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Wild turkey
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For other uses, see Wild Turkey (disambiguation).
Wild turkey
Male (tom) wild turkey displaying
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Galliformes
Family: Phasianidae
Genus: Meleagris
Species: M. gallopavo
Binomial name
Meleagris gallopavo
Linnaeus, 1758
Subspecies
6, see text
Distribution of M. gallopavo
The wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) is an upland ground bird native to North America and is the heaviest member of the diverse Galliformes. It is the same species as the domestic turkey, which was originally derived from a southern Mexican subspecies of wild turkey (not the related ocellated turkey). Although native to North America, the turkey probably got its name from the domesticated variety being imported to Britain in ships coming from the Levant via Spain. The British at the time therefore associated the wild turkey with the country Turkey and the name prevails.[2][3][4]
Contents
[hide]
1 Description
2 Habitat
3 Behavior
3.1 Flight
3.2 Vocalizations
3.3 Foraging
3.4 Social structure and mating
4 Predators
5 Range and population
6 Subspecies
6.1 Eastern wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo silvestris) (Viellot, 1817)
6.2 Osceola wild turkey or Florida wild turkey (M. g. osceola) (Scott, 1890)
6.3 Rio Grande wild turkey (M. g. intermedia) (Sennett, 1879)
6.4 Merriam's wild turkey (M. g. merriami) (Nelson, 1900)
6.5 Gould's wild turkey (M. g. mexicana) (Gould, 1856)
6.6 South Mexican wild turkey (M. g. gallopavo) (Linnaeus, 1758)
7 Benjamin Franklin and the U.S. national bird suggestion
8 Significance to Native Americans
9 See also
10 Notes
11 References
12 External links
Description[edit]
Closeup of wild turkey hen
Adult wild turkeys have long reddish-yellow to grayish-green legs. The body feathers are generally blackish and dark, sometimes grey brown overall with a coppery sheen that becomes more complex in adult males. Adult males, called toms or gobblers, have a large, featherless, reddish head, red throat, and red wattles on the throat and neck. The head has fleshy growths called caruncles. Juvenile males are called jakes; the difference between an adult male and a juvenile is that the jake has a very short beard and his tail fan has longer feathers in the middle. The adult male's tail fan feathers will be all the same length.[5] When males are excited, a fleshy flap on the bill expands, and this, the wattles and the bare skin of the head and neck all become engorged with blood, almost concealing the eyes and bill. The long fleshy object over a male's beak is called a snood. Each foot has three toes in front, with a shorter, rear-facing toe in back; males have a spur behind each of their lower legs.[6]
Male turkeys have a long, dark, fan-shaped tail and glossy bronze wings. As with many other species of the Galliformes, turkeys exhibit strong sexual dimorphism. The male is substantially larger than the female, and his feathers have areas of red, purple, green, copper, bronze, and gold iridescence. The preen gland (uropygial gland) is also larger in male turkeys compared to female ones. In contrast to the majority of other birds, they are colonized by bacteria of unknown function (Corynebacterium uropygiale).[7] Females, called hens, have feathers that are duller overall, in shades of brown and gray. Parasites can dull coloration of both sexes; in males, coloration may serve as a signal of health.[8] The primary wing feathers have white bars. Turkeys have 5000 to 6000 feathers.[9] Tail feathers are of the same length in adults, different lengths in juveniles. Males typically have a "beard", a tuft of coarse hair (modified feathers) growing from the center of the breast. Beards average 230 mm (9.1 in) in length. In some populations, 10 to 20% of females have a beard, usually shorter and thinner than that of the male. The adult male (or "tom") normally weighs from 5 to 11 kg (11 to 24 lb) and measures 100–125 cm (39–49 in) in length. The adult female (or "hen") is typically much smaller at 2.5–5.4 kg (5.5–11.9 lb) and is 76 to 95 cm (30 to 37 in) long.[10][11] Per two large studies, the average weight of adult males is 7.6 kg (17 lb) and the average weight of adult females is 4.26 kg (9.4 lb).[12][13] The wings are relatively small, as is typical of the galliform order, and the wingspan ranges from 1.25 to 1.44 m (4 ft 1 in to 4 ft 9 in). The wing chord is only 20 to 21.4 cm (7.9 to 8.4 in). The bill is also relatively small, as adults measure 2 to 3.2 cm (0.79 to 1.26 in) in culmen length.[14] The tarsus of the wild turkey is quite long and sturdy, measuring from 9.7 to 19.1 cm (3.8 to 7.5 in). The tail is also relatively long, ranging from 24.5 to 50.5 cm (9.6 to 19.9 in).[15] The record-sized adult male wild turkey, according to the National Wild Turkey Federation, weighed 16.85 kg (37.1 lb), with records of tom turkeys weighing over 13.8 kg (30 lb) uncommon but not rare.[16] While it is usually rather lighter than the waterfowl, after the trumpeter swan (Cygnus buccinator), the turkey has the second heaviest maximum weight of any North American bird. Going on average mass, several other birds on the continent, including the American white pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos), the tundra swan (Cygnus columbianus columbianus) and the very rare California condor (Gymnogyps californianus) and whooping crane (Grus americana) surpass the mean weight of turkeys. On one hand, none of these other species are as sexually dimorphic in size as the wild turkey, but on the other, they are also far less numerous and are not legally hunted unlike the turkey, thousands of which are weighed every year during hunting season.[17][18]
