Every year at Thanksgiving, families and friends gather to share personal stories and perhaps reflect on the early history of the United States. But aside from deciding whether to ask for seconds, not much is said about the guest of honor at the holiday table: the turkey. That’s a shame, since that big, tasty bird has left a significant mark on history, science, language, and culture. So maybe on this Thanksgiving, take a moment to appreciate the turkey’s story with these remarkable facts and anecdotes gathered from across the centuries.
After an exhaustive study of wild turkeys in southeastern Texas, researchers were startled to discover that the community of birds is “characterized by an astonishing degree of social stratification, greater than had previously been seen in any society of vertebrates short of man.”
“The Social Order of Turkeys,” published in the June 1971 issue of Scientific American, described an avian dystopia where the permanent status of each individual is determined in the first years of its life. Young males, for instance, engage in a grueling two-hour battle. The victor gains alpha male status and the right to bully the vanquished turkey for as long as it lives. During breeding season, the dominant males gather together and literally strut their stuff in unison before the females, like a scene out of West Side Story. But despite the synchronous display, only the most dominant of the alpha male turkeys—six out of 170—are allowed to mate.
Turkeys, with their large size, distinctive snoods, and familiar “gobble gobble” call, are a bird that most people are familiar with. These large, ground-dwelling fowl are most frequently seen strutting across grassy fields or perched in trees. However, they have a lesser known ability that often surprises people – turkeys can swim!
In this article, we’ll cover everything you need to know about turkeys and swimming, including:
- How well turkeys can swim
- Why wild turkeys swim
- Breed differences in swimming ability
- How turkeys swim compared to other birds
- The role of swimming in domestic turkeys
- Fun facts about turkeys and water
So let’s dive in and learn all about the aquatic abilities of these popular birds!
How Well Can Turkeys Swim?
Turkeys are actually quite good swimmers compared to many other bird species. When swimming, they tuck their wings in close to the body to become more streamlined. They fan out their tail feathers to help propel them forward. Their feet paddle to generate thrust. Using this technique, turkeys can motor along steadily through calm waters.
Researchers have found that wild turkeys living near water sources will swim across ponds and lakes regularly. Some flocks stay within a quarter mile of water while others roam up to half a mile away. This demonstrates their comfort with swimming and utilizing water resources.
Turkeys can’t swim endless distances like ducks But for short swims of several hundred feet, they do just fine Their swimming ability enables them to escape predators, cross rivers, and access favorable habitat.
Why Do Wild Turkeys Swim?
For wild turkeys, swimming serves several purposes. Here are some of the top reasons wild turkeys will take to the water:
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Accessing food and water – Turkeys may swim across a pond to reach better foraging areas or drink from a water source. Staying near water helps them survive.
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Escape from predators – Turkeys can use water as a barrier between themselves and predators like coyotes, foxes, and bobcats. Swimming to safety is an effective tactic.
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Travel and migration – Swimming allows turkeys to cross rivers and lakes during seasonal movements or range expansion. This increases the territory available to them.
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Brood rearing – Turkey hens with poults (chicks) will swim to lead young birds to aquatic food sources full of protein like frogs and fish. Poults can swim quite well.
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Breeding displays – Male turkeys may display their swimming skills to attract females during breeding season. Strong swimming can signify a fit, dominant mate.
So swimming is an important survival skill for wild turkeys, even if most people don’t associate them with an aquatic lifestyle.
Breed Differences in Swimming Ability
There are a number of different turkey breeds, some more domesticated than others. Is there any difference between breeds when it comes to swimming capabilities?
Some minor differences exist due to anatomy factors like body size and wing shape. But most breeds can swim decently. Domestic broad-breasted turkeys are a bit morecumbersome in the water than leaner wild birds. Still, even commercial turkeys become able swimmers if given the opportunity.
Wild birds with experience swimming in nature are better at it than domesticated turkeys. But overall, most turkeys have maintained their buoyancy and can handle at least short distances. Their aquatic adaptations have stayed largely intact, even as turkey breeds have diversified.
How Do Turkeys Compare to Other Swimming Birds?
Obviously, turkeys are no match for specialized water birds like ducks, geese, and swans who spend their entire lives on the water. But turkeys hold their own compared to many other land fowl.
For instance, chickens are poor swimmers due to their dense, compact shape. And pheasants absolutely detest entering water if they can avoid it. Turkeys are much more natural in the water than these upland gamebirds.
Turkeys can also swim better than similar sized commercially raised fowl like broiler chickens. Turkeys are lighter and better adapted for buoyancy and propulsion due to their wild origins.
Among landfowl, turkeys could be considered moderate to above average swimmers. They lack webbed feet, but make the most of their traits to move efficiently through water for brief periods.
The Role of Swimming in Domestic Turkeys
What about turkeys being raised on farms? Does swimming play any role in the life of domestic turkeys today?
Primarily, swimming is important for heritage breed and free range turkeys who have some access to the outdoors. These turkeys can take advantage of swimming opportunities if a pond or river is available. It provides enrichment and natural behavior expression.
For commercial turkeys raised indoors, swimming is generally not applicable. However, some research indicates that allowing indoor-reared turkeys limited swimming opportunities may provide cognitive and muscular health benefits. It can reduce injurious behaviors like pecking and aggression.
Allowing poults to swim is also useful for aiding their development. So swimming can still be relevant, even in industrial turkey production settings.
Fun Facts About Turkeys and Water
To wrap up, here are a few entertaining tidbits about turkeys and their swimming antics:
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Turkey chicks can swim as soon as they hatch. No water safety training required!
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Some wild turkeys will dive into the water to evade predators then swim with just their head poking out.
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Male turkeys gobble extra loudly near water, hoping the sound will carry farther to attract females.
