The wishbone, or furcula, is a forked bone in birds formed by the fusion of the two clavicles.
Location
It sits between the neck and breast, right at the top of the breastbone. Chefs often remove it from chickens or turkeys before roasting by sliding back the neck skin, scraping along both sides of the inner neck cavity, and pulling it out to simplify carving.
Cultural Note
The tradition of breaking the wishbone comes from ancient Etruscans and Romans who dried chicken bones for wishes, later switching to turkeys in America; the person with the longer piece gets good luck.
