A popular legend says that Benjamin Franklin advocated for the turkey to be the national bird instead of the bald eagle. This is not the whole story, according to the Franklin Institute.

President Joe Biden recently announced the Bald Eagle as the national bird of the country. While the magnificent bird was chosen as the official bird on Christmas Eve, 2024, it has been holding its ...

But it's a myth that Franklin led discussions about making the turkey the national bird; historians believe he was joking. “He never advocated for the turkey to be our great seal,” Scott said ...

“The bison is the national mammal ... favoring the “respectable” turkey instead. “He is a Bird of bad moral Character. He does not get his Living honestly,” Franklin wrote in a 1784 ...

Franklin viewed the wild turkey more favorably, but did not propose it be made the national bird, as falsely claimed by many. President, first lady to visit New Orleans, meet with families of ...

They are also under threat from bird flu, which researchers have found is killing them at an "alarming rate." A popular legend says that Benjamin Franklin advocated for the turkey to be the national ...