Polish Chicken

The bird depicted on the Polish Coat of Arms. Often times, this chicken is incorrectly referred to as an Eagle or a Hawk. Legend: This emblem originated when Poland’s original founder Lech saw a white chicken resting in it's nest one early morning when he was out hunting. Lech hunted the bird while it rested in it's nest, which was situated in a grassy valley in an area currently known as central Poland. He was so pleased with the ease at which this bird (chicken) was hunted, that he decided to settle there and placed rooster on his emblem (as opposed to the chicken that was originally hunted). Note: Eagles and hawks do not nest on the ground. Normally, such raptures nest on high grounds such as cliffs or mountains. Making them far more difficult to hunt in their nests then wild chicken. Ironically, Lech decided to use a white rooster on his emblem instead of a chicken to symbolize the fact that the bird that rises earliest (the rooster) gets the easiest prey (the chicken resting in it's nest). Initially, the emblem depicted a white Rooster. After generations and generations of being passed down, the rooster began being drawn as a white bird wearing a royal crown, paying respect to the Polish royal monarchs of the past. In later renditions, the original rooster was drawn as resembling a hawk or an eagle; This is what has led to the common modern misconception about the origin of the emblem.