys. Groups of turkeys can also be called brood, flock, or bale. Cybob 21:04, 3 May 2007 (UTC)
 * It's been added. Stephen Charles Thompson (talk) 10:41, 26 November 2008 (UTC)

Names in other languages
There is only one list, the article seems to point to two. Rich Farmbrough, 21:39 2 March 2007 (GMT).
 * List of what? Please elaborate. Stephen Charles Thompson (talk) 10:41, 26 November 2008 (UTC)

The article claims it is called diiq Hindi or "Indian rooster" across Arabia, based on an NPR article referenced. However this information is incorrect as it is called diiq Roomy or 'Roman Rooster' in several Arab countries. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 104.245.147.133 (talk) 15:59, 12 March 2017 (UTC)

Link to Domesticated Turkey
I don't think the domestication of the turkey is an sufficiently unsignificant event to merit a mere "see also" link in this article. Jo7hs2 (talk) 23:29, 22 November 2007 (UTC)
 * How do you like the prominent reference in the Summary? Stephen Charles Thompson (talk) 10:41, 26 November 2008 (UTC)

Eating turkeys?
Shouldn't there be something in this article about eating turkeys? I know that in America they're eaten on Thanksgiving. What's the significance, and the history in this? The turkey is also eaten on Christmas Day in some countries; it certainly is here in Britain. What about some facts, such as the fact that Benjamin Franklin wanted America's national bird to be a turkey? I just thought I'd say, because it seems important. After all, that is why I looked up the turkey in the first place...to find out when they're also eaten other than Christmas and Thanksgiving. Crazy Eddy (talk) 07:26, 24 November 2007 (UTC)
 * Oh no, wait a minute; it's all under Domesticated turkey! Great! :) Crazy Eddy (talk) 07:29, 24 November 2007 (UTC)

Ben Franklin
There should be something about Ben Franklin and the delicious Turkey as the symbol for the USA. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 65.175.196.102 (talk) 22:08, 28 January 2008 (UTC) Ben Franklin is connected to Thanksgiving Day. Later, Thanksgiving Day was connected with turkeys.


 * OK! Stephen Charles Thompson (talk) 10:41, 26 November 2008 (UTC)

Irish claim?
I've removed the nonsensical (and unsupported) claim about an scrumptious Irish turkey farm at the beginning of the 15th century. If the bird is native to North America, and North America was only discovered by Europe at the end of the 15th century, it follows that this just doesn't make sense.Rpine75 (talk) 21:37, 8 May 2008 (UTC)

Map
Map shows counts and ways to cook turkeys, but what type, for what purpose? Is it farm production or wild herds? Numbers seem small. Linked source data does not seem to match. Fix or remove? ---Ransom (--67.91.216.67 (talk) 22:07, 24 September 2008 (UTC))

Someone fix "naitive", huh?
Typos in the first paragraph of a locked article are exceptionally frustrating. :-) 67.170.198.151 (talk) 18:39, 27 November 2008 (UTC)

Fixed. 67.170.198.151 (talk) 18:40, 3 December 2008 (UTC)

Baby turkey picture
What about some sort of baby turkey picture? I realize that there was a debate that a picture of a turkey poult was in fact a baby chicken, so could someone just take a picture of a baby turkey? If not, I'm getting some turkey babies in a few months maybye, so I'll take a picture of one if no-one can get one sooner. UNIT A4B1 (talk) 18:49, 5 February 2010 (UTC)
 * There's a picture of a turkey poult in the domesticated turkey article, is this the contested picture? If not, it should be put in this article also. UNIT A4B1 (talk) 19:08, 5 February 2010 (UTC)
 * As the article is currently structured, where does a picture of a baby turkey fit in? Now a picture of turkey fossils or recreated extinct turkeys... ! — Preceding unsigned comment added by Active Banana (talk • contribs) 20:54, 6 February 2010
 * If I lived near the La Brea Tar Pits I'd get a picture of the fossilized Californian Turkey they have. The same image could be used with the Californian Turkey article. You can see a picture, which looks like it's scanned from a book, here. I assume that image is copyright and so the thinking is to take my own picture. I believe the turkey is always on public display or at least I recall seeing it when I've visited. The other option would be to e-mail the museum and see if they'd be willing to take a picture and to release it to public domain. --Marc Kupper&#124;talk 09:56, 22 December 2010 (UTC)

