Turkey Talk

Right now I want to talk about the wild turkey. About 400 years ago, wild turkeys were everywhere in North America, but when the pilgrims arrived they almost hunted them to extinction. But today they are making a great comeback, and were introduced to my home state of Oregon as a game species. It may sound strange but wild turkeys actually fly. The diet of the wild turkey consists of acorns, corn, fruit, frogs, insects and lizards. Male turkeys are famous for the way they spread their tail feathers out like a fan, and if you were wondering, the long piece of skin that hangs from the top of its beak is called the snoode. According to what the bible says turkeys were created on day 5 of creation.

And God said, “Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the vault of the sky.” So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living thing with which the water teems and that moves about in it, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the fifth day.” Genesis 1:20-23

Now turkeys were not the only animals the pilgrims ate. They also ate eels, white-tailed deer, waterfowl, atlantic cod, and surprisingly, the bald eagle. In places where turkeys aren’t hunted you can get very close up to them. The domestic turkey is one of four species of turkey. In the 16th century, they were taken from Mexico to Europe, and then the English brought the domestic turkey back to North America. God bless everyone, and I hope you have a Happy Thanksgiving.