Habitat[edit]
Eastern subspecies
Wild turkeys prefer hardwood and mixed conifer-hardwood forests with scattered openings such as pastures, fields, orchards and seasonal marshes. They seemingly can adapt to virtually any dense native plant community as long as coverage and openings are widely available. Open, mature forest with a variety of interspersion of tree species appear to be preferred. In the Northeast of North America, turkeys are most profuse in hardwood timber of oak-hickory (Quercus-Carya) and forests of red oak (Quercus rubra), beech (Fagus grandifolia), cherry (Prunus serotina) and white ash (Fraxinus americana). Best ranges for turkeys in the Coastal Plain and Piedmont sections have an interspersion of clearings, farms, and plantations with preferred habitat along principal rivers and in cypress (Taxodium distichum) and tupelo (Nyssa sylvatica) swamps. In Appalachian and Cumberland plateaus, birds occupy mixed forest of oaks and pines on southern and western slopes, also hickory with diverse understories. Bald cypress and sweet gum (Liquidambar styraciflua) swamps of s. Florida; also hardwood of Cliftonia (a heath) and oak in north-central Florida. Lykes Fisheating Creek area of s. Florida has up to 51% cypress, 12% hardwood hammocks, 17% glades of short grasses with isolated live oak (Quercus virginiana); nesting in neighboring prairies. Original habitat here was mainly longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) with turkey oak (Quercus laevis) and slash pine (Pinus caribaea) "flatwoods," now mainly replaced by slash pine plantations.
Behavior[edit]
Flight[edit]
Wild turkey in flight
Despite their weight, wild turkeys, unlike their domesticated counterparts, are agile fliers. In ideal habitat of open woodland or wooded grasslands,[19] they may fly beneath the canopy top and find perches. They usually fly close to the ground for no more than 400 m (a quarter mile).
Vocalizations[edit]
Turkeys have many vocalizations: "gobbles", "clucks", "putts", "purrs", "yelps", "cutts", "whines", "cackles", and "kee-kees". In early spring, males older than 1-year-old (sometimes called gobblers or toms) and, occasionally to a lesser extent, males younger than 1-year-old (sometimes called jakes) gobble to announce their presence to females and competing males. The gobble can carry for up to a mile. Males also emit a low-pitched "drumming" sound; produced by the movement of air in the air sack in the chest, similar to the booming of a prairie chicken. In addition they produce a sound known as the "spit" which is a sharp expulsion of air from this air sack. Hens "yelp" to let gobblers know their location. Gobblers often yelp in the manner of females, and hens can gobble, though they rarely do so. Immature males, called jakes, often yelp.
Foraging[edit]
Hen with poults
Wild turkeys are omnivorous, foraging on the ground or climbing shrubs and small trees to feed. They prefer eating acorns, nuts and other hard mast of various trees, including hazel, chestnut, hickory, and pinyon pine as well as various seeds, berries such as juniper and bearberry, roots and insects. Turkeys also occasionally consume amphibians and small reptiles such as lizards and snakes. Poults have been observed eating insects, berries, and seeds. Wild turkeys often feed in cow pastures, sometimes visit back yard bird feeders, and favor croplands after harvest to scavenge seeds on the ground. Turkeys are also known to eat a wide variety of grasses.
Turkey populations can reach large numbers in small areas because of their ability to forage for different types of food. Early morning and late afternoon are the desired times for eating.
Social structure and mating[edit]
Nest with 10 eggs
Males are polygamous, mating with as many hens as they can. Male wild turkeys display for females by puffing out their feathers, spreading out their tails and dragging their wings. This behavior is most commonly referred to as strutting. Their heads and necks are colored brilliantly with red, blue and white. The color can change with the turkey's mood, with a solid white head and neck being the most excited. They use gobbling, drumming/booming and spitting as signs of social dominance, and to attract females. Courtship begins during the months of March and April, which is when turkeys are still flocked together in winter areas.
