A turkey are just one from a couple types of highest wild birds throughout the genus Meleagris. Turkeys was classified about gamebird buy. Formerly, they were considered a distinct family relations, Meleagrididae, but now these were reclassified since a subfamily (Meleagridinae) of your pheasants and their allies. Like with of a lot galliform variety, the female is smaller compared to the male, and far faster colorful. With the wingspans of just one.5-1.8 m, the turkeys try by far the greatest wild birds in the wild woods in which they live, and generally are barely mistaken for other varieties.
The present day domesticated poultry was created throughout the Insane Turkey. The Ocellated Turkey are most likely and additionally tamed by the Mayans. This has been speculated that types is more tractable than just its north equivalent, and is the source of your present tamed inventory, but there’s zero morphological evidence to support it theory. In particular, new tits tuft out of home-based turkeys are an obvious indicator regarding descent regarding the Nuts Chicken, as the Ocellated Poultry does not have it tuft.
Turkeys try commonly hunted, particularly the Nuts Poultry during the North america. In lieu of their domestic counterparts, the turkeys is careful and you can nimble flyers.
Naming
Whenever Europeans basic came across such kinds regarding the Americas, it incorrectly understood them with the fresh new African Helmeted Guineafowl (Numida meleagris), labeled as this new chicken-penis from the importation to Central Europe compliment of Poultry, additionally the term of that country stuck due to the fact plus the term of your own Western bird. The brand new frustration is also shown throughout the medical term: meleagris was Greek to have guinea-fowl.
The newest brands into the domesticated Chicken in other dialects and seem to mirror the unique roots, seen of a vintage Community advice, and you may misunderstandings on in which it really comes from. The many recommendations in order to India observed in common brands return to help you a mixture of a few items: very first, the genuine religion that the recently-receive Americas have been actually a part of Eastern China, and you can second, this new tendency to characteristic unique develop for some style of put you to definitely at the time symbolized far-off, amazing places. The second is mirrored when it comes for example ” Muscovy Duck” (that is from South america, perhaps not Muscovy) and indeed try a major reason the name “turkey-cock” try moved to Meleagris varieties.
Another wild birds that are often titled “turkeys” aren’t particularly directly associated: brand new Australian clean-turkey are a beneficial megapode, therefore the bird identified given that “Australian chicken” is obviously the latest Australian Bustard, an effective gruiform.
Asexual reproduction
Turkeys are notable for their capability, rare amongst higher species, to replicate asexually. On the absence of a male, ladies Turkeys are recognized to produce rich egg. Anyone produced often is sickly, and you can often men. So it behavior is affect the fresh incubation out-of egg during the Poultry agriculture.
Traditional turkeys
Of several turkeys have been demonstrated out of fossils. The latest Meleagridinae try known regarding Early Miocene (c.23 mya) forward, into extinct genera Rhegminornis (Very early Miocene out-of Bell, USA) and Proagriocharis (Kimball Later Miocene/Very early Pliocene from Tangerine Creek, USA). The former is likely 
an excellent basal chicken, others a far more progressive bird not too the same as known turkeys; each other was in fact much quicker birds. A poultry fossil maybe not assignable so you’re able to genus but like Meleagris is known regarding Later Miocene regarding Westmoreland Condition, Virginia (Olson, 1985).
In the present genus Meleagris, numerous varieties were decribed, as turkey fossils are powerful, frequently discovered, and you can turkes reveal much variation among people. A few of these going fossil varieties are now felt junior synonyms. That, the fresh better-noted Ca Chicken Meleagris californica, turned extinct recently sufficient to was in fact hunted by the very early individual settlers, even if the actual dying is more probably attributable to weather alter after the very last frost many years. The current variety and the California Turkey seem to have diverged approximately one million years back (Olson, 1985).
- Meleagris sp. (Very early Pliocene regarding Limbs Valley, USA)
- Meleagris leopoldi (Later Pliocene out-of Cita Canyon, USA) – formerly Agriocharis
- Meleagris progenes (Rexroad Late Pliocene, Meade State, USA) – earlier Agriocharis
- Meleagris sp. (Late Pliocene out-of Macasphalt Layer Gap, USA)
- Meleagris anza (Very early Pleistocene regarding Hillcrest State, USA)
- Meleagris californica (Later Pleistocene from SW Usa) – formerly Parapavo/Pavo
- Meleagris crassipes (Later Pleistocene regarding SW United states)