From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
| Domesticated Turkey | ||||||||||||
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 Large White Turkey Larger image | ||||||||||||
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Meleagris gallopavo Meleagris ocellata | ||||||||||||
The domesticated turkey is descended from one of the North American wild turkey species, probably the Mexican Ocellated Turkey, Agriocharis ocellata.
The turkey is reared throughout temperate parts of the World, and is a popular form of poultry because industrialised farming has made it very cheap for the amount of meat, and it is considered healthier and less fattening than red meat.
Eating turkey was once mainly restricted to special occasions like Christmas in Europe, and Thanksgiving in North America, in both cases having displaced the traditional goose, but it is now available year-round in supermarkets.
In the USA, the female domesticated turkey is referred to as a hen, a male as a tom, a chick as a poult and a castrated turkey as a hokie. In Europe, the male is a stag.
See also: turkey (bird), turkey (food)
More images of domesticated turkeys:
