Wild Turkey, Christmas Turkey
The Wild Turkey Has Survived Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Other Feasts
People love turkeys - as wildlife, for sport, or as food for the table. These large North American birds were nearly hunted to extinction, but they're back and spreading.
Say “turkey” and, in the minds of many people, you’ll conjure up a mental image of a table laden with roast turkey, vegetables, gravy and all the other favorites eaten at Thanksgiving and Christmas. Some will also think of a large bird with a blue and red head and a body so loaded with frilly dark metallic feathers and fans that it defies brief description.
The Wild Turkey in History
That ornate bird is a male Wild Turkey, Meleagris gallopavo. (The one on the table is probably a descendant of a Wild Turkey from the southwestern United States or Mexico, domesticated, taken to Europe, and much changed over the generations.) In the 1600s, Wild Turkeys ranged throughout the eastern United States and southern Canada, feeding on berries, acorns, and nuts plentiful in the mature hardwood forests. Already hunted by the indigenous people of North America, it was no accident that these large tasty birds immediately caught the eye of European settlers.
Wild Turkeys and the Colonists
The Europeans who settled the eastern United States set about hunting turkeys for food and feathers, and clearing land for settlement, building construction, and agriculture. It was hard times for the Wild Turkey and populations plummeted – by the late 1800s the birds were nearing extinction in the wild, though they had earned permanent fame as a table centerpiece and as an icon of the United States. (It's said that Benjamin Franklin proposed the Wild Turkey as the national bird of the United States, but the Bald Eagle prevailed.)
Turkeys Recover
Though the Wild turkey is not a protected bird (you do need a license to hunt or permission to kill), efforts to protect Wild turkeys and reestablish them throughout their former range have been very successful. The Wild Turkey population is now estimated at over three million and their range has expanded into areas where they did not live in the past. Turkey hunting is a viable sport once again and, presumably, more people are sitting down to a Christmas feast featuring wild rather than domestic turkey.
Backyard Turkeys
Some of these adaptable birds have moved into human communities and are fitting in with various degrees of acceptance. Wild turkeys in back yards and on the streets are interesting additions to the local ecosystem and popular with children. When they block traffic, however, or chase pedestrians and aggressively attack people and vehicles, they are not so welcome. Some communities have managed to reach a compromise with their local turkeys that keeps the peace.
Living with wild turkeys calls for an understanding of their behavior. Male turkeys fight for dominance, winning the right to mate with several females. If they feel their dominance is being challenged, they’ll behave very aggressively to protect it – and sometimes they mistake people and vehicles for competition. Fighting back is usually the best response. Feeding wild turkeys can encourage aggressive behavior – so inviting one to Christmas dinner (as a guest, that is), is not advised.
Source:
Perrins, Christopher ed. Firefly Encyclopedia of Birds. New York: Firefly, 2003.
Read about turkey troubles:
Bold Birds Ruffle Feathers on Mackworth Island
When Turkeys Attack: Bostonians Battle Wild Birds
