Birds of a Feather: Shelburne Museum’s Decoy Collection

November 21, 2015 - June 19, 2016 - Culled from the Museum’s renowned collection, the eighty decoys featured in the exhibition represent the work of master artisans. The exhibition will feature thirteen different bird species ranging from black ducks and Canada geese, to swans, herons and shorebirds.

Operating under the principle that “birds of a feather flock together,” decoys are designed by hunters to lure game birds into gunning range by physically mimicking waterfowl in safe waters. Carvers of decoys are often also hunters, but no less naturalists and admirers of the beauty and diversity of their prey.