The bird of thanksgiving dinner [essay]

Title

Language

English

Source

The Young Citizen : the magazine for young people 5 (11) November 1939

Year

1939

Subject

Thanksgiving Day

Turkeys--Anecdote--Juvenile literature

Rights

In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted

Abstract

Turkey as main course during the Thanksgiving Day feast in the United States. Turkey as domesticated animal.

Fulltext

N otwnbrr, 1939 THE YOUNG CITIZEN THE BIRD OF THE THANKSGIVING DINNER Tl-IANKSGIVINC and roast turkey are synonyms in the Cnited States. From the first Thanksgiving Day of the Pilgrims in the Massachusetts Colony,. in 1621, when visiting Indians furnished wild turkeys for the feast, no Thanksgiving dinner in the United States is considered to be complete unless there is roast turkey. The turkey is the only American representative of, the Old W orld pheasant. as he has a habit of breaking eggs. The hen u·sually lays about 12 eggs a year, and unless misfortune overtakes her . first brood of young, she raises only one brood a year. Turkeys are cared for in much the same way as other fowls, except that· they arc mo.re deficate. The young in particular must be watched, because they are delicate. It is possible, though, to raise turkeys in the Phi Ii ppines, and a few are be· in g raised in various parts of the islands. The tail is broad and round, with 14 to 18 blunt buff tip p e d feathers. These the male bird spreads fanwise (as shown in. the illustration) and raises above hi s back in c o urting Turlur-Gobblers Wild turkeys were once ver y lJ 1 en tiful all over temp e r - a t.e North America days. The dark plumage has metallic green, copper, and bronze reflections. The male bird has a special beardlike growth of black bristles hanging from the center of the upper breast. The call note, turk, tur·k, turk, doµbtless gave the birds their name. The call of the turkey cock is gobble, gobble, and this has caused the bird to be known as the "turkey-gobbler.". The turkey-hen is wild and secretive. She prefers to live in a wild place. She hides her nest, even from the cock, and Ceotral America. Now wild turkeys are very rare, but the domesticated iurkey, the descendant of the wild species, is common in poultry yards both in America and in Europe, where it was brought from the New World early in ihe 16th century. The American bronze turkey, the largest of the domestic birds,- is from the stock of the Mexican wild turkey. At times it attai'ns a weight of 40 pourids or more. ( Pleau turn to page 422.) 422 BIRD INFORMATION (Co11ti1111ed from page 408) makes the foot convenient for walking. as well as for swimming. Birds are 1tudied all over the world. Their cheerful songs, bright colors, and many pleasing ways are all very attractive·. Birds are also very valuable because 'they destroy many injurious insects. The study of the ·distribution of bird shows some are found all over the world and others in two or more different regions, but most species of birds are found in only one geographic region. When we study the. birds of the East Indian Islands (of which the Philippines are a part), we discover son1e . very strange facts about the distribution of birds. A part of the East Indian Islands lies in the Australian region and a part in the Indian region; the line between the two is very sharp. Thus the islands of Bali and Lombok (in the Malay Archipelago just east of Java), though but 20 miles apart, differ as greatly in their animal life as do Africa and South America. This indicates that the· two islands were separated ages ago, and the deep strait between them is the dividing line between Asia and what was a.nee the THE YOUNG CITIZEN BIRD OF THANKSGIVING (Continued from page 409) REVIEW I. Where did the early colonists of America find the first turkeys? 2. Describe the turkey. 3. Tell of the habits of the turkey-hen. 4. Tell of the care of young turkeys. 5. What turkeys were the ancestors of the present domestic turkey? 6. Are any turkeys grown in the Philippines? Australian continent. And so we find a· difforence in the birds of the two divisions. There are today between 13,000 and 14,000 species of birds found in the world. These are classified and grouped, just as the books in a library are classified and placed on shelves according to their contents. Just as in the library the books are not arranged according to their size or the colors of their covers, so with birds-their classification is made actording to the structure rather - than upon similarity in appearance. REVIEW I. What is an invertebrate? 2- Is a bird an invertebrate? 3. Millions of years ago November, i 939 THE PILGRIMS (Continued from page 415) The Young Citizen, and then answer the following: ]·]. Did the early cola-· nists have sufficient food? Why not? 12. What happened to ·many of the colonists? 13. What kind of weather did the colonists experience? 14. To whom did the colon is ts go for food? 15. Did they receive food from the Indians? Why not? 16. Where had· the colonists sent for food? 17. Did the food ship finally return? 18. Do you think the~e colonists were brave? 19. Did they develop into a great nation? 20. What nation did they become? 21. Do you think that settlement has influenced the Philippines in any way? How? 22. Read again all the Thanksgiving material in this issue of The Young Citizen, and then answer all of these questions. Your teacher will help you with any which present difliculty. what animals were the ancestors of birds? 4. Tell why there is a difference in the feet of birds.

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