Virginia Folklore Society Logo

An elegantly plumaged bird looks over its shoulder behind the outline of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the Virginia Folklore Society logo in use from 1974 to the 1990s. According to the society's newsletter of October 1974, a bird symbol shows up frequently in historic Virginia design:

The bird has been found as a finial on the patchbox of guns made in Wythe, Pulaski, and possibly Botetourt Counties. It has also been found on fraktur in Wythe County. The bird is sometimes found holding a snake and is shown on a Southwest Virginia rifle of about 1820, clutching a man. It is not clear whether the bird represents a turkey or a bird of prey. Examples of the bird design are found in Pennsylvania but the design with the topknot is unique to Virginia.