Males may be seen courting in groups, often with the dominant male gobbling, spreading their tail feathers (strutting), drumming/booming and spitting. In a study, the average dominant male that courted as part of a pair of males fathered six more eggs than males that courted alone. Genetic analysis of pairs of males courting together shows that they are close relatives, with half of their genetic material being identical. The theory behind the team-courtship is that the less dominant male would have a greater chance of passing along shared genetic material than if it were courting alone.[20]
When mating is finished, females search for nest sites. Nests are shallow dirt depressions engulfed with woody vegetation. Hens lay a clutch of 10–14 eggs, usually one per day. The eggs are incubated for at least 28 days. The poults are precocial and nidifugous, leaving the nest in about 12–24 hours.
Predators[edit]
Predators of eggs and nestlings include raccoons (Procyon lotor), Virginia opossums (Didelphis virginiana), striped skunks (Mephitis mephitis), gray foxes (Urocyon cinereoargenteus), groundhogs (Marmota monax), other rodents and spotted skunks (Spilogale ssp.).[21][22][23][24] Predators of poults in addition to nestlings and eggs also include several snakes, namely rat snakes (Elaphe ssp.), gopher snakes (Pituophis catenifer) and pinesnakes (Pituophis ssp.), and predators mainly on poults include raptors such as bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus), barred owl (Strix varia), red-shouldered (Buteo lineatus), red-tailed (Buteo jamaicensis), white-tailed (Geranoaetus albicaudatus) and Harris's hawks (Parabuteo unicinctus) and even the smallish Cooper's hawk (Accipiter cooperii) and broad-winged hawk (Buteo platypterus) (both likely of very small poults).[25][26][27][28][29][30] Mortality of poults is greatest in the first 14 days of life, especially of those roosting on the ground, decreasing most notably after half a year, when they attain near adult sizes.[31]
Hen with juveniles
Predators of both adults and poults include coyotes (Canis latrans),[32] gray wolves (Canis lupus),[33] bobcats (Lynx rufus),[34] cougars (Puma concolor),[35] golden eagles (Aquila chrysaetos)[36] and possibly American black bears (Ursus americanus).[37] In addition to poults, hens and adult-sized fledglings (but not, as far as is known, adult male toms) are vulnerable to predation by great horned owls (Bubo virginianus),[38] northern goshawk (Accipiter gentilis),[39] domestic dogs (Canis lupus familiaris), domestic cats (Felis catus), and red foxes (Vulpes vulpes).[40] Humans are now the leading predator of adult turkeys.[41][42] When approached by potential predators, turkeys and their poults usually run away rather than fly away from potential predators, though they may also fly short distances if pressed.
Occasionally, if cornered, adult turkeys may try to fight off predators and large male toms can be especially aggressive in self-defense. When fighting off predators, turkeys may kick with their legs, using the spurs on their back of the legs as a weapon, bite with their beak and ram with their relatively large bodies and may be able to deter predators up to the size of mid-sized mammals.[43][44] Hen turkeys have been seen to chase off at least two species of hawks in flight when their poults are threatened.[45] Occasionally, turkeys may behave aggressively towards humans, especially in areas where natural habitats are scarce. They also have been seen to chase off humans as well. However, attacks can usually be deterred and minor injuries can be avoided by giving turkeys a respectful amount of space and keeping outdoor spaces clean and undisturbed.[46]
Range and population[edit]
The wild turkey in the United States in 1957 ranged from Arizona to southeastern Oklahoma and thence through Tennessee, West Virginia, and New York, and south to Florida and Texas. It formerly ranged north to southeastern South Dakota, southern Wisconsin, southern Ontario, and southwestern Maine.[47] The A.O.U. Checklist also described Upper Pliocene fossils in Kansas, and Pleistocene fossils widely from New Mexico to Pennsylvania and Florida.[48] The Californian turkey, Meleagris californica, is an extinct species of turkey indigenous to the Pleistocene and early Holocene of California. It became extinct about 10,000 years ago. The present Californian wild turkey population derives from wild birds re-introduced during the 1960s and 70s from other areas by game officials.[49] They proliferated after 2000 to become an everyday sight in the East Bay Area by 2015.[50]
At the beginning of the 20th century the range and numbers of wild turkeys had decreased due to hunting and loss of habitat. Game managers estimate that the entire population of wild turkeys in the United States was as low as 30,000 by the late 1930s.[51] By the 1940s, it was almost totally extirpated from Canada and had become localized in pockets in the United States, in the north-east effectively restricted to the Appalachians, only as far north as central Pennsylvania. Game officials made efforts to protect and encourage the breeding of the surviving wild population, and some trapped birds were relocated to new areas, including some in the western states where it was not native. There is evidence that the bird does well when near farmland, which provides grain and also berry-bearing shrubs at its edges.[52] As wild turkey numbers rebounded, hunting became legal in 49 U.S. states (excluding Alaska). In 1973, the total U.S. population was estimated to be 1.3 million, and current estimates place the entire wild turkey population at 7 million individuals. In recent years, "trap and transfer" projects have reintroduced wild turkeys to several provinces of Canada as well, sometimes from across the border in the United States.
