Our road trip through the thirteen original colonies takes a slight detour this month. The state birds of the last two states, Rhode Island's Red Hen and Delaware's Blue Hen, aren't depicted in
Birds of America. So instead, we're displaying a hen that is featured, the female wild turkey (plate 6), surrounded by nine young turkey. In fact, Audubon's Plate 6 was originally published in 1827, but an 1829 version refers to it as
Great American Hen and Young. And in keeping with our connection to the 250th, while it is a myth that Benjamin Franklin proposed the turkey as the new nation's official bird, it is true that he stated that the turkey was a
respectable bird.
Of course, turkeys also have a connection to November for both their role in Thanksgiving and their importance to the Wampanoag tribe. You can read more about Audubon's
female turkey and
male turkey in our past blog posts.
When we were installing this print earlier in the week, staff noticed a) that it pushes the limits of page (note how close to the top the turkey's head is) and b) just how many small details are included - like this tiny snail that is in the sights of two of the baby turkeys. Be sure to visit us through December 8 to take a close look at this print!
Elizabeth Roscio
Preservation Librarian
When we were installing this print earlier in the week, staff noticed a) that it pushes the limits of page (note how close to the top the turkey's head is) and b) just how many small details are included - like this tiny snail that is in the sights of two of the baby turkeys. Be sure to visit us through December 8 to take a close look at this print! 
