The Norfolk Black, also known as the Black Spanish or Black Turkey, is a British breed of

domestic turkey The domestic turkey (Meleagris gallopavo domesticus) is a large fowl, one of the two species in the genus '' Meleagris'' and the same species as the wild turkey. Although turkey domestication was thought to have occurred in central Mesoamerica ...

. It is thought to derive from birds taken to Britain from Spain, where they had arrived with

Spanish explorers Exploration refers to the historical practice of discovering remote lands. It is studied by geographers and historians. Two major eras of exploration occurred in human history: one of convergence, and one of divergence. The first, covering most ...

returning from the

New World The term ''New World'' is often used to mean the majority of Earth's Western Hemisphere, specifically the Americas."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: Oxford University Press, p. ...

. It is generally considered the oldest turkey breed in the UK.

History

Turkeys were brought to Europe by early conquistadors returning from the

, and were introduced to Britain – probably from Spain – in the early sixteenth century. According to the ''Chronicle of the Kings of England'' of Richard Baker of 1643, this was in the fifteenth year of the reign of Henry VIII, or about 1524. William Strickland is often credited with having brought them. Black birds had occasionally been seen among New World flocks of wild birds; European breeders

selectively bred Selective breeding (also called artificial selection) is the process by which humans use animal breeding and plant breeding to selectively develop particular phenotypic traits (characteristics) by choosing which typically animal or plant m ...

for this colour. In England, turkey farming was carried on mainly in East Anglia, and particularly in

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

. In the seventeenth or eighteenth century, early colonists travelling to the

took black-coloured turkeys with them.

Cross-breeding A crossbreed is an organism with purebred parents of two different breeds, varieties, or populations. ''Crossbreeding'', sometimes called "designer crossbreeding", is the process of breeding such an organism, While crossbreeding is used to main ...

of some of these with '' Meleagris gallopavo silvestris'', the Eastern sub-species of the wild turkey, led to the later development of the Bronze, Narragansett and Slate breeds. They remained a commercially farmed variety in the U.S. until the early 20th century, but fell out of favour after the development of the Broad Breasted Bronze and

Broad Breasted White The Broad Breasted White is commercially the most widely used breed of domesticated turkey. These birds have shorter breast bones and larger breasts, sometimes rendering them unable to breed without human assistance (typically via artificial insem ...

. Fairly common in Europe, they are considered an endangered variety of

heritage turkey A heritage turkey is one of a variety of strains of domestic turkey which retains historic characteristics that are no longer present in the majority of turkeys raised for consumption since the mid-20th century. Heritage turkeys can be different ...

today by the

American Livestock Breeds Conservancy The Livestock Conservancy, formerly known as the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy (ALBC) and prior to that, the American Minor Breeds Conservancy, is a nonprofit organization focused on preserving and promoting rare breeds, also known as "h ...

, and are also included in

Slow Food USA Slow Food is an organization that promotes local food and traditional cooking. It was founded by Carlo Petrini in Italy in 1986 and has since spread worldwide. Promoted as an alternative to fast food, it strives to preserve traditional and reg ...

Ark of Taste The Ark of Taste is an international catalogue of endangered heritage foods which is maintained by the global Slow Food movement. The Ark is designed to preserve at-risk foods that are sustainably produced, unique in taste, and part of a distin ...

, a catalogue of heritage foods in danger of extinction. A 1998 census conducted by the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy found that there were only 200 Black Spanish turkeys remaining in the United States, which were being raised by just 15 different breeders. To help with conservation efforts, the Accokeek Foundation helped reintroduce this bird to the

Potomac River The Potomac River () drains the Mid-Atlantic United States, flowing from the Potomac Highlands into Chesapeake Bay. It is long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map. Retrieved Augu ...

tidewater region Tidewater refers to the north Atlantic coastal plain region of the United States of America. Definition Culturally, the Tidewater region usually includes the low-lying plains of southeast Virginia, northeastern North Carolina, southern Mary ...

by sharing breeding stock with other historical museums and local farmers. A rafter of Black Spanish turkeys is currently being preserved by the Heritage Breed Livestock Conservation Program within the National Colonial Farm at Piscataway Park to increase public awareness of this threatened breed.

Notes

References

Turkey breeds Conservation Priority Breeds of the Livestock Conservancy {{poultry-stub