Turkeys belong to the family Phasianidae of the order Galliformes.  They are sometimes placed in a separate family, Eleagrididae.  The wild turkey is classified as Meleagris gallopavo and the ocellated turkey as Agriocharis ocellata.
Turkey is the common name for two large American birds. In adult turkeys, the head and neck are essentially naked; the feathers being reduced to hair like bristles.
The tarsus is equipped with spurs and the tail feathers can be raised to form a vertical fan during courtship or aggressive displays.  Like many other members of the order to which they belong, turkeys are polygamous; the cocks fight among themselves for access to the hens. 

The nests are built of dried leaves and grasses in concealed places on the ground. From 9 to 18 creamy white eggs with red-brown speckles are laid in a clutch. The wild turkey, native to northern Mexico and the eastern United States, is the species from which all domesticated breeds have been developed.The bird has buff-colored feathers on the tips of the wing coverts and on the tail.

The male has a long wattle at the base of the bill and additional wattles on the neck, as well as a prominent tuft of bristles resembling a beard projecting downward from its chest.

Once extirpated in much of its range through hunting and habitat loss, the wild turkey has made an excellent comeback in the mid-20th century, occupying most of its original range.

It has also been successfully introduced into Hawaii and some parts of the western United States where it did not formerly habitat.