If Thanksgiving had a mascot, it would without a doubt be a turkey!
The traditional centerpiece has played an important role in Thanksgiving history. But even if you put the Thanksgiving menu aside, turkey has become a symbolic totem of the holiday. With many Thanksgiving crafts and other decorations incorporating turkeys in some way, it's hard to even imagine the day without visualizing an image of the feathered animal. That said, how much do you actually know about turkeys? Sure, it's common knowledge that they're birds... but does that mean they can fly?
They have wings, yes, but so do penguins, after all. (And everyone knows that they can't fly!) Turns out, there's more than one way to answer this Thanksgiving trivia question. In fact, it can be better answered when thinking of turkeys in two ways: domesticated and wild. Read on to find out more!
Can wild turkeys fly?
Yes! Wild turkeys (aka the turkeys that can be found roaming free in wooded and rural areas) can indeed fly. That's not to say that they're mighty soarers of the sky, because that would be exaggerating a bit. š Instead, wild turkeys can only really fly short distancesāan ability they only use when they're trying to escape danger or when they're aiming for the trees to begin roosting.
For reference, the they can only fly up to 100 yards before they call it quits. (Though, they do so at speeds of around 55 mph and heights of up to 20 to 30 feet!) Other than that, most of a wild turkey's time is spent on the ground.
Can domestic turkeys fly?
No, domestic turkeys (aka the ones that are raised on farms) cannot fly. Because they spend their lives growing up on locations where they have no natural predators and likely without trees to roost on, there is no need for their bodies to learn to fly. Also, domestic turkeys are usually raised for one purpose: consumption! So, they are fed on a regular basis, giving them the nutrition they need. This, in turn, gives domestic turkeys a heavier build and makes it harder for their bodies to be lifted from the ground.
Josiah is the Digital Content Producer for the commerce team at Popular Mechanics, Best Products, Runnerās World, and Bicycling Magazine. He also writes for āBIO Buysāāa column on Biography.comāgiving readers the lowdown on what products their favorite celebs are using. In another life, Josiah was an editor at ThePioneerWoman.com, where he sharpened his expertise on all things lifestyle, food-news, and entertainment. Outside work related matters, heās a fan of Studio Ghibli films, unimportant reality TV drama, and melancholy Lorde songs.Ā
