Charles Synyard (@CharlesSynyard)

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! Concluding today’s string of posts on polygyny, something topical. Yes, turkeys are polygamous! From Wikipedia. A lesson for us humans: notice how, while the dominant male turkey fathers the most offspring, many more than other birds in his group, they tend to be very closely related, sharing half of the genes in question, such that polygamous mating with the group backing an alpha can be a better way of passing on genes than courting alone. Time to revive Ben Franklin’s proposal for the national bird, and replace the monogamous bald eagle? We homo sapiens can get the best of both strategies. Unlike turkeys, we aren’t restricted to finding mates where we can wander to in the woods, and as it is, there are a LOT of women who never marry or have children! But whether concerning a family, or on the level of a race, all members of the group get their DNA passed on is one male is a successful polygamist! Humans groups play a plus sum game. Any polygamist men or plural wives at your Thanksgiving tables right now? Before you drive home, be sure to tell them. “You aren’t alone! Actually Turkeys are polygamous too, and it works out well for them. Here’s why…” Alamy pic, a male turkey with two females, in what looks like a natural shelter on a snowy winter day. I don’t like getting too consequentialist or biological, so a very humanizing and cute scene. No one said it would be easy, for the alpha man or the alpha turkey, and their feathered or flightless mates. “It may not look like much, but it’s home.” #HappyThanksgiving #Thanksgiving #turkeys #turkey #birds #nationalbird #nature #pluralmarriage #polygyny #polygamy