But Franklin did want to make the turkey the national bird.

The turkey is a large bird in the genus Meleagris, which is native to the Americas. One species, Meleagris gallopavo, is native to the forests of North America, from Mexico throughout the midwest and eastern United States, and into southeastern Canada. The other living species is Meleagris ocellata or the ocellated turkey, native to the forests of the Yucatán Peninsula.

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