Turkey
by Mattison

Turkeys do not usually migrate in the winter, but sometimes they do. The male turkey gobbles to attract a female in mating season. After eating, the turkey often takes a nap or begins dusting to get dust into their feathers. The turkey's scientific name is 'meleagris gallopavo.' Turkeys eat a lot. They will eat once in the mid-morning and once in the mid-afternoon.

Their voices even out of mating season sound like 'gobble, gobble, gobble.' They often nest in the ground, at the base of a tree, under a shrub, or in tall grass. They eat whatever they can find. Their habitat is in the woods, mountain forests, and wooded swamps.

Questions, questions. More Mattison questions. You are full of questions, Mattison. I expect to see you as Chief of Police someday because questions are good stuff.

The turkey is not an Alaskan bird, but it is an American bird, and Benjamin Franklin wanted it to be the bird symbol of America instead of the eagle. Turkeys, goofies that they are, started coming into the gardens of American Indians somewhere around 7 or 8 thousand years ago. So they became a domestic creature way back when.

This one was shot by Pat Londo with a bow and arrow in the state of Texas, and he donated it to the school. We put it in the bird collection because Thanksgiving is such an important holiday for the little tiny folks, you know, first graders and such.

Come to think of it, I was in a nature preserve that is near my house [in Arizona], and I watched a flock of free ranging turkeys not long ago. They are funny looking creatures. I thought it would be fun to make them run, but then I realized I'm an old retired gentleman so I didn't chase them.

Thanks,
Mr. Larson

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