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Turkeys can run on water, essentially sprinting across the surface for a few strides with their feet paddling furiously.
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Groups of swimming turkeys are called “rafts.”
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Benjamin Franklin thought the wild turkey would make a better national symbol than the bald eagle. Its swimming ability may have influenced his preference!
So while they may not be champion marathon swimmers, turkeys are clearly an underrated bird when it comes to aquatic skills. They are well adapted for utilizing water resources to their advantage. The next time you see turkeys strutting through a field, remember they could likely paddle across a pond if needed! Their semi-aquatic abilities are one more fascinating trait of this charismatic gamebird.
Turkeys Among the Maya
“For the Maya, turkeys were quintessential animals for feasting and for sacrificial offerings,” writes University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee art historian Andrea Stone. The reverence for the turkey among the ancient Maya is apparent in their stunning artistic depictions of the bird—with its characteristic drooping wattle—on vases and in codices. Historians had long thought that the Maya had domesticated the turkey sometime between A.D. 250 and 1000, but upon closer examination of turkey bones found in the ancient city of El Mirador, researchers at the University of Florida concluded that the Maya had domesticated the birds a thousand years earlier than previously estimated.
Text found in the Dresden Codex reveal that the Maya cooked turkey tamales. If you’d like to add a little spice to your traditional Thanksgiving meal, chef Julie Powell has re-created the recipe.
Considering that it was once deemed indecent for a woman to expose her ankles, we shouldn’t be surprised that prurient diners adopted anatomical euphemisms while serving turkey and other poultry.
In the mid-1800s, the term “drumstick” entered popular use to avoid the scandal of expressing desire for a bird’s lower leg. Likewise, according to culinary historian Mark Morton, “Prudery was also the impetus behind the adoption of the terms ‘white meat’ and ‘dark meat,’ which arose in the 1870s as euphemisms for the breast and legs.”
Look! Up in the sky! Wild turkeys can fly short distances at 40 to 50 miles an hour. (Domestic turkeys can’t, a factoid that was used to great comedic effect in the famous Thanksgiving episode of WKRP in Cincinnati.) Wild turkeys can also run 12 miles an hour and, completing the triathlon, they are actually adept swimmers. They move through the water by tucking their wings in close, spreading their tails, and kicking.
Granted, wild turkeys don’t swim often. As John James Audubon wrote in 1831, “I have been told by a friend that a person residing in Philadelphia had a hearty laugh on hearing that I had described the Wild Turkey as swimming for some distance, when it had accidentally fallen into the water. But be assured, kind reader, almost every species of land-bird is capable of swimming on such occasions, and you may easily satisfy yourself as to the accuracy of my statement by throwing a Turkey, a Common Fowl, or any other bird into the water.” (Actually, please don’t do that.)
Ben Franklin and the National Bird
Although the esteemed Founding Father once declared the wild turkey to be more virtuous than the bald eagle, there’s scant evidence that he preferred it as the national symbol of his new country.
Franklin’s feathers got ruffled when, in 1783, he learned that the Society of the Cincinnati—a group of officers under the command of George Washington—wanted to establish a hereditary order of merit, to be passed down from oldest son to oldest son. Franklin, a fifth-generation youngest son, expressed disdain for the officers and their aristocratic trappings, including their choice of the eagle as the emblem for their badge.
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In a letter to his daughter, Sarah Bache, he wrote, “For my own part I wish the bald eagle had not been chosen as the representative of our country. He is a bird of bad moral character. He does not get his living honestly … For in truth, the turkey is in comparison a much more respectable bird, and withal a true original native of America.”
But did Franklin truly regret the eagle as the national symbol? As author Elizabeth Gawthrop Riely writes in the journal Gastronomica, “The sober historian must be skeptical. After all, eight years earlier, in 1776, he himself had served on the committee with Jefferson and Adams when the turkey was not chosen, and at other instances Franklin used the eagle rather than the turkey as an emblem. No other evidence in the vast Franklin archive mentions his support of the turkey as national bird.”
More likely Franklin, knowing that his lengthy letter would probably be published in U.S. newspapers, singled out the eagle as part of a larger cautionary tale against creating aristocratic institutions.
The tradition of sending a Thanksgiving turkey to the White House began during the administration of President Ulysses S. Grant, who was gifted with a 34-pound bird by Rhode Island Senator H.B. Anthony on behalf of turkey growers in his state.
Ask Dr. Tom : Can Turkeys Swim?
FAQ
Can white turkeys swim?
Can turkeys and chickens swim?
Do turkeys fly over water?
Can wild turkeys swim?
Wild turkeys can also run 12 miles an hour and, completing the triathlon, they are actually adept swimmers. They move through the water by tucking their wings in close, spreading their tails, and kicking. Wild turkeys are able to fly short distances at considerable speed. They can also run and swim. Granted, wild turkeys don’t swim often.
Why do turkeys swim?
Turkeys have a great sense of smell, so they can easily find food in the water. They also have long legs and necks which help them to reach their food in the water. In addition to searching for food, turkeys sometimes swim because they enjoy it.
Can turkey feathers swim?
It’s not uncommon for them to be seen on ponds or lakes, where they casually swim around or wade through the water looking for food. Turkeys are so comfortable swimming that some former zoo animals even go swimming with their turkey companions! Are Turkey Feathers Adapted For Swimming?
How far can a Turkey fly?
Though they don’t go very far—usually less than 100 yards—wild turkeys are among the five largest flying birds in the world. They’re in good company: Others on the list include the swan and the albatross. 4. Turkeys can also swim. Turkeys don’t swim often, it seems, but they can, by tucking their wings in, spreading their tails, and kicking.