No bird is more distinctively American than the “wild turkey.” The species was even suggested as our national bird by Benjamin Franklin, who pointed out that the Bald Eagle is principally a feeder on dead animals.

Wild turkeys live in open woodlands, and forests with scattered natural or man-made clearings.

Once more widespread and abundant, turkeys now range from Wyoming, Illinois and New York, to Mexico and the Gulf Coast.

Although well known to the American Indians and widely used by them as food, certain tribes considered these birds stupid and cowardly and did not eat them for fear of acquiring these characteristics.

Turkeys often roost over water because of the added protection that this offers. They are swift runners.