Re: A turkey tribute

[TomHopp@aol.com]

Turkeys ain't so dumb. Wild ones are smart enough to realize the selective 
advantage of brooding their hatchlings beneath their capaceous wing-feathers, 
just as their Mesozoic ground-dwelling ancestors did. Only these birds are so 
smart they can do it while sitting on a tree branch (brood, that is).
    It must have been this attribute that inspired Benjamin Franklin to 
propose them as the National Bird, and to suggest a new scientific name for 
them, _maiaturka_, or _good mother with drumsticks_!

Thomas P. Hopp
Author of DINOSAUR WARS, a science fiction novel published by iUniverse
Now Humans are the Endangered Species!  http://members.aol.com/dinosaurwars