A turkey is either of two species of large birds in the genus Meleagris native to North America. Turkeys are classed in the order Galliformes. Turkeys are now considered by most authorities to be of their own family, the 'Meleagrididae. Turkeys have a distinctive fleshy wattle that hangs from the underside of the beak, and a fleshy protuberance that hangs from the top of its beak called a snood. As with many galliform species, the female (the hen) is smaller than the male (the tom), and much less colorful. With wingspans of 1.5–1.8 meters (almost 6 feet), the turkeys are by far the largest birds in the open forests in which they live, and are rarely mistaken for any other species.

Every American school child has heard vague rumors that Ben Franklin once suggested that the Turkey would make a better national symbol than the Bald Eagle. What they haven't heard, of course, is that the Turkey is "though a little vain and silly, a Bird of Courage," compared to the Bald Eagle which was "a Bird of bad moral Character."

Russia and Japan banned British poultry imports as the government pressed ahead with a cull of 160,000 turkeys after the nation's first outbreak of a deadly strain of bird flu in farmed poultry.

He was going to pardon the National Thanksgiving Turkey anyway, but President Bush figured he really owed the bird this time. His dog had just scared the stuffing out of it.

According to the National Turkey Federation, 95 percent of Americans eat turkey at Thanksgiving. That’s one popular bird! But not all birds were created equal. Choosing the top turkey takes experience.

As the Thanksgiving holiday approaches, it's time for that new honored tradition of cooking up the Turducken. Just a plain old turkey is so old school, the truducken is out of beta and is the turkey 3.0. For all you people who like to do your own mod's here's a how-to on creating your own turducken.