birdnote q&a: in celebration of the turkey

LIVING WHERE WILD TURKEYS, once in decline, have been extra-successfully repopulated, I get to regularly enjoy these comical big birds. Their crazy, descending gobble-gobble-gobble, and the occasional startling, loud beating of wings if a flock is spooked from their roost up in the trees are both part of the background music here. And as dumpy as Meleagris gallopavo looks—more dirigible than F-35 screeching off the flight deck, and positively prehistoric—they are in fact sprinters in the bird world, able to fly very short distances at very high speed (like up to 55 miles per hour). In time for Turkey Day, I asked Ellen Blackstone of the public-radio show BirdNote to serve up some other turkey tidbits—facts and lore about this plus-sized American bird.

In the Q&A that follows, Ellen’s answers contain green links to audio files from BirdNote’s archive that you won’t want to miss. A recap of earlier stories in our ongoing series is at the bottom of the page, along with information on how to get BirdNote daily–and if you want to give thanks to nonprofit BirdNote for all their wonderful avian “aha’s,” you can do so at this link.

the turkey q&a with ellen blackstone

Q. Why isn’t the wild turkey our national bird?

A. In 1784, that wise old Ben Franklin groused to his daughter, after the fact, about the choice of the bald eagle as our national symbol:

“For my own part I wish the Bald Eagle had not been chosen the Representative of our Country. He is a Bird of bad moral Character. He does not get his Living honestly. …Too lazy to fish for himself, he watches the Labour of the Fishing Hawk; and when that diligent Bird has at length taken a Fish, and is bearing it to his Nest for the Support of his Mate and young Ones, the Bald Eagle

Nature bird sh-t Ellen Blackstone Usa Turkey