Turkey (bird) India rather than the Americas on his voyage. In Portuguese a turkey is a "peru"; the name is thought to derive from the eponymous country Perú. Several other birds that are sometimes called turkeys are not particularly closely related: the brushturkeys are megapodes, and the bird sometimes known as the "Australian turkey" is the Australian bustard ("Ardeotis australis"). The anhinga ("Anhinga anhinga") is sometimes called a water turkey, from the shape of its tail when the feathers are fully spread for drying. An infant turkey is called a "chick" or "poult". Turkeys have been known to be aggressive toward humans
Name of Turkey Name of Turkey The English name Turkey, now applied to the modern Republic of Turkey, is historically derived (via Old French ') from the Medieval Latin '. It is first recorded in Middle English (as "Turkye, Torke", later "Turkie, Turky"), attested in Chaucer, ca. 1369. The Ottoman Empire was commonly referred to as "Turkey" or the "Turkish Empire" among its contemporaries. The English name of Turkey (from Medieval Latin "Turchia"/"Turquia") means "land of the Turks". Middle English usage of "Turkye" is attested to in an early work by Chaucer called "The Book of the Duchess" (c. 1369). The phrase "land