Attempts to introduce the wild turkey to Britain as a game bird in the 18th century were not successful.[53] George II is said to have had a flock of a few thousand in Richmond Park near London, but they were too easy for local poachers to destroy, and the fights with poachers became too dangerous for the gamekeepers. They were hunted with dogs and then shot out of trees where they took refuge. Several other populations, introduced or escaped, have survived for periods elsewhere in Britain and Ireland, but seem to have died out, perhaps from a combination of lack of winter feed and poaching.[54] Small populations, probably descended from farm as well as wild stock, in the Czech Republic and Germany have been more successful, and there are wild populations of some size following introductions in Hawaii and New Zealand.[55]
Subspecies[edit]
There are subtle differences in the coloration, habitat, and behavior of the different subspecies of wild turkeys. The six subspecies are:
Eastern wild turkey
Eastern wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo silvestris) (Viellot, 1817)[edit]
This was the turkey species Europeans first encountered in the wild: by the Puritans, the founders of Jamestown, and by the Acadians. Its range is one of the largest of all subspecies, covering the entire eastern half of the United States from Maine in the north to northern Florida and extending as far west as Michigan, Illinois, and into Missouri. In Canada, its range extends into Southeastern Manitoba, Ontario, Southwestern Quebec (including Pontiac, Quebec and the lower half of the Western Quebec Seismic Zone), and the Maritime Provinces. They number from 5.1 to 5.3 million birds. They were first named 'forest turkey' in 1817, and can grow up to 4 ft (1.2 m) tall. The upper tail coverts are tipped with chestnut brown. Males can reach 30 lb (14 kg) in weight. The eastern wild turkey is heavily hunted in the Eastern USA and is the most hunted wild turkey subspecies.
Osceola wild turkey or Florida wild turkey (M. g. osceola) (Scott, 1890)[edit]
Most common in the Florida peninsula, they number from 80,000 to 100,000 birds. This bird is named for the famous Seminole leader Osceola, and was first described in 1890. It is smaller and darker than the eastern wild turkey. The wing feathers are very dark with smaller amounts of the white barring seen on other subspecies. Their overall body feathers are an iridescent green-purple color. They are often found in scrub patches of palmetto and occasionally near swamps, where amphibian prey is abundant. Osceola turkeys are the smallest subspecies weighing 16 to 18 pounds.
Rio Grande wild turkey has relatively long legs
Rio Grande wild turkey (M. g. intermedia) (Sennett, 1879)[edit]
The Rio Grande wild turkey ranges through Texas to Oklahoma, Kansas, New Mexico, Colorado, Oregon, Utah, and was introduced to central and western California, as well as parts of a few northeastern states.[citation needed] It was also introduced to Hawaiʻi in the late 1950s. Population estimates for this subspecies range from 1,022,700 to 1,025,700.[56] This subspecies, native to the central plain states, was first described in 1879, and has relatively long legs, better adapted to a prairie habitat. Its body feathers often have a green-coppery sheen. The tips of the tail and lower back feathers are a buff-to-very light tan color. Its habitats are brush areas next to streams, rivers or mesquite, pine and scrub oak forests. The Rio Grande turkey is gregarious.
Merriam's wild turkey (M. g. merriami) (Nelson, 1900)[edit]
The Merriam's wild turkey ranges through the Rocky Mountains and the neighboring prairies of Wyoming, Montana and South Dakota, as well as much of the high mesa country of New Mexico, Arizona, southern Utah and The Navajo Nation, with number from 334,460 to 344,460 birds.[citation needed] The subspecies has also been introduced into Oregon. The initial releases of Merriam's turkeys in 1961 resulted in establishing a remnant population of Merriam's turkeys along the east-slope of Mt. Hood and natural immigration of turkeys from Idaho has established Merriam's flocks along the eastern border of Oregon.[57] Merriam's wild turkeys live in ponderosa pine and mountainous regions. The subspecies was named in 1900 in honor of Clinton Hart Merriam, the first chief of the U.S. Biological Survey. The tail and lower back feathers have white tips and purple and bronze reflections.
Gould's wild turkey (M. g. mexicana) (Gould, 1856)[edit]
Gould's wild turkey
Native from the central valleys to the northern mountains of Mexico and the southernmost parts of Arizona and New Mexico. Gould's wild turkeys are heavily protected and regulated. The subspecies was first described in 1856. They exist in small numbers in the U.S. but are abundant in northwestern portions of Mexico. A small population has been established in southern Arizona. Gould's are the largest of the six subspecies. They have longer legs, larger feet, and longer tail feathers. The main colors of the body feathers are copper and greenish-gold. This subspecies is heavily protected owing to its skittish nature and threatened status.
