"I am on this account not displeased that the Figure is not known as a Bald Eagle, but looks more like a Turkey. For the Truth the Turkey is in Comparison a much more respectable Bird, and withal a true original Native of America . . . He is besides, though a little vain & silly, a Bird of Courage, and would not hesitate to attack a Grenadier of the British Guards who should presume to invade his Farm Yard with a red coat on."

There is a huge amount of information supporting the fact that turkeys are intelligent, below is a selection of anecdotes and scientific research concerning the intelligence of turkeys. But as always it is important to keep in mind that sentience does not depend on a creatures intellectual capacity, intelligence adds weight to the idea that an animal is sentient, however it is not a prerequisite.

In an article by Aaron Hougham for The Daily Barometer, Tom Savage, poultry scientist and animal science professor at Oregon State University says this about turkey intelligence:

"If you throw an apple to a group of turkeys, they'll play with it together," he said. "Kind of like football."

Savage asks, "If turkeys are so dumb, then why do they socialize like that?"

It is not only wild turkeys of course who are intelligent, despite selective breeding domesticated turkeys retain much of their natural intelligence as you can read in the account below

"Many people assume that domestic turkeys lack the native intelligence of their wild relatives. I’d like to challenge this assumption by sharing my memory of Mila and Priscilla, two turkey hens who lived with my husband and me for several years in Darnestown, Maryland.

Victims of a truck accident, Mila and Priscilla would have been dead by the time we adopted them had they not been rescued. Though roughly the same age, their personalities were very different. Mila was a gentle and pacific turkey with a watchful face. Priscilla was a moody bird with emotional burdens.

In the spring and summer, Priscilla would disappear into the woods around our house, and I would have to go look for her. Eventually I’d spy her white form nestled in thick vegetation, where she laid many clutches of eggs that, since there was no male turkey to fertilize them, never hatched. Priscilla kept trying to be a mother, and perhaps because she could not, she was irritable much of the time.

When Priscilla got into one of her angry moods, you could see her getting ready to charge my husband or me, which wasn’t pleasant. With her head pulsing colors, she glared at us with combat in her whole demeanor. What stopped her was Mila. Perking up her head at the signals, Mila would enter directly into the path between Priscilla and us, and block Priscilla’s charge. She would tread back and forth in front of Priscilla, uttering soft pleading yelps as if beseeching her to stop. Priscilla would gradually calm down.

Please finish reading this article which includes more information validating the intelligence of turkeys :
UPC Guest Column, “A Tale of Two Turkeys”

Erik Marcus, the author of Vegan: The New Ethics of Eating, has spent a considerable amount of time with turkeys on farm sanctuaries. He reports, “Turkeys remember your face and they will sit closer to you with each day you revisit. Come back day after day and, before long, a few birds will pick you out as their favourite and they will come running up to you whenever you arrive. It’s definitely a matter of the birds choosing you rather than of you choosing the birds. Different birds choose different people.”

Turkeys are not only more intelligent than we give them credit for but they are also amazingly sensitive, aware, conscious even playful creatures capable of a whole spectrum of emotion, and it is only when you get to know them that their true characteristics shine through.

Here is an excellent example:

In his book The pig who sang to the moon: The emotional world of farm animals, Jeffery Massom refers to the experiences of Jo Hutto who lived amongst turkeys for one year in the forests of Florida.

'Nearly two hundred eggs where hatched in his presence , and he became the leader of a flock of extraordinary birds... Hutto discovered that that are extremely intelligent , not at all the creatures of human myth...He tells us " I have never kept better company or known more fulfilling companionship." Hutto is driven in spite his scientist self, to recognise," that in the most fundamental sense our similarities are greater than our differences." He considers himself privileged to be in thier presence, feeling less desolate, less isolated, as he is bathed in the warm glow of these extraordinary creatures .. "As we leave the confines of my language and culture these graceful creatures become in everyway my superiors. More alert sensitive and aware they are vastly more conscious than I. They are in may ways simply more intelligent. There is an intricate attitude, a clear distillation of purpose and design that is beyond my ability to comprehend" He describes his friendship with one particular turkey. "Each time I joined him he greeted me with his happy dance, a brief joyful display of ducking and dodging, with wings outstretched and a frisky shake of the head like a dog with water in his ears. Occasionally he would jump at me and touch me lightly with his feet. His anticipation and enthusiasm made it difficult for me to refuse him.

Here is another lovely turkey story:

"After hearing accounts of how "stupid" turkeys can be, a lady and her husband were surprised to see two wild turkeys walk out onto a busy two lane country road and spread out their wings. One turkey faced oncoming traffic in one direction, the other faced oncoming traffic in the other direction. Confused drivers came to a halt. Everyone waited to see what would happen."

To finish reading this story please click the link below.

A True Turkey Story - From All Creatures Animal Stories,

Turkeys are capable of emotion and there is physical evidence to validate this: when a turkey becomes distressed or excited the bare skin on his throat and head changes colour from grey to shades of red white and blue.

Few people know the turkey as a wild bird, sadly only associated with a Christmas, and in the USA Thanksgiving, feast. The reality is that turkeys are complex creatures, here are some facts about a creature few people ever consider is a wild bird just like a swan or an eagle to name but two examples.

The natural habitat of turkeys are hardwood forests with grassy areas, although they are able to adapt to other environments. In the wild the life of a turkey is far different than people may imagine, that is if they think about it at all. In their natural environment they have a life span of up to twelve years. Many people do not believe turkeys to be capable of flight therefore it may surprise you that they have a wing span of four to five feet with which they can fly short distances at speeds of over 55 miles an hour!They usually fly close to the ground. In the wild they have strong feet and legs for walking running or scratching to forage: turkeys can run at 25 miles per hour given the opportunity to do so. With thier strong beaks their days are spent foraging for food, they are omnivorous and eat a varied diet of seeds, berries, insects and acorns, depending on what is available throughout the year. The preferred time for eating is usually the early morning and late afternoon. At night they roost in trees on the lower branches, at first light they will fly to the ground but before the sun rises turkeys will begin to make loud sounds which continue all morning, the male makes a gobbling sound and the female a clicking sound. These vocalisations are just two example of many other sounds with which turkeys communicate, more about this later

Click here to listen to these turkey calls: