by gobble up, gobble up
Turkey sandwiches are eaten year-round, but during Thanksgiving, the bearded bird is the main attraction at the table. But there’s more to turkeys than meets the eye. Like all birds, the turkey (meleagris gallopavo) is a living dinosaur, which means it is related to tyrannosaurus rex. The official bird of Thanksgiving can sport multiple wattles and has an iridescent cousin known as the ocellated turkey (Meleagris ocellata) that lives in the Yucatán peninsula in Mexico, northern Belize, and northern Guatemala.
LiveWordsKick.com takes a look at the rich biology, history, and folklore behind the staple of the harvest celebration. We hope you gobble up some turkey science with your holiday meal.
1. They wear a beard
Has the centerpiece of many a Thanksgiving table ever sported a beard? Kind of. The hair-like bristles that grow from the breast of male turkeys (or gobblers) and some chickens are actually specialized feathers called mesophylloplumes that grow from a single follicle. They can be long, with some beards touching the ground, although feeding tends to wear down the tips, according to the Pennsylvania Game Commission.
Some birds have two: gobblers have been seen with a whopping eight wattles, according to the Game Commission, although of the 10% of turkeys with multiple wattles, most have just two.
Although scientists aren’t sure about the purpose of filoplumes, they could serve a sensory function: Their movement could send information to birds about “Their tiny movements send information to nerve cells to tell a bird when its feathers need to be adjusted in outline.” “, according to The Nature of Feathers.
2. Related to the tyrannosaurus rex?
A turkey’s wishbone, the one you and your sister pull on opposite ends to see who gets the middle nodule, is formed by the fusion of the bird’s two clavicles. Also called the furcular, the bone serves as a connection point for the muscles and a support for the wings. During the bird’s wingbeat (yes, turkeys can fly as fast as 50 mph, or 80.5 km/h in short bursts), the fuze acts like a spring to store and release energy. This elasticity is also the reason why it is so difficult to break a fuze before it dries out. It turns out that wishbone is more than just a fun game for Turkey Day; it also serves as a reminder that birds evolved from a group of dinosaurs. Researchers have discovered that the wishbone dates back more than 150 million years to theropods, a group of meat-eating dinosaurs that includes t rex Y velociraptor.
3. They sleep in trees
Why turkeys are so big and heavy: The heaviest wild turkey weighs 86 pounds (39 kilograms), according to Guinness World Records. (opens in a new tab) — These large birds are often supposed to stick to the ground. In fact, turkeys prefer to sleep perched on tree branches, where they are safe from predators, which include coyotes, foxes, and raccoons. They often sleep in flocks, waking up to a series of soft howls before descending to make sure the rest of the roosting group is safe after a night without seeing or hearing each other.
4. Female turkey hens don’t gobble
Don’t be disappointed if the turkey at the petting zoo refuses to gobble, it’s probably a female, which is called a hen. Male turkeys are called gobblers, because they are the only ones that can make that adorable gobble sound. Each male turkey has his own unique gobbling “technique,” which he combines with strutting to attract potential mates. Female turkey hens communicate through clucks and small chirp-like noises.
5. Do they make you sleepy?
If you’re feeling groggy after an old-fashioned Thanksgiving meal, the bird on your plate may be partly to blame. Turkey meat contains tryptophan, an amino acid that the body uses to produce serotonin, a neurotransmitter in the brain that helps regulate sleep. However, all meat contains tryptophan at comparable levels. Other tryptophan-rich foods include cheese, nuts, and shellfish. What makes the Thanksgiving meal so memorably exhausting is the mix of meat with carbs. The carbohydrates in the filling, sweet potatoes, bread, cakes, and sugary sweets stimulate the release of insulin, which then triggers the absorption of most amino acids, except tryptophan, from the blood into the muscles. With the other amino acids removed from the bloodstream, tryptophan does not have to compete with them and is better able to reach the brain to help produce serotonin, which then prepares it for sleep.
6. Did Franklin love turkeys?
Benjamin Franklin wrote a letter to his daughter extolling the virtues of the turkey, sparking centuries of speculation that he preferred wolverines to the bald eagle as the national emblem and mascot of the United States.
But it may have been a joke.
It’s hard to know exactly what Franklin had in mind, but it’s possible he was mocking the American trend of making national things, like a national bird or a national tree, which wasn’t done very much in the 18th century. Or perhaps he wrote the letter as a satire to mislead the Cincinnati Society, a patriotic organization created by former Revolutionary War officers; it is possible that Franklin flouted his hereditary membership requirements.
Either way, Franklin never stated outright that the turkey should be the national bird. Rather, he complimented the turkey while he belittled the eagle.
7. Wild turkeys can fly.
Wild turkeys can fly in short bursts at speeds of up to 55 miles per hour (89 km per hour). However, like other game birds, they fly terribly because their wings are too small and their flight muscles are too large and heavy, making it difficult for them to launch into the air.
Turkeys prefer to feed on the ground, where they peck at grass, seeds, acorns, nuts, berries, and small insects such as grasshoppers. The myth of turkeys’ inability to fly may stem from the fact that many domestic turkeys, such as the Broad-breasted White turkey, which is the most commercially used breed, are flightless; they are too burdened by their own flesh. These birds have been selectively bred to be much heavier and possess a larger, broader chest, the weight of which keeps them perpetually grounded.
8. They have periscopic vision
As many hunters know, a turkey has excellent vision. Because its eyes are on the sides of its head, the turkey has periscopic vision, which allows it to see objects that are not in its direct line of sight. By turning its head, the turkey has a 360-degree field of vision, according to “The Wild Turkey: Biology and Management” by James G. Dickson. (opens in a new tab)(Stackpole Books, 1992).
9. They blush
When a turkey is startled, agitated, excited, or sick, the exposed skin on the head and neck may change from its usual pale pink or gray-blue color to red, white, or blue. And during mating season, the male turkey’s beard turns scarlet to reflect his elevated levels of sex hormones. The fleshy flap of skin that hangs over the gobbler’s bill is called the snood, and it also turns bright red when the bird is excited.
10. They have stones in their stomach
Here’s one part of the turkey that kids definitely won’t be fighting over at the Thanksgiving table: A part of the bird’s stomach, called the gizzard, contains small stones that the bird has previously swallowed. Also known as gastroliths, these polished stones help break down food for digestion, since birds do not have teeth.
They do, however, have two stomachs, the first of which is called the glandular stomach, where gastric juices soften and break down food. The food then enters the turkey’s gizzard, which is extremely muscular and further dissolves the food by grinding it against the gastroliths before moving the muck along the intestines or back into the glandular stomach for more complete digestion.
Editor’s Note: Originally published on November 23, 2015 and updated on November 23, 2022.
