Thanksgiving is one of America's most popular holidays, filled with thoughts of getting together with families and friends, and giving thanks for our present good fortune as well as remembrance of our forebears. Children grow up learning about the famous feast between Pilgrims and Indians, and the edible icons of the thanksgiving meal such as corn and squash. But how much do we really know about the main course, turkey?

Who You calling Turkey?!

This magnificent bird was an important game species for the native peoples of the Americas long before the arrival of European settlers. Indians in Mexico were actually the first people to tame and raise wild turkeys. Spanish soldiers exploring Mexico decided to send some of the live birds back to Europe, however, a bird native to Africa was also being shipped at the same time. Europeans thought the African bird was from a region known as Turkey and therefore named it as such. Historians believe that people got the American bird mixed up with the African one, and named our Thanksgiving staple the turkey as well. Today, the African version is now called a Guinea Fowl, after the place it was found, while the American version's name remained.

Turkey vs. Baldy

The turkey was highly respected in colonial times, and was so popular that Benjamin Franklin nominated it for our national symbol. He labeled it as having "better character" and that it was "a much more respectable bird and a true native of America" than the Bald Eagle which is known to feast on carrion. Congress ended up settling on the fierce looking eagle to represent our new nation that was still at war with England.

Who Would You Choose?

What bird do you think would best symbolize America if we were to choose a new one today? Email us your answer and why, and check back the week of November 26th for the most popular answers. In the meantime, find out what John James Audubon thought about this bird, and discover what distinguishes a Turkey from its fellow fowl. Then test your turkey knowledge in our "Spot the Feathered Fraud" game.