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Wild turkey
species of bird / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the bird. For the whiskey, see Wild Turkey (bourbon).
The wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) is the name of the more common of the two species of turkey. This large bird is found across much of the United States and southern Canada.[2][3][4]
Quick Facts Conservation status, Scientific classification ...
Wild turkey | |
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Male (Tom) wild turkey displaying | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Galliformes |
Family: | Phasianidae |
Genus: | Meleagris |
Species: | M. gallopavo |
Binomial name | |
Meleagris gallopavo | |
Close
Wild turkeys prefer hardwood and mixed conifer-hardwood forests with scattered openings such as pastures, fields, orchards and seasonal marshes. They can adapt to any dense plant community so long as there is cover and openings to fly out. Open, mature forests with a variety of tree species seem to be best.
The domesticated turkey has been tamed and bred from wild turkeys, by people, to raise on farms.