These birds aren’t that closely related.
They are both just large Galliformes that have evolved similar courtship displays.
Interestingly, the turkey was thought to be the same species as the helmeted Guineafowl, which was brought to England from the Ottoman Empire (Turkey). The helmeted Guineafowl are from Africa, but they were common as poultry in the Ottoman Empire. That’s why the scientific name for the turkey is Meleagris gallopavo, and the scientific name for the helmeted Guineafowl is Numida meleagris. Meleagris refers to the Guineafowl.
The Guineafowl were called “Turkey birds,” as were the ones found in North America. It was only when it was discovered that the two were distinct species that turkey began to refer to the North American bird and Guineafowl to the African bird.
Ironically, peafowl are more closely related to Guineafowl than turkeys, so if any species should be confused with Guineafowl, it is the peafowl. Now, there is a missing link between the Guineafowl and peafowl. For decades, ornate feathers were coming out of Central Africa, and these were classified as peafowl by traders. However, taxonomists would say that these were imports from India that came through Africa. There was no such thing as an African peafowl.
However, in 1936, James Chapin, an American ornithologist, declared the existence of a new species of peafowl indigenous to the Congo Basin. It was called the Congo peafowl (Afropavo congensis) . His discovery was not in the jungles of darkest Africa, however. His discovery came from two taxidermied specimens that were in the Congo Museum in Belgium (which, you might recall, once owned the Congo.)
Congo Peafowl
The congo peafowl looks like a juvenile Indian peafowl or maybe a cross between a peafowl and a Guineafowl. The Congo peafowl is thought to be the missing link between the peafowl and Guineafowl families.
However, very little is known about the Congo peafowl. It is not widely studied in the wild. There aren’t many of them. Further, their habitat is rapidly shrinking, as trees are felled. This species is considered “vulnerable” by the International Conservation Union.
I am somewhat amazed that I was able to generate this post simply from watching a video of a domestic turkey and an Indian peafowl. I certainly didn’t think it was going to launch into a post on the Congo peafowl or why we call the turkey a turkey.
