Even those who are new to bowling or don't know much about it tend to know a turkey is involved somehow. If not, here you go: when you bowl three strikes in a row, it's called a turkey. This is obviously a good thing, as a strike is the best score you can get in any frame, and throwing consecutive strikes is the way to put up huge scores.
There's another bird out there, however, that is not so appealing: the buzzard.
When you leave three consecutive frames open (that is, you neither throw a strike nor a spare), you've thrown a buzzard, which is not only detrimental to your score, but can damage your psyche as well, potentially taking your focus off the rest of the game and ruining any chance at a decent score.
When you throw a turkey, you are guaranteed at least 60 pins from those three frames, and that's if you follow the third strike with two gutter balls, which is not likely. In that rare case, though, your first strike would count as 30 (10+10+10), your second strike would count as 20 (10+10+0) and your third strike would count as 10 (10+0+0). For a complete explanation on how to keep score, visit this article on how to score a game of bowling.
In contrast, a buzzard's maximum score is 27. The best you can do in a frame in which you do not strike or spare is a score of 9, so three of those in a row is 27, three pins less than the total from just a single frame in a turkey.
Taking a hypothetical (and admittedly rare for the sake of explanation) situation, you could start a game with a turkey (three consecutive strikes) and your opponent could throw the best possible buzzard (three consecutive nines). Even if you throw a double gutter in the fourth frame, your score is 60 after three frames and your opponent trails by 33 with a score of 27. That's a huge advantage.
Contrary to the bowling lore of bowling-center proprietors giving out real turkeys to bowlers who could throw three strikes in a row, there are no viable legends out there suggesting the same was done for buzzards. It is merely a less desirable bird, especially in bowling.
There's another bird out there, however, that is not so appealing: the buzzard.
When you leave three consecutive frames open (that is, you neither throw a strike nor a spare), you've thrown a buzzard, which is not only detrimental to your score, but can damage your psyche as well, potentially taking your focus off the rest of the game and ruining any chance at a decent score.
Comparing the Scores for Illustrative Purposes
When you throw a turkey, you are guaranteed at least 60 pins from those three frames, and that's if you follow the third strike with two gutter balls, which is not likely. In that rare case, though, your first strike would count as 30 (10+10+10), your second strike would count as 20 (10+10+0) and your third strike would count as 10 (10+0+0). For a complete explanation on how to keep score, visit this article on how to score a game of bowling.
In contrast, a buzzard's maximum score is 27. The best you can do in a frame in which you do not strike or spare is a score of 9, so three of those in a row is 27, three pins less than the total from just a single frame in a turkey.
Taking a hypothetical (and admittedly rare for the sake of explanation) situation, you could start a game with a turkey (three consecutive strikes) and your opponent could throw the best possible buzzard (three consecutive nines). Even if you throw a double gutter in the fourth frame, your score is 60 after three frames and your opponent trails by 33 with a score of 27. That's a huge advantage.
Contrary to the bowling lore of bowling-center proprietors giving out real turkeys to bowlers who could throw three strikes in a row, there are no viable legends out there suggesting the same was done for buzzards. It is merely a less desirable bird, especially in bowling.