the turkey is a large bird in the genus meleagris, native to north america. there are two extant turkey species: the wild turkey (meleagris gallopavo) of eastern and central north america and the ocellated turkey (meleagris ocellata) of the yucatán peninsula in mexico. males of both turkey species have a distinctive fleshy wattle, called a snood, that hangs from the top of the beak. they are among the largest birds in their ranges. as with many large ground-feeding birds (order galliformes), the male is bigger and much more colorful than the female.