Reproduction
does it reproduce sexualy? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 122.172.40.195 (talk) 06:32, 16 February 2010 (UTC)
 * Given there are male turkeys, female turkeys, turkey eggs, and then baby turkeys, I would hope so. However, parthenogenesis sometimes happens. --Marc Kupper&#124;talk 05:48, 26 November 2010 (UTC)


 * Parthenogenesis? Within birds? Didn't surely know that, if it even is true. 85.217.20.33 (talk) 22:55, 22 November 2011 (UTC)
 * Wow. I never thought I would see anyone ask that question. Ha. Seems like a given to me. And yes, if I remember correctly, parthenogenesis is possible amongst birds, though it's virtually unheard of and non-existent.

There are multiple, apparently reliable sources (including the BBC and at least one peer-reviewed publication) which describe parthenogenesis in some breeds of turkeys. I came to this WP article expecting to find a definitive answer. I'm not qualified to write one myself, but hope that if this page is ever maintained again, someone will tackle this as it's quite unusual and noteworthy.

Brevity and silence, it seems?
See above. I'm surprised this article is so truncated; it's practically a stub! I'm really surprised, given that this is such a common subject. I realize that the domestic and wild turkey articles are more detailed, but really now... Several statements are made in the article that are never expanded upon (such as foreign names of varying derivations), and citations are few and far between. I'd be happy to edit and make some contributions (especially if I can the password to my account), but some help would most certainly be appreciated, to anyone who has this on their watchlist! :)

A bit tangential, but if anyone could provide me with some help in recovering my password, it would be most appreciated! — Preceding unsigned comment added by 65.185.154.10 (talk) 20:27, 17 October 2014 (UTC)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:FAQ/Technical#How_do_I_recover_a_password_I_have_forgotten.3F. 98.223.222.116 (talk) 22:52, 21 November 2014 (UTC)

Where in Turkey to see in wild
I know they live in usa but where in turkey can i see them
 * Probably on a turkey farm - if anywhere. No idea if the Turks have any interest in them, or even if they are halal or not. 62.196.17.197 (talk) 11:52, 15 February 2016 (UTC)
 * Properly slaughtered and prepared turkey is kosher, and kosher is more restrictive than halal, so it probably is. That's not proof, of course, so don't serve it to observant Muslims without checking. JDZeff (talk) 21:02, 18 November 2017 (UTC)

Contradiction
The first two paragraphs of the History and naming section appear to give two contradictory explanations for the origin of the name. This needs to be resolved.--Srleffler (talk) 11:43, 8 October 2015 (UTC)

Merriam-Webster seems to be giving credence to the first explanation: Laserray7 (talk) 23:27, 28 November 2015 (UTC)

Add category

 * Please, add . 178.94.166.186 (talk) 18:34, 26 November 2015 (UTC)
 * ❌ - This article is about a species, however, Turkey meat is already in that category - Arjayay (talk) 21:37, 26 November 2015 (UTC)
 * And what? Why not? The article already included into another cuisine category . 178.94.166.186 (talk) 12:49, 27 November 2015 (UTC)
 * That's not really a good category for this article either. Neither was "Hunting in the United States". This article is about the genus: there is one common and very well known species, an uncommon and poorly known Central American species, and an extinct species. Wild turkey, domestic turkey and turkey meat are better articles for cuisine related categories. Plantdrew (talk) 02:41, 28 November 2015 (UTC)

Add a section named "As food"?
I have noticed that this article has no section about turkey as food, not even a mention about which types of turkey are used as food. I will be expanding, but you may like to comment on what to put in with this turkey stuff. Qwertyxp2000 (talk &#124; contribs) 00:32, 24 December 2015 (UTC)
 * Or what about one about how turkeys are useful in humans? Qwertyxp2000 (talk &#124; contribs) 01:18, 24 December 2015 (UTC)
 * This article is about both species of turkey, Wild Turkey and Ocellated Turkey. Mostly the Wild Turkey and its domestic form are used as food, so the stuff about food is at those articles.  However, people keep thinking this article is only about the Thanksgiving-and-Christmas species. &mdash;JerryFriedman  (Talk) 03:58, 26 December 2015 (UTC)
 * Well, if it is about all turkeys, then we could change that newly added section to say that only Wild Turkey and Domestic Turkeys are used as food. By the way, what other uses are there for turkeys, wild, ocellated, or domestic? Qwertyxp2000 (talk &#124; contribs) 22:57, 26 December 2015 (UTC)


