by Rex Trulove

Created on: November 05, 2009

Though many Americans have non-traditional meals on Thanksgiving, it is still difficult to think of the holiday without thinking about turkey. It is somewhat surprising, then, that many people believe facts about thanksgiving turkeys which are incorrect, and don't know others.

Turkeys at the time were wild birds, and they were quite wily. Wild turkeys have been reintroduced to many areas where they were hunted out, and introduced to other areas where they had not lived in before, but the same is true of wild turkeys today as was true back then. This bird is related to the domestic turkey, but there are so many differences that they may as well be totally different.

Domestic turkeys, what most people eat for thanksgiving today, are rather stupid birds. They've been known to stand in a rainstorm, looking up with their beaks open in apparent awe, and to actually drown from the falling rain.

Wild turkeys, on the other hand, are smart survivors. As large as they get, wild turkeys are difficult to hunt, they blend in well, and they are hardy survivors. The coloration helps them with this, unlike their usually completely white domestic relatives. Wild turkeys also feed well in the autumn and plump up with the abundance of seeds and fruits that are available during this time of year. This makes them nearly ideal for the thanksgiving meal.

There are some little known facts about the thanksgiving turkey that aren't well known, however. For instance, a turkey didn't grace the original thanksgiving table. Native American Indians hunted birds, naturally, and they were adept at it. However, turkeys weren't seen as anything especially terrific. The original thanksgiving table most likely featured venison, rather than turkey.

It is hard to say when the turkey gained prominence, though it was most likely early. The colonists were indeed having trouble finding, gathering, killing, or growing enough food for the sometimes-harsh winters. A large turkey provided meat for many people. There is also little doubt that American Indians taught the colonists how to hunt the bird.

There is some doubt, though, that the pilgrims shared a great thanksgiving feast of turkey with the Indians. Native American people had long since learned how to set in food for the long winter months.

They did have feasts, but these were usually when a large deer, elk, or bear was brought down, providing the people with a lot of meat. Turkeys would have never figured highly in such a feast, because it couldn't

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