Turkey Facts

Before you sit down to that feast on Thursday, maybe you would like to know a little about Turkeys. How did the turkey get its name?

There are several theories. When Christopher Columbus first landed here, he believed he was near India and thought this unusual bird was a type of peacock and called it "tuka" which is peacock in the Indian language of Tamil.

The turkey is, however, not a peacock but a type of pheasant. Nice try, Chris!    

The Native American word for this bird is "firkee" so some people believe this is how we get the word turkey. Others think it is because when a turkey is scared (like right around Thanksgiving) it makes a noise like "turk, turk, turk". 

Turkey vs. Eagle. At one time, the turkey had been seriously considered as a candidate for our national bird. One of its biggest supporters was Benjamin Franklin. He thought that the turkey, whom he called "both vain and silly" was superior to the bald eagle whom he called a "coward". of course, we all know how this debate turned out since that is not a turkey on the dollar bill.

Did You Know...

• that turkeys are the only poultry native to the western hemisphere

• that turkeys have great hearing despite not having any external ears

• that turkeys can see in color and have a 270-degree field of vision, this makes it tough to sneak up on them

• turkeys have a very poor sense of smell but an excellent sense of taste

• domesticated turkeys cannot fly but wild turkeys can

• Wild turkeys can fly for short distances at speeds up to 55mph and they can reach speeds of 25 mph on the ground

• turkeys sometimes spend the night in trees

• turkeys can have heart attacks

• turkeys residing near Air Force test areas where the sound barriers have been broken have been known to drop dead from being startled by the jets