South Mexican wild turkey (M. g. gallopavo) (Linnaeus, 1758)[edit]
The south Mexican wild turkey is considered the nominate subspecies, and the only one that is not found in the United States or Canada. In central Mexico, archaeological M. gallopavo bones have been identified at sites dating to 800–100 BC [10], [11]. It is unclear whether these early specimens represent wild or domestic individuals, but domestic turkeys were likely established in central Mexico by the first half of the Classic Period (c. AD 200–1000). Late Preclassic (300 BC–AD 100) turkey remains identified at the archaeological site of El Mirador (Petén, Guatemala) represent the earliest evidence of the export of the south Mexican wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo gallopavo) to the ancient Maya world. The south Mexican wild subspecies, M. g. gallopavo, was domesticated either in Mexico or by Preclassic peoples in Mesoamerica, giving rise to the domestic turkey.[58] The Spaniards brought this tamed subspecies back to Europe with them in the mid-16th century; from Spain it spread to France and later Britain as a farmyard animal, usually becoming the centerpiece of a feast for the well-to-do. By 1620 it was common enough so that Pilgrim settlers of Massachusetts could bring turkeys with them from England, unaware that it had a larger close relative already occupying the forests of Massachusetts. It is one of the smallest subspecies and is best known in Spanish from its Aztec-derived name, guajolote. This wild turkey subspecies is thought to be critically endangered, as of 2010.
Benjamin Franklin and the U.S. national bird suggestion[edit]
Female wild turkey with young, from Birds of America by John James Audubon
The idea that Benjamin Franklin preferred the turkey as the national bird of the United States comes from a letter he wrote to his daughter Sarah Bache on January 26, 1784.[59] The main subject of the letter is a criticism of the Society of the Cincinnati, which he likened to a chivalric order, which contradicted the ideals of the newly founded American republic.[60] In one section of the letter, Franklin remarked on the appearance of the bald eagle on the Society's crest:
“ Others object to the Bald Eagle, as looking too much like a Dindon, or Turkey. 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. You may have seen him perched on some dead Tree near the River, where, too lazy to fish for himself, he watches the Labour of the Fishing Hawk [osprey]; 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 pursues him and takes it from him.
With all this Injustice, he is never in good Case but like those among Men who live by Sharping & Robbing he is generally poor and often very lousy. Besides he is a rank Coward: The little King Bird not bigger than a Sparrow attacks him boldly and drives him out of the District. He is therefore by no means a proper Emblem for the brave and honest Cincinnati of America who have driven all the King birds from our Country... I am on this account not displeased that the Figure is not known as a Bald Eagle, but looks more like a Turkey. For in Truth the Turkey is in Comparison a much more respectable Bird, and withal a true original Native of America... He is besides, though a little vain & silly, a Bird of Courage, and would not hesitate to attack a Grenadier of the British Guards who should presume to invade his Farm Yard with a red Coat on.
”
Franklin never publicly voiced opposition to the bald eagle as a national symbol.[60]
Significance to Native Americans[edit]
Eastern wild turkey (M. g. silvestris) hens
The wild turkey, throughout its range, plays a significant role in the cultures of many Native American tribes all over North America. Outside of the Thanksgiving feast, it is a favorite meal in eastern tribes. Eastern Native American tribes consumed both the eggs and meat, sometimes turning the latter into a type of jerky to preserve it and make it last through cold weather. They provided habitat by burning down portions of forests to create meadows which would attract mating birds, and thus give a clear shot to hunters. The feathers of turkeys also often made their way into the rituals and headgear of many tribes. Many leaders, such as Catawba chiefs, traditionally wore turkey feather headdresses.[61] Significant peoples of several tribes, including Muscogee Creek and Wampanoag, wore turkey feather cloaks.[62] The turkey clan is one of the three Lenape clans.[63] Movements of wild turkeys inspired the Caddo tribe's turkey dance.[64] The Navajo people of Southeastern Arizona, New Mexico and Utah call the turkey Tązhii and relate the bird to the corn and seeds which The Turkey in Navajo folklore brought from the Third Navajo World. It is one of the Navajos' sacred birds, with the Navajo people using the feathers and parts in multiple traditional ceremonies.
See also[edit]
Heritage turkey
Turkey calls
Turkeypox virus
Notes[edit]
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Jump up ^ Haucke, H.H. (1971). "Predation by a White-Tailed Hawk and a Harris Hawk on a Wild Turkey Poult". Condor. 73 (4): 475.
Jump up ^ Glidden, J. W.; Austin, D. E. (1975). "Natality and mortality of wild turkey poults in southwestern New York". Proc. Natl. Wild Turkey Symp. 3: 48–54.
