In the scientific name for the turkey, Meleagris gallopava, the genus component came from Greek mythology.
Meleager was the son of a Calydonian king. When he died his sisters who mourned him were transformed into birds, called meliagrides.
Because turkeys are so delicious to eat, they have been introduced virtually all over the world. In the 1500s Spaniards brought them from Central America to Spain. From there they were taken to the rest of Europe.
The bird got its name, it seems, from the idea Europeans had that the birds came from Turkey. But turkeys are as American as apple pie.
via Turkeys aren’t turkish.
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