ISTR from high school German, that German for turkey is die Pute. But I also seem to recall it’s der Truthahn. Checking Google Translate backs this up. Which work do German speakers tend to use more?
I don’t know, but googlingtells me they are synonyms with some bias based on gender.
OK, that makes sense. In the U.S. I mostly see hens for sale; so Pute would fit the thing and the gender.
Your quote sums it up quite well. There’s another point: as culinary term, I think “Pute” is preferred whereas “Truthahn” is more often used for the animal as a living species.
Unlike with beef vs. cow and pork vs. pig, there’s no separate English words for the two concepts with turkey (or chicken).
That’s my impression as well, though it bears stressing that this is merely a preference, not a hard-and-fast rule. I’ve often seen “Truthahn” on restaurant and cafeteria menus and on bird carcasses for sale in (super)markets. Granted, I see this much less often than “Pute”, though I wouldn’t say the use of “Truthahn” is altogether rare in such contexts.
In Switzerland I’ve only seen Truthahn on the menu. Pute I’ve seen very rarely and probably would be hard-pressed to remember the meaning.
Migros (major supermarket chain) is currently selling an entire (ganz) Truthahn for 42 CHF, for 2.8 kg.
German in Switzerland is not the same as German in Germany. Or in Austria. Or even within Switzerland.
“Pute” also has a rather offensive meaning in French, so I can see the Swiss avoiding it for that reason! 
The closest would be “poultry” but that’s a term for both animals, not either, so I think your point stands.
Asked my coworkers about Pute, one who is half-German, got confused looks from both.
And I made a mistake. If it’s on the canteen menu, it’s Truten, as in Trutenschnitzel. A bit more on the Swiss side of Swiss-German.
I’m German, and I’ve never heard “Truten” or “Trutenschnitzel”. Here, it’s a “Putenschnitzel” or “Putengeschnetzeltes” (a different dish, but I think something the Swiss would know because “Zürcher Geschnetzeltes” is a well-known Swiss dish).
According to Wikipedia, Truthahn or Truthuhn can be both the wild turkey and the domestic turkey. Pute or Puter is only used for the domestic turkey.
For culinary purposes, Truthahn is only ever used for a whole turkey, at least in my experience. Although, preparing a whole turkey is not something that could be considered a standard dish in german kitchens. Most Germans probaply only ever saw a whole prepared turkey in American TV series or movies. I have only had it once, when friends of us made an American-style thanksgiving dinner. On the other hand, preparing a Putenschnitzel, or having slices of Pute on a Sandwich is quite common.
All this talk about turkey made me hungry, so I hied down to my local supermarket to pick up a bird for a weekend feast. Dopers may be interested to see my photo of the packaging label, on which both “Pute” and “Truthahn” are present.
Pute is just one of the many local names for the Truthahn.
gulli, gulligû Switzerl., gull Preussen , bul, buli Els., kutschhuhn (-), kalkun ostfries., Preussen, kalkaun Preussen, kûn, kûnhan Meckl., Lübeck,* kalkuter, kalekut* (-), kalekutischer hahn, wälsches hun Franken, welschhahn Pfalz, welschhuhn, welschguller Els., indianisches huhn, janisch(huhn) Steiermark (für “indianisch”), windischspatz Steierm. (= indisch), zitränisch Lausitz,* mierhong* Lux. (= Meerhuhn), schnuddelhong, schnuddeli-rouderack Lux., schustervogel Steiermark,* kuter, puran, pieperhahn* etc.
Alex, I’ll take “Sexually suggestive poultry terms” for $400, please.
schnuddelhong = “snot hen”. How poetic.
Q: Why did the Schnuddelhong visit the doctor?
A: Because she was feeling a little stuffed up.