Whew! That Was Close!
As I understand the myth, turkeys are so stupid that they won't come in out of the rain. Because of this, many turkeys have been known to die of drowning. Since moving to Northern California, I have encountered many wild turkeys in my travels. The largest being an estimated 30-35 pounds. The way you can tell if a turkey is wild or not is rather simple actually...
For one it has feathers. It runs in circles and like a bat out of hell when it sees you coming. They travel in packs. Usually you will see several of them together. They live in wide open spaces with rolling hills and trees and spend thier entire life foraging across the land. Some of them have names given to them by landowners who have respected thier existence and marveled over them for years because they chose to let them be and they seem to stick around.
In case you are stupid as a turkey, you should also know that turkeys wrapped in plastic that find your way to the dinner table are raised on farms specifically for human consumption. They get fed really well and typically grow faster than a turkey in the wild possibly because of hormone additives and genetic enhancement.
There has actually been quite a controversy going on for several years regarding the raising and slaughter of turkeys meant to be consumed. http://advocacy.britannica.com/blog/advocacy/2008/11/consider-the-turkey-2/
The myths surrounding turkey drownings come from farmers observations over the years. One would think that with all the subsidies some of them recieve, at least one of them would have invested in getting to the truth about this. Curiosity killed the cat...why not the turkey? Curiosity suggests some level of intelligence whether your a turkey or some other type of lifeform. The real question is how have so many turkeys been able to survive in Washington.
OH BTW. HAPPY THANKSGIVING!