In a bizarre incident that could have been the plot for one of Jerry Seinfeld’s classic TV shows, the comedian received minor injuries when his 32-pound Butterball turkey suddenly sat bolt upright and leaped from the kitchen counter. The crazed bird proceeded to do $225,000 damage to the recently renovated kitchen...

This dramatic paraphrase is from a letter that Ben Franklin wrote to his daughter in the late 1700’s regarding the wild turkeys of America. In the true spirit of America, these magnificent birds have made a comeback from the verge of extirpation, and can be seen daily in the North Geogia community of Big Canoe.

Wild turkeys, whiskered auklets, and whip-poor-wills: we look at the history and uncertain future of birds and birdwatching in America.

Wild turkeys have been spotted in towns and suburbs across New England—and have even been seen strolling through downtown Manhattan. "Some people look at them and say, How cool, and take a picture of them," said bird expert Chris Leahy of the Massachusetts Audubon Society. "Other people look at them and say, Whoa, that's a big, scary bird."

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The Wild Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) is native to North America and is the heaviest member of the Galliformes. It is one of two species of turkey, the other being the Ocellated Turkey, found in Central and South America. Adult Wild Turkeys have a small, featherless, reddish head, that can change to blue in minutes; a red throat in males; long reddish-orange to greyish-blue legs; and a dark-brown to black body. The head has fleshy growths called caruncles; in excited turkeys, a fleshy flap on the bill expands, becoming engorged with blood. Males have red wattles on the throat and neck. Each foot has four toes, and males have rear spurs on their lower legs.Turkeys have a long, dark, fan-shaped tail and glossy bronze wings. As with many other species of the Galliformes, turkeys exhibit strong sexual dimorphism. The male is substantially larger than the female, and his feathers have areas of red, purple, green, copper, bronze, and gold iridescence. Female feathers are duller overall, in shades of brown and gray. Parasites can dull coloration of both sexes; in males, coloration may serve as a signal of health. The primary wing feathers have white bars.Turkeys have between 5,000 and 6,000 feathers. Tail feathers have the same length in adults, different lengths in juveniles. Males typically have a "beard" consisting of modified feathers that stick out from the breast. Beards average 9 inches (230 mm) in length. In some populations, 10 to 20 percent of females have a beard, usually shorter and thinner than that of the male. The average weight of the adult male is 8.2 kg (18 lb) and the adult female is 3.2 kg (8 lb). The average length is 1.09 m (3.5 ft) and the average wingspan is 1.44 m (4.8 ft). The record-sized adult male wild turkey, according to the National Wildlife Turkey Federation was 38 lb (17.2 kg).