page_title: Wild turkey
section_title: Subspecies
hierarchical_section_title: Wild turkey / Subspecies
caption_attribution_description: A flock of Eastern Wild Turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo silvestris) in Leon County, Florida. The turkey on the far right is a jake. One can tell this by the middle tail feather sticking up high than the rest of the feathers.
context_page_description: The wild turkey is an upland ground bird native to North America, one of two extant species of turkey, and the heaviest member of the diverse Galliformes. It is the same species as the domestic turkey, which was originally derived from a southern Mexican subspecies of wild turkey. Although native to North America, the turkey probably got its name from the domesticated variety being imported to Britain in ships coming from the Levant via Spain. The British at the time therefore associated the wild turkey with the country Turkey and the name prevails. An alternative theory posits that another bird, a guinea fowl native to Madagascar introduced to England by Turkish merchants, was the original source, and that the term was then transferred to the New World bird by English colonizers with knowledge of the previous species.
context_section_description: There are subtle differences in the coloration, habitat, and behavior of the different subspecies of wild turkeys. The six subspecies are:
caption: Eastern wild turkey
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