1. Meleagris gallopavo is an odd-looking bird that is known for his bare head, wattle and iridescent plumage. By what name is this creature more commonly known?

2. How did the turkey get its name?

3. From where do wild turkeys originally come?

4. How many Puritans sailed aboard the Mayflower?

5. This English-speaking Pawtuxet was credited with helping the Plymouth colonists form an alliance with the local Wampanoags. The partnership led to a three-day festival of thanks-giving, now thought to be the first thanksgiving. Name the Pawtuxet Indian.

Answers

1. Wild Turkey.

2. In the 1540s, the guinea fowl, a bird with some resemblance to the turkey, was imported from Madagascar through Turkey by traders known as "turkey merchants." The guinea fowl was also nicknamed "turkey fowl." The Spanish brought turkeys back from the Americas by way of North Africa and Turkey, where the bird was mistakenly called the same name. Europeans who encountered the bird in the Americas latched on to the turkey fowl name, and the term was condensed simply to turkey.

3. The wild turkey is native to North America.

4. There are only two known persons, out of the 104 Mayflower passengers (including two babies born), who were Anglicans and Puritans: Christopher Martin, Governor of the ship, and his stepson, Solomon Power — neither of whom left any descendants.

5. Samoset.

Take "The Answer Man" to work or to school. Challenge your friends for "Bragging Rights."

Send your questions and answers to: The Answer Man, Dawn Seamans-Shook at [email protected].