The official Thanksgiving bird is actually much more interesting than you might think! We all know that turkeys are delicious with a side of mashed potatoes, but there’s also plenty of history behind these birds.
Happy Thanksgiving
Below are some fast facts about turkeys to help you keep Thanksgiving guests entertained!
- Bearded Birds – Turkeys are unique in that they have beards, or gobblers, that can sometimes reach all the way to the ground! The hairlike bristles are actually a special form of feather, thought to serve a sensory function for turkeys.
- Sleeping In the Trees – Turkeys are large birds! In fact, the largest turkey every recorded was a whopping 37lbs. You’d assume that birds this big would stick to sleeping on the ground, but turkeys actually prefer to snooze in the branches of tall trees to avoid predators.
- Descendants Of Dinosaurs – Breaking the ‘wishbone’ is a popular Thanksgiving tradition. This bone is actually called a furcula has always been thought to be unique to birds. However, paleontologists have recently discovered that the furcula is around 150 million years old! It’s been found in the bones of two legged, carnivorous dinosaurs such as velociraptors and tyrannosaurus rex.
- Gobble Gobble? – Female turkeys do not make the distinctive gobbling sound! This is a sound that only the males make. Females communicate through chirping and clucking noises.
- Turkey Eyes – Turkeys actually have incredible vision. This is due to its periscopic vision (meaning the eyes are on the sides of the head). This allows the turkey to see things that aren’t in its direct vision.
Here at Discovery Kids Pediatric Dentistry, we hope your Thanksgiving holiday is full of food, fun, and family!
If you would like to learn more about pediatric dental care not covered in our dental topicsfrom Discovery Kids Pediatric Dentistry, please complete an online appointment request or phone 469-365-5437.
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