| Domesticated Turkey | ||||||||||||
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Large White Turkey | ||||||||||||
| Scientific classification | ||||||||||||
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| Species | ||||||||||||
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Meleagris gallopavo Meleagris ocellata | ||||||||||||
The domesticated turkey is descended from one of the North American wild turkey species, probably the Mexican Ocellated Turkey, Agriocharis ocellata.
The turkey is reared throughout temperate parts of the World, and is a popular form of poultry because industrialised farming has made it very cheap for the amount of meat, and it is considered healthier and less fattening than red meat.
In was once restricted to special occasions like Christmas in Europe, and Thanksgiving in North America, in both cases having displaced the traditional goose, but it is now available year-round in supermarkets.
In the USA, the female domesticated turkey is refered to as a hen, a male as a tom, a chick as a poult and a castrated turkey as a hokie. In Europe, the male is a stag.