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Adults have a bluish featherless small head, a red throat, long legs and a dark body. They have a long dark fan-shaped tail. Their wings are a glossy bronze. Males have red wattles on the throat and neck and are significantly larger than females.

This turkey's breeding habitat is wooded areas, usually with clearings, across most of the United States and parts of southern Canada, where they are permanent residents. They nest on the ground at the bottom of a tree, shrub or in tall grass.

Male birds display for females by puffing out their feathers, spreading out their tails, inflating the wattles on their neck and drooping wings. Males are polygamous.

These birds forage on the ground or climb shrubs to eat berries. They are omnivorous, eating acorns, seeds, berries, roots and insects, sometimes snakes, frogs or salamanders.

They are relatively weak fliers and will escape on foot if possible; at night, these birds roost in trees.

Only the males "gobble"; the females cluck. The males also emit a low-pitched thumping sound. This bird was Benjamin Franklin's preference as the national bird for the United States. It has been adopted as the official game bird of South CarolinaSouth Carolina ( In Detail) (Full size) State nickname: Palmetto State Other U. States Capital Columbia Largest City Columbia Governor Mark Sanford Area Total Land Water % water Ranked 40th 82,965 km² 78,051 km² 4,915 km² 6% Population Total ( 2000) Densi, AlabamaAlabama is a state located in the southern United States; the population of Alabama is 4,447,100 as of 2000. The USS Alabama and CSS Alabama were named in honor of this state. History Main article: History of Alabama Among Native American people once livi, OklahomaOklahoma ( In Detail) (Full size) State nickname: Sooner State Other U. States Capital Oklahoma City Largest City Oklahoma City Governor Brad Henry Area Total Land Water % water Ranked 20th 181,196 km² 178,023 km² 3,173 km² 1. 8% Population Total ( 2000) and MassachusettsMassachusetts is a state of the United States of America, part of the New England region. postal abbreviation is MA and its traditional abbreviation is Mass . It is properly called the Commonwealth of Massachusetts although there is no legal distinction b.

It is the traditional main dish for the ThanksgivingThanksgiving is a holiday celebrated in much of North America, generally observed as an expression of gratitude, usually to God. The most common view of its origin is that it was to give thanks to God for the bounty of the autumn harvest. In the United St holiday, which is held in November in the United States and October in Canada, but of course it is now normally replaced by the domesticated turkeyThe domesticated turkey is descended from the North American Wild Turkey, Meleagris gallopavo''. The Aztecs domesticated the southern Mexican form, M. gallopavo one of six subspecies. Suggestions have been made that the Mexican Ocellated Turkey Meleagris. The AztecThe word "Aztec" is usually used as a historical term, although some contemporary Nahuatl speakers would consider themselves Aztecs. This article deals with the historical Aztec civilization, not with modern-day Nahuatl speakers. The Aztecs were a Mesoames domesticated the southern Mexican form, M. g. gallopavo, one of the six subspecies.

The range and numbers of this bird had decreased at the beginning of the 20th century due to hunting and loss of habitat, and game officials made efforts to protect and encourage the breeding of the surviving wild population. As the wild turkey's numbers rebounded in the 1980s and 1990s, hunting was legalized in most states. Harvest is limited using a lottery system.

See also Ocellated Turkey for the other species of turkey.