One would think that with all the wild turkeys wandering around Lake County there would be no need to buy one of those supermarket birds. However, very few wild turkeys grace our dinner tables on Thanksgiving Day.
Most of today”s supermarket turkeys are the domesticated white species and bear little resemblance to the wild birds that roam the hills, however, they are still cousins of the true wild turkey.
Turkeys are distinctively American, native only to the North America continent. There are several theories on where the name turkey comes from.
One is that the bird resembles a bird found in Turkey, thus the name. The other theory is that because turkeys make a call that resembles a “turk-turk-turk,” they were named turkeys. Regardless of where they got the name, they are one of America”s most fascinating birds.
When the first settlers arrived in this country they found wild turkeys by the thousands. Scholars debate whether wild turkeys were part of the initial Thanksgiving dinner, but they were definitely part of the early diet of settlers.
Long before the first pilgrims arrived on our shores, the Spanish conquerors had discovered that the natives in Mexico already had domesticated wild turkeys. The Spaniards took some of the tame birds back to Europe, where they became a popular farm bird. In fact, the early settlers brought the domesticated birds back to America in 1620.
Wild turkeys are not considered to be a native bird in California although there is evidence that a now extinct species of wild turkey roamed Southern California during the Pleistocene Age. But in recent geological times, the turkey is not considered to be a native bird in this state.
California has three species of wild turkeys the Rio Grande, Merriam and a hybrid that has mixed the Rio Grande with domesticated bronze turkeys.
The Rio Grande is the most numerous and prefers the oak foothills. The
Merriam is a high country bird and prefers the thick forest at elevations above 5,000 feet. Lake County holds both Rio Grandes and Merriams. The turkeys around Lakeport and Clearlake are Rio Grandes. The Merriams are located near Hull Mountain in the Mendocino National Forest.
While domesticated turkeys are often considered to be one of the dumbest animals on earth, it”s just the opposite for their wild cousins. They are considered to be one of the wariest birds in the woods. They have excellent eyesight, can run at speeds up to 20 mph and fly for more than a mile.
Benjamin Franklin admired the bird so much that he once proposed that the wild turkey be our national bird because of its superior intelligence and the significance placed on it during the early history of this country.
In comparison to the domesticated birds, which often attain weights of over 30 pounds, the wild turkey rarely weighs more than 20 pounds (most weigh from 10-17 pounds).
According to the Guinness Book of Records, the largest domestic-raised turkey weighed an incredible 86 pounds. It must have taken a forklift to get that bird on the dinner table. National Wild Turkey Federation records show the largest wild turkey ever bagged by a hunter weighed 37 pounds and was taken in Oregon in 2002.
A look at the turkey that will grace the Thanksgiving Day table will show a vast difference between it and the wild turkey. Whereas tame turkeys have large plump breasts and short legs, the wild turkey has a “v-shaped” breast and long legs. The wild bird is also much leaner and the legs tougher.
Most of the domestic turkeys are of the white species. They are bred for tenderness and more than 280 million are raised in this country annually. They are ready for the table after only 18 weeks and California is considered one of the leading states in turkey production.
While most of the holiday tables will be adorned by domesticated turkeys, there are a few Americans who traditionally serve the wild bird. In fact, many people prefer the wild bird because it has less fat and is more healthy.
The wild turkey deserves a special place in history. Without this noble animal there would be no holiday birds and the good part is that it is truly American and a fitting tribute to Thanksgiving Day.
