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| Credit: greennature.com |
1. Periscopic Vision- the turkey has a 360-degree field of vision by rotating its head, eyes are on the sides of its head.
2. Stones in their stomachs- its stomach is called the gizzard that contains tiny stones known as gastroliths which help in the breakdown of food for digestion, since birds do not have teeth.
3. Wild turkeys can fly- at the speed of up to 55 miles per hour (89 kilometers per hour) but commercially raised turkeys cannot fly.
4. Make you sleepy- its meat contains tryptophan, an amino acid that the body uses to make serotonin, a neurotransmitter in the brain that helps regulate sleep.
5. Sleep in the trees- prefers to sleep on top of tree branches where it is safe from its predators. They like oak trees.
6. Do not have external ear structures- turkey have small holes in their head, very keen sense of hearing and can locate sounds from afar even miles away.
7. Turkeys have heart attacks- dropped dead with heart attacks when the United States Air Force was doing experiment runs and breaking the sound barricade close by.
8. Female turkeys don't gobble-they talk through clucks and little, chirp-like noises.Male turkeys are called gobblers. They can be heard a mile away on a silent day.
9. They blush-when terrified, disturbed, thrilled or sick, the uncovered skin on its head and neck can change from its usual pale pink or bluish gray color to red, white, or blue.
10. Benjamin Franklin adored turkeys- he wrote a letter to his daughter and quote, “the turkey is in comparison a much more respectable bird, and withal a true original native of America. Eagles have been found in all countries, but the turkey was peculiar to ours..."
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Galliformes
Family: Phasianidae
Gray, 1840
Subfamily: Meleagridinae
Genus: Meleagris
Linnaeus, 1758
Species
M. gallopavo
M. ocellata
How terrific is that? Let’s gobble! Gobble! Gobble!
Sources:
8 Terrific Turkey Facts | Turkey Bird
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