The National bird of Turkey is not the turkey

Can you guess what it is?

Previously, we learnt that the Wild Turkey, a bird, shares their name with Turkey, the country.

Image credit: Sciencing. A male Wild Turkey in the snow!

The two possible explanations for the birds’ name turkey

These were suggested by Mario Andrew Pei was an Italian-born American linguist and polyglot, who died in 1978.

1. The first theory suggests that when Europeans first encountered turkeys in the Americas, they incorrectly identified the birds as a type of guineafowl (the two species do look very similar!) These guineafowls were already being imported into Europe by Turkish merchants. The birds were therefore nicknamed turkey coqs. The name of the North American bird may have then become turkey fowl or Indian turkeys, which was eventually shortened to turkeys.

2. A second theory arises from turkeys coming to England not directly from the Americas, but via merchant ships from the Middle East, where they were domesticated successfully. Again the importers (the Turkish people) lent the name to the bird; hence turkey-cocks and turkey-hens, and soon thereafter, turkeys.

But anyway… the Wild Turkey cannot be found in the Turkish Empire and so, obviously, is NOT the national bird of Turkey.

What IS the national bird of Turkey, then?

It is the beautiful little Redwing!

Image credit: eBird. Some redwings come from Iceland to winter in Scotland and Ireland. Others come from Russia and Scandinavia to winter in southern England and further south in Europe. The first redwings reach the UK in October. They spend the autumn in hedges and orchards, where they feed on fruit and berries.

Named after a small patch of red under their wing, these small birds share the same red colour of the Turkish flag.

(for photo: It is 20–24 cm long with a wingspan of 33–34.5 cm and a weight of 50–75 g. The sexes are similar, with plain brown backs and with dark brown spots on the white underparts. The most striking identification features are the red flanks and underwing, and the creamy white stripe above the eye. Adults moult between June and September, which means that some start to replace their flight feathers while still feeding young.)

It’s a pretty common bird: Redwings can be found in the northern regions of Europe and the Palearctic, from Iceland south to northernmost Scotland, and even in Poland, Belarus, throughout most of Russia!

They are feisty little guys who are able to survive in harsh, even wintery conditions. Their ability to persevere no matter the conditions have allowed the species to expand their natural range slightly: today, the Redwing even breeds in southern Greenland, where temperatures can range from -7 °C in January to 9 °C in July!

Image credit: Bird Guides. The redwing is dark brown above and white below, with a black-streaked breast and distinctive orangey-red flanks and underwing, which the similar song thrush lacks. It has a very smart face pattern, with a white eyebrow stripe and dark brown cheeks.

They are migratory birds, though, and when temperatures drop, they prefer to winter in warmer parts of the world such as southern Europe. Some birds need to fly up to 7,000 km to reach their wintering grounds - that is an incredible distance! That is about the distance from Singapore to Tanzania - and Tanzania is all the way in East Africa!

BONUS FUN FACTS!

How Turkey (more accurately, the Ottoman Empire), an ex-superpower, influenced the word

In the 15th and 16th centuries - about 600 years ago, in the years 1400 to around 1600, the Ottoman Empire was one of the most powerful states in the world.

The term ‘Ottoman’ comes from the name of the Turkmen chief, Osman, who founded the Ottoman Empire.

Image credit: National Geographic. A modern day illustration of the Turkmen chief, Osman, who founded the Ottoman Empire.

Created by Turkish tribes in Anatolia (Asia Minor) the Ottoman period spanned more than 600 years and came to an end only in 1922, when it was replaced by the Turkish Republic and various successor states in southeastern Europe and the Middle East.

At its height the empire encompassed most of southeastern Europe, including countries such as Greece and Ukraine, as well as portions of the Middle East and North Africa, and even parts of the Arabian Peninsula!

It was a hugely successful, militarily powerful, and financially wealthy state.

The Ottoman Empire’s influence can still be seen in several modern-day items. These include:

1. The humble TULIP FLOWER!!! The tulip name comes from the Turkish word for turban. It is said that the workers in the tulip fields wore turbans, which they decorated with tulip blooms, so when an Ambassador pointed to the head of a worker asking what it was, the interpreter answered “tuliband”, meaning the headdress, and not the flower stuck between the folds of the turban. This is how a misunderstanding evolved into the name for the flower, tulip.

2. The Doner Kebab, and its counterparts the Middle Eastern shawarma and the Greek gyros. The Turkish word döner comes from dönmek ("to turn" or "to rotate"), so the Turkish name döner kebap literally means "rotating roast".

3. Medical surgical instruments such as forceps, scalpels, and catheters - all of which are still used in crucial medical operations today!

   

   Image credit: History Magazine. The Ottoman Empire, also known as the Turkish Empire, was an empire that controlled much of Southeast Europe, Western Asia, and Northern Africa between the 14th and early 20th centuries. It was founded at the end of the 13th century in northwestern Anatolia in the town of Söğüt by the Turkoman tribal leader Osman I.