In celebration of the American vacation of Thanksgiving, listed here are a 5 cool details about turkeys.
1. The flap of pink pores and skin on a turkey’s chin and neck is named a wattle.
The wattle is beneficial for releasing warmth on a sizzling day since turkeys can not sweat. When male turkeys are attempting to draw a mate, it turns brilliant pink. And once they’re frightened, it turns blue!
2. An grownup turkey has 5000-6000 feathers.
Turkeys have 8 kinds of feathers, which offer for insulation, flight, and ornamentation. Some feathers are iridescent, which means their coloration appears to alter in several lights or from totally different angles.
3. Turkeys can run fairly quick.
Wild turkeys trot at about 19 km/h (12 mph). However when frightened, they’ll attain speeds as quick as 40 km/h (25 mph)!
4. Wild turkeys can swim.
Though wild turkeys sometimes stroll or trot, they’ll additionally fly (ungracefully) and swim!
Watch a video of a wild turkey swimming throughout a pond:
5. Turkeys can lay fertilized eggs with out mating.
This course of, known as parthenogenesis, additionally happens in some invertebrates, fish, and lizards. (See our article about Komodo dragons for an additional instance.) For turkeys, this course of at all times produces male chicks.