Jump up ^ MacCracken, J. G.; Uresh, D. W. (1984). "Coyote foods in the Black Hills, South Dakota". The Journal of Wildlife Management: 1420–3.
Jump up ^ Reed, J. E.; Ballard, W. B.; Gipson, P. S.; Kelly, B. T.; Krausman, P. R.; Wallace, M. C.; Wester, D. B. (2006). "Diets of free-ranging Mexican gray wolves in Arizona and New Mexico". Wildlife Society Bulletin. 34 (4): 1127–33.
Jump up ^ Beasom, S. L.; Moore, R. A. (1977). "Bobcat food habit response to a change in prey abundance". The Southwestern Naturalist: 451–7.
Jump up ^ Maehr, D. S.; Belden, R. C.; Land, E. D.; Wilkins, L. (1990). "Food habits of panthers in southwest Florida". The Journal of Wildlife Management: 420–3.
Jump up ^ Lehman, C. P.; Thompson, D. J. (2004). "Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) predation attempts on Merriam's turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo merriami) in the southern Black Hills, South Dakota". Journal of Raptor Research. 38 (2): 192.
Jump up ^ Stratman, M. R.; Pelton, M. R. (1999). "Feeding ecology of black bears in northwest Florida". Florida Field Naturalist. 27 (3): 95–102.
Jump up ^ Schemnitz, S.D.; Goerndt, D.L.; Jones, H. (1985). "Habitat needs and management of Merriam's turkeys in southcentral New Mexico". Proc. Natl. Wild Turkey Symp. 5: 199–232.
Jump up ^ Golet, G.H.; Golet, H.T.; Colton, A. (2003). "Immature Northern Goshawk Captures, Kills, and Feeds on Adult-Sized Wild Turkey". Journal of Raptor Research. 37 (4): 337–40.
Jump up ^ Goldyn, B.; Hromada, M.; Surmacki, A.; Tryjanowski, P. (2003). "Habitat use and diet of the red fox Vulpes vulpes in an agricultural landscape in Poland". Zeitschrift für Jagdwissenschaft. 49 (3): 191–200. doi:10.1007/BF02189737.
Jump up ^ ADW: Meleagris gallopavo: INFORMATION. Animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu (2006-03-12). Retrieved on 2012-08-21.
Jump up ^ Kennamer, James Earl. Predators and Wild Turkeys. NWTF Wildlife Bulletin NO.16
Jump up ^ Wild Turkey Predators, Wild Turkey Predation: National Wild Turkey Federation. Nwtf.org. Retrieved on 2012-12-19.
Jump up ^ Wild Turkey Predators. Waterandwoods.net (2008-09-20). Retrieved on 2012-12-19.
Jump up ^ Johnson, R.R. (1961). "Aerial Pursuit of Hawks by Turkeys". The Auk. 78 (4): 646.
Jump up ^ Living with wildlife: Turkey: Minnesota DNR. Dnr.state.mn.us. Retrieved on 2012-12-19.
Jump up ^ The American Ornithologists' Union Check-list (5th ed., 1957).
Jump up ^ Don Roberson, "Wild Turkey: A Native California Bird?" -- with an excellent map of the pre-Columbian range of the Wild Turkey and the sites of various fossils from the late Pleistocene citing Steadman, David W. (1980). "A review of the osteology and paleontology of turkeys (Aves: Meleagridinae)". Contributions in Science, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. 330: 131–207.
Jump up ^ California Department of Fish and Game. Wild Turkey Guide 2005.
Jump up ^ Rubio, Tena (November 27, 2015). "Like It or Not, Wild Turkeys Proliferate in East Bay". kqed.org. Retrieved 27 November 2015.
Jump up ^ Smith, Andrew F. (2006). "The Fall and Rise of the Edible Turkey". In Hosking, Richard. Wild Food: Proceedings of the Oxford Symposium on Food and Cookery 2004. Totnes, Devon, UK: Prospect Books. p. 298. ISBN 9781903018439.
Jump up ^ Dickson, pp. 368-379
Jump up ^ These birds were imported from Mexico, then called the Spanish West Indies. They did not come from Turkey or India, as was widely believed."Talking Turkey", World Wide Words. On line.
Jump up ^ Dickson, p. 363; Maxwell, William Hamilton, The field book; or, Sports and pastimes of the British islands, by the author of 'Wild sports of the West, p. 540, London, 1833, google books
Jump up ^ Dickson, pp. 363-368
Jump up ^ Kennamer, Mary C. "NWTF Wildlife Bulletin No. 3: Rio Grande Wild Turkey" (PDF). NWTF.
Jump up ^ "Oregon State Dept. of Fish and Wildlife, Wildlife Division, Wild Turkey Management Plan".
