Editing Poultry (section)

==Definition==
"Poultry" is a term used for any kind of [[Domestication|domesticated]] bird, captive-raised for its utility, and traditionally the word has been used to refer to wildfowl ([[Galliformes]]) and waterfowl ([[Anseriformes]]) but not to [[cagebirds]] such as [[songbirds]] and [[parrots]]. "Poultry" can be defined as domestic fowls, including chickens, turkeys, geese and ducks, raised for the production of meat or eggs and the word is also used for the flesh of these birds used as food.<ref name=AH>{{cite encyclopedia | title = Poultry | encyclopedia = The American Heritage: Dictionary of the English Language | volume = 4th edition | publisher = Houghton Mifflin Company | year = 2009 | url = http://www.thefreedictionary.com/poultry}}</ref>

The Encyclopædia Britannica lists the same bird groups but also includes guinea fowl and squabs (young pigeons).<ref name=Britannica>{{cite encyclopedia | title = Poultry | encyclopedia = Encyclopædia Britannica | publisher = Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. | date = June 6, 2013 | url = http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/472991/poultry }}</ref> In R. D. Crawford's ''Poultry breeding and genetics'', squabs are omitted but [[Japanese quail]] and [[common pheasant]] are added to the list, the latter frequently being bred in captivity and released into the wild.<ref name=Crawford>{{cite book |title=Poultry Breeding and Genetics |last=Crawford |first=R. D. |year=1990 |publisher=Elsevier |isbn=0-444-88557-9 |page=1 |url=http://www.cabdirect.org/abstracts/19900183085.html }}</ref> In his 1848 classic book on poultry, ''Ornamental and Domestic Poultry: Their History, and Management'', Edmund Dixon included chapters on the [[peafowl]], [[guinea fowl]], [[mute swan]], [[turkey (bird)|turkey]], various types of [[geese]], the muscovy duck, other ducks and all types of chickens including bantams.<ref>{{cite book |title=Ornamental and Domestic Poultry: Their History, and Management |last=Dixon |first=Rev Edmund Saul |year=1848 |publisher=Gardeners' Chronicle |page=[https://archive.org/details/Dixon1848ix59U/page/n36 1] |url=https://archive.org/details/Dixon1848ix59U |quote=poultry history. }}</ref>

In colloquial speech, the term "fowl" is often used near-synonymously with "domesticated chicken" (''Gallus gallus''), or with "poultry" or even just "bird", and many languages do not distinguish between "poultry" and "fowl". Both words are also used for the flesh of these birds.<ref>{{cite web | title = Fowl | work= The Free Dictionary | publisher = thefreedictionary.com | url = http://www.thefreedictionary.com/fowl | access-date=February 12, 2014}}</ref> Poultry can be distinguished from "game", defined as wild birds or mammals hunted for food or sport, a word also used to describe the meat of these when eaten.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia | title = Game | encyclopedia = Oxford Dictionaries | publisher = Oxford University Press | url = http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/game | access-date = March 8, 2014 | archive-date = April 3, 2016 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160403082300/http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/game | url-status = dead }}</ref>

=== Examples ===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Bird
! Wild ancestor
! Domestication
! Utilization
! Picture
|-
| [[Chicken]]
| [[Red junglefowl]]
| [[South Asia|South]] and [[Southeast Asia]]
| Eggs and meat
|[[File:Male and female chicken sitting together.jpg|120px]]
|-
| [[Domestic turkey|Turkey]]
| [[Wild turkey]]
| [[Mexico]]
| Meat
|[[File:Bronzepute 04.jpg|120px]]
|-
| [[Domesticated quail]]
| [[Quail]]
| Various
| Eggs and meat
|[[File:3 Japanese quails less than 1 year old.JPG|120px]]
|-
| [[Domestic duck|Duck]]
| [[Mallard]]
| Various
| Eggs, meat, and feathers
|[[File:Taiwanese duck farm.jpg|120px]]
|-
| [[Domestic goose|Goose]]
| [[Greylag goose|Greylag]]
| Various
| Eggs, meat, and feathers
|[[File:Neugierige Hausgans.JPG|120px]]
|-
| [[Domestic guineafowl|Guinea fowl]]
| [[Helmeted guineafowl|Helmeted guinea fowl]]
| [[Africa]]
| Eggs and meat
|[[File:Guinea fowl.jpg|120px]]
|-
|[[Domestic pigeon]]
|[[Rock dove]]
|[[Eurasia]]
|Meat
|[[File:American Giant Runt.jpg|frameless|120x120px]]
|}