 * Google suggests that Ocellated Turkeys are hunted, and the feathers are sold for fly-tying and probably other ornamental purposes. &mdash;JerryFriedman (Talk) 15:18, 28 December 2015 (UTC)

Columbus and the Turkey
I read that Columbus sailed in 1492 with many Jews on board who were fleeing Spain because of the Inquisition. Some have questioned Columbus' heritage as well. One of the Jews who sailed with him was a linguist to serve as an interpreter. He spoke Hebrew and legend has it that when he saw this strange bird he called it a "tookie", Hebrew for tropical bird such as a parrot. In modern Hebrew a turkey is called "tarnigold hudu" or "Indian rooster". In addition Thanksgiving was inspired by the Feast of the Tabernacles known in Hebrew as Succot, the Jewish harvest festival and commemoration of the booths in the desert during the Exodus.Adar2 (talk) 00:37, 1 February 2016 (UTC)

Other sites with information on Turkeys
As noted elsewhere, this article is quite short and lacks much that is found in other articles on animals. This site contains much of the missing information: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Wild_Turkey/lifehistory

I did not see an IUCN status listing as many animals have, either here or on the linked page. That would be nice to have.

50.108.195.65 (talk) 14:33, 30 May 2016 (UTC)

Turkeys and peru
I have reverted the revert by Plantdrew. 1. My edit provided a source (for the proposition that peru is the  Portuguese name for turkey). The article List of names for turkeys has no sources for the peru point (and has been notified as such since 2012, with nothing being done about it). 2. My edit was obviously relevant to the point that's under discussion. So I have put it back. Ttocserp 18:00, 19 October 2016 (UTC)

Section swap
In my opinion, the 'Use by humans' section should be above the 'See also' section in this article to maintain consistency of the layout of articles on Wikipedia. Xboxsponge15 (talk) 22:26, 26 December 2019 (UTC)


 * Thanks for catching this. It was a product of a merge that in addition to misplacing the 'See also' section, also added categories that didn't belong on this article and split the references into two places. Plantdrew (talk) 22:48, 26 December 2019 (UTC)

Flight
Nothing on flight? Asgrrr (talk) 20:54, 9 February 2020 (UTC)

intro section error (re: snood / wattle)
the intro section needs to be changed. a "snood" is a protuberance on the forehead, whereas a "wattle" is under the chin. cf https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caruncle_(bird_anatomy) — Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.209.27.194 (talk) 00:57, 9 April 2020 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request 10 October 2021
With, User:Faster than Thunder added Turkey to the hatnote, with the ES "There is also a country". I believe it should be removed (effectively, reverted.)

Explanation: We do not usually add base page names to disambiguation hatnotes on articles with titles including a disambiguating phrase ("qualifier"), in this case "bird". Few readers looking for the country article would guess it is at "Turkey (bird)". We already have as a redirect. The addition is just clutter. 85.67.32.244 (talk) 13:07, 10 October 2021 (UTC)


 * ✅ Plantdrew (talk) 17:01, 10 October 2021 (UTC)

Please restore restore flight section (text below in message body)
The citation for this section was accidentally removed in 2009 while removing nonsense vandalism that had been inserted; several years later, the entire section was deleted,  presumably because it was by that time without a source. Below is the old text of the section, with the source. 2600:1702:4960:1DE0:F12B:A561:F1F1:405D (talk) 00:30, 26 February 2022 (UTC)

Flight
While the large domestic turkey is generally unable to fly, the smaller wild turkey can fly extremely well. This is usually enough to perch in the branches of trees, however, it is an ineffective method of transportation. Turkey poults (chicks) are unable to fly for the first two weeks after they hatch.