Jump up ^ Thornton, Erin Kennedy; Emery, Kitty F.; Steadman, David W.; Speller, Camilla; Matheny, Ray; Yang, Dongya (2012). "Earliest Mexican Turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo) in the Maya Region: Implications for Pre-Hispanic Animal Trade and the Timing of Turkey Domestication". PLoS ONE. 7 (8): e42630. Bibcode:2012PLoSO...742630T. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0042630. PMC 3414452  . PMID 22905156.
Jump up ^ "Benjamin Franklin to Sarah Bache, January 26, 1784".Library of Congress, Manuscript Division.
^ Jump up to: a b "American Heraldry Society | MMM / The Arms of the United States: Benjamin Franklin and the Turkey". Americanheraldry.org. 2007-05-18. Retrieved 2012-05-30.
Jump up ^ Pritzker 367
Jump up ^ Pritzker 381, 474
Jump up ^ Pritzker 423
Jump up ^ "Caddo Nation Today." Texas Beyond History. (retrieved 28 Dec 2010)
References[edit]
Dickson, James G., The Wild Turkey: Biology and Management (A National Wild Turkey Federation and USDA Forest Service book), 1992, Stackpole Books, ISBN 081171859X, 9780811718592, google books
Pritzker, Barry M. A Native American Encyclopedia: History, Culture, and Peoples. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000. ISBN 978-0-19-513877-1.
External links[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to the wild turkey.
Wikispecies has information related to Meleagris gallopavo
Turkey as U.S. national bird
Turkeys from England
National Wild Turkey Federation – Map of the locations of the five sub-species of wild turkey
View the turkey genome in Ensembl
"Wild turkey media". Internet Bird Collection.
Wild turkey photo gallery at VIREO (Drexel University)
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Wd: Q26844
ADW: Meleagris_gallopavo
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eBird: wiltur
EoL: 1049266
Fauna Europaea: 402033
Fossilworks: 110952
GBIF: 2473551
IBC: wild-turkey-meleagris-gallopavo
iNaturalist: 906
ITIS: 176136
IUCN: 22679525
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Commonwealth (U.S. state)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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This article is about a nomenclature of U.S. states. For U.S. insular areas designated as "Commonwealths", see Commonwealth (U.S. insular area). For other uses, see Commonwealth.
Main article: U.S. state
The four U.S. states (red) that refer to themselves with the term "Commonwealth".
Commonwealth is a designation used by four of the 50 states of the United States in their full official state names: Kentucky[1] (the law creating Kentucky names it the "State of Kentucky"[2] but it was originally part of the land grant of the Colony of Virginia), Massachusetts,[3] Pennsylvania,[4] and Virginia.[5] Each was, prior to 1776, a British colony, or parts thereof, and share a strong influence of English common law in some of their laws and institutions.[6][7]
Contents
[hide]
1 Definition
2 States
2.1 Kentucky
2.2 Massachusetts
2.3 Pennsylvania
2.4 Virginia
3 See also
4 Notes
5 References
Definition[edit]
Administrative divisions
of the United States
First level
State (Commonwealth)
Federal district
Territory (Commonwealth)
Indian reservation (list) / Hawaiian home land / Alaska Native tribal entity / Pueblo / Off-reservation trust land
Second level
County / Parish / Borough
Unorganized Borough / Census area / Villages / District (USVI) / District (AS)
Consolidated city-county
Independent city
Municipality
Unorganized atoll
State-recognized tribes
Third level
Cities, towns, and villages
Civil township
Coterminous municipality
Survey township
Barrio
Chapter
Fourth level
Ward
Other areas
Protected areas (Conservation district, National Monument, National Park)
Congressional district
Homeowner association
Associated state
Military base
Federal enclave
Unincorporated area
Ghost town
v
t
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The term "commonwealth" does not describe or provide for any specific political status or legal relationship when used by a state.[8] Those that do use it are equal to those that do not. A traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good, it is used symbolically to emphasize that these states have a "government based on the common consent of the people"[9] as opposed to one legitimized through their earlier colonial status that was derived from the British crown. It refers to the common "wealth", or welfare, of the public[10] and is derived from a loose translation of the Latin term res publica.[a]
Criminal charges in these four states are brought in the name of the "commonwealth".[b]
Besides the four aforementioned states, other states have also, on occasion, used the term "commonwealth" to refer to themselves:
Vermont uses the term "commonwealth" three times in its Constitution, interchangeably with the term "state".[11]
Delaware was primarily referred to as a "state" in its 1776 Constitution, however, the term "commonwealth" was also used in one of its articles.[12]
Two U.S. territories are also designated as a "commonwealth": Puerto Rico and the Northern Mariana Islands. When used in connection with areas under U.S. sovereignty that are not states, the term broadly describes an area that is self-governing under a constitution of its own adoption and whose right of self-government will not be unilaterally withdrawn by the United States Congress.[8]
States[edit]
Kentucky[edit]
On September 28, 1786, the residents of Kentucky County began petitioning the Virginia legislature for permission to become a "free and independent state, to be known by the name of the Commonwealth of Kentucky".[citation needed] On June 1, 1792, Kentucky County officially became a state. As in Virginia, the official title of the elected local prosecutor in each of Kentucky's political subdivisions is the "Commonwealth's Attorney," as opposed to State's Attorney in other States or the more standard District Attorney. Kentucky is the only state outside of the first 13 that uses commonwealth in its name.
