Wild Turkey Facts: The Fast-Flying Bird Benjamin Franklin Admired
Forget the slow, waddling farm bird of Thanksgiving cartoons. The wild turkey is a sharp-eyed, strong-flying woodland athlete that can outrun a galloping horse over short ground — and it once earned a famous compliment from Benjamin Franklin himself. Our video's turkey is enjoying a pumpkin, which is exactly the kind of feast this clever bird evolved to find.
Watch Wild Turkey at Snack Time Zoo:
The Compliment Franklin Actually Paid It
In a 1784 letter to his daughter, Benjamin Franklin grumbled that the bald eagle was a bird of bad moral character and called the turkey a much more respectable bird, and a true original native of America. The popular story that he formally proposed the turkey as the national bird is a myth — it was a private joke between father and daughter. Still, few birds have ever received a better character reference.
Yes, Wild Turkeys Can Fly — Fast
Wild turkeys are powerful fliers, bursting into the air at up to about 90 kilometres per hour over short distances. Every evening they flap up into trees and roost safely on branches overnight, out of reach of most predators. The heavy domestic turkey, bred for the table, lost this ability — but its wild ancestor is built like a feathered sprinter, and can also run at around 40 kilometres per hour.
Gobbles, Snoods and Shimmering Feathers
A male turkey, called a tom, puts on one of nature's great shows: he fans his tail, puffs his body feathers until he looks twice his size, and gobbles — a call that can carry more than a kilometre. His feathers shimmer bronze, green and copper in the light. The fleshy flap hanging over his beak is called a snood, and it stretches and changes colour with his mood, while the bristly tuft on his chest is a beard of stiff, hair-like feathers.
A Comeback From Almost Gone
By the early 1900s, hunting and forest clearing had crashed North America's wild turkeys to roughly 100,000 birds. Then came one of conservation's greatest rescue stories: protecting habitat and trapping wild birds to release them in new forests brought the population roaring back to several million today. Superb eyesight — about three times sharper than ours — and excellent hearing helped the returning birds stay one step ahead of danger.
Quick Summary
The wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) is North America's biggest game bird: a fast-flying, tree-roosting, sharp-sensed native that Benjamin Franklin called respectable — and that conservation brought back from the edge of extinction.
Frequently Asked Questions
Did Benjamin Franklin want the turkey to be the national bird?
Not officially. In a private 1784 letter to his daughter he joked that the bald eagle had bad moral character and called the turkey a much more respectable, truly native bird. He never formally proposed it — the famous story grew out of that one compliment.
How fast can a wild turkey fly?
Up to about 90 kilometres per hour in short bursts, usually low over the ground or up into a roosting tree. Wild turkeys can also run at roughly 40 kilometres per hour.
Why do turkeys gobble?
Male turkeys gobble mainly in spring, to attract hens and warn rival males away. The gobble is unique to the males and can be heard more than a kilometre away.
What is the red flap on a turkey's beak?
It is called a snood. This fleshy flap hangs over the beak of males, and it can lengthen, shorten and change colour depending on the turkey's mood and health.