Ruffed Grouse (Bonasa umbellus), unknown maker

Artwork Overview

Ruffed Grouse (Bonasa umbellus)
Where object was made: North and Central America
Credit line: Courtesy of the KU Biodiversity Institute, Exhibits
Accession number: EL2020.010
Not on display

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Listen to a curator talk about this work.
Listen to a curator talk about this work.
If you observe bird specimens in storage at KU’s Natural History Museum and Biodiversity Institute, they aren’t mounted for display like this ruffed grouse. They’re study skins, like this cardinal, blue jay, and Carolina parakeet. There’s something so much more poignant about the study skins to me. Seeing them is like discovering a dead bird outside your window. You know it’s dead, but you can’t help buy hope it’s only sleeping.