Massachusetts[edit]
Massachusetts is officially named "The Commonwealth of Massachusetts" by its constitution. The name "State of Massachusetts Bay" was used in all acts and resolves up to 1780 and the first draft of the constitution. The current name can be traced to the second draft of the state constitution, which was written by John Adams and ratified in 1780.[13]
In Massachusetts, the term State is occasionally used in an official manner, but usually in a compound structure rather than as a stand-alone noun. This is evident in the name of the agency "Massachusetts State Police," the Massachusetts State House and in "Bridgewater State Hospital".
Pennsylvania[edit]
The Seal of Pennsylvania does not use the term, but legal processes are in the name of the Commonwealth and it is a traditional official designation used in referring to the state. In 1776, Pennsylvania's first state constitution referred to it as both "Commonwealth" and "State", a pattern of usage that was perpetuated in the constitutions of 1790, 1838, 1874, and 1958.[14][c] One of Pennsylvania's two intermediate appellate courts is called the "Commonwealth Court".
Virginia[edit]
The name "Commonwealth of Virginia" dates back to its independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain. Virginia's first constitution (adopted on June 29, 1776) directed that "Commissions and Grants shall run, In the Name of the commonwealth of Virginia, and bear test by the Governor with the Seal of the Commonwealth annexed." The Secretary of the Commonwealth still issues commissions in this manner.
Among other references, the constitution furthermore dictated that criminal indictments were to conclude "against the peace and dignity of the Commonwealth". Additionally, the official title of the elected local prosecutor in each of Virginia's political subdivisions is the "Commonwealth's Attorney", as opposed to State's Attorney in other States or the more standard District Attorney.
In Virginia, the term state is sometimes used in an official manner, but usually in a compound structure rather than as a stand-alone noun. This is evident in the name of the agency "Virginia State Corporation Commission" and in "Virginia State Police", and as in the name of "Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University". The state university in Richmond is known as "Virginia Commonwealth University"; there is also a "Virginia State University", located in Ettrick.
See also[edit]
Crown colony
Proprietary colony
Notes[edit]
Jump up ^ cf. the 17th-century Commonwealth of England.
Jump up ^ Note that In California, Colorado, Illinois, Michigan, and New York, criminal charges are brought in the name of the "People". In all the other states, they are brought in the name of the "State". Regardless of state, federal criminal charges are always brought in the name of the "United States of America".
Jump up ^ A detailed history describing the origins of Pennsylvania's government, including its designation as a commonwealth from colonial times, is available from the Secretary of the Commonwealth's office.[15]
References[edit]
Jump up ^ Third Constitution of Kentucky (1850), Article 2, Section 1 ff. Other portions of the same Constitution refer to the "State of Kentucky".
Jump up ^ United States Congress. "Public Statutes at Large of the United States of America". Statutes at Large: 1st Congress. p. 189. Retrieved June 4, 2017.
Jump up ^ "Constitution of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts". Preamble of the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Massachusetts General Court. Retrieved 27 October 2016. ,
Jump up ^ Constitution of Pennsylvania, Preamble,
Jump up ^ The Hornbook of Virginia History, 4th ed., page 88.
Jump up ^ Paul Reinsch. English Common Law in the Early American colonies. Ph.D. thesis. Un. of Wisconsin. 1898.
Jump up ^ William E. Nelson. The Common Law in Colonial America. Vol. I. Oxford University Press. 2008.
^ Jump up to: a b "7 fam 1120 Acquisition of U.S. Nationality in U.S. Territories and Possessions" (PDF). U.S. Department of State Foreign Affairs Manual Volume 7- Consular Affairs. U.S. Department of State. January 3, 2013. Retrieved December 13, 2015.
Jump up ^ See "Commonwealth", The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition, 2001–07.
Jump up ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition, 2000.
Jump up ^ The Constitution of the State of Vermont, Chapter II, §§ 1, 8, and 71.
Jump up ^ Constitution of Delaware (1776), Art. 23.
Jump up ^ CIS: State Symbols
Jump up ^ PHMC: Pennsylvania History Archived April 3, 2006, at the Wayback Machine.
Jump up ^ "History of DOS" (PDF). Retrieved 2012-01-04.
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