Fun Facts About Turkeys (most via Wikipedia)
* The domestic or wild turkey is native to North America
* A relative, the ocellated turkey, is native to the Yucatan Peninsula
* Turkeys are classed in the same family, Phasianadae, as partridges and pheasants
* Aside from "turkey", two other animals that end in K-E-Y are "donkey" and "monkey"
* Early Europeans in America incorrectly identified turkeys as a type of guineafowl, thought to originate in Turkey, and began calling them, "turkey fowl", later shortened to "turkey"
* The wild turkey was domesticated at least 2000 years ago
* Young domestic turkeys readily fly short distances
* Turkeys are very social animals, and will identify and attack a turkey alien to the group
* The eggs of some turkey breeds can develop without fertilization
* Hens of the dominant commercial breed must be artificially inseminated, as the mature males are too large to achieve natural fertilization without injuring them
* It is difficult not to overcook a turkey
Happy Thanksgiving!