What Is the Delaware State Bird? Identification and Facts

Delaware's official state bird is the Blue Hen Chicken. Not a wild songbird, not a raptor, but a domestic chicken with deep Revolutionary War roots. Delaware's General Assembly made it official on April 14, 1939, and the choice has everything to do with the state's identity as one of the original thirteen colonies.

Delaware's State Bird: The Blue Hen Chicken

The Blue Hen Chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus) is Delaware's official state bird, codified in Delaware Code Title 29, Chapter 3, § 304. The law's operative language reads: "from and after the passage of this Act the 'Blue Hen Chicken' … shall be … made the official bird of the State of Delaware." It is one of only a handful of domestic chicken breeds designated as a state bird anywhere in the United States, which makes Delaware's choice genuinely unusual among all 50 states.

How to Spot a Blue Hen Chicken

Because the Blue Hen Chicken is a domestic bird rather than a wild species, you won't be scanning treetops with binoculars to find one. That said, knowing what the bird actually looks like is useful, especially if you visit a farm, a poultry show, or the University of Delaware's campus where the bird holds mascot status.

A true blue hen has a distinctive steel-blue body as its base color. On the head, neck, and saddle, the plumage shifts to orange and yellow tones, creating a vivid contrast against the blue body. The overall feathering can also include hints of red, brown, rust, black, or white depending on the individual bird. The "blue" coloring is the defining characteristic that gave these birds their name, though it reads more as a dark, iridescent blue-gray in person rather than a bright blue.

• Steel-blue body feathers: the most recognizable trait of a true blue hen
• Orange and yellow plumage on the head, neck, and saddle area
• Possible secondary colors including red, brown, rust, black, or white in the feathering
• Domestic bird: found on farms, at poultry exhibitions, and in university settings rather than in the wild
• Medium-sized chicken build typical of game-bird heritage

The Revolutionary War Story Behind the Choice

The Blue Hen Chicken is not just an arbitrary mascot. It ties directly to Delaware's Revolutionary War identity, and the tradition dates to 1775. During the American Revolution, soldiers from Kent County, Delaware, brought along fighting cocks descended from an unusually colored blue game hen. These birds were famous for their ferocity in cockfights that the troops held for entertainment between battles.

The Delaware regiment earned such a fierce fighting reputation that fellow soldiers began calling them the "Blue Hen's Chickens," comparing their battlefield bravery to the aggressive spirit of those game birds. The nickname stuck, became a point of pride, and eventually evolved into a lasting symbol of Delaware toughness and identity. By the time the state formalized its symbols in the 20th century, adopting the Blue Hen Chicken as the official state bird was a natural fit, honoring both the bird and the soldiers who carried its reputation.

When and How Delaware Made It Official

The Delaware General Assembly passed the act designating the Blue Hen Chicken as the official state bird on April 14, 1939. Prior to that date, despite the bird's long cultural association with the state, Delaware had no formally designated state bird. The 1939 act resolved that and permanently tied the Blue Hen to Delaware's legal identity as a state symbol. The designation is codified in Title 29, Chapter 3 of the Delaware Code under § 304, which remains the authoritative legal reference today.

It's worth noting that the University of Delaware also adopted the Blue Hen as its athletic mascot, which has occasionally created confusion about which came first. The state-bird designation was official by 1939, and the mascot connection reinforced the symbol's place in Delaware's broader cultural life, but the Revolutionary War tradition predates both by more than 160 years.

How Delaware Compares to Other States with the Same Bird

Most states chose wild birds as their official state birds: robins, cardinals, mockingbirds, and similar species that people encounter outdoors. Delaware is one of only two states that designated a domestic chicken. Rhode Island is the other, having chosen the Rhode Island Red as its state bird. That's it. Every other state picked a wild species.

This makes Delaware's bird genuinely rare in the context of American state symbols. While neighboring states like Pennsylvania, [New York state bird](/), and [New Jersey state bird](/) each chose wild birds with natural habitats across their landscapes, Delaware leaned into its history. The Blue Hen Chicken says something specific about Delaware's character: the choice is about identity and heritage, not ecology. If you're curious about how nearby states made their choices, the pages on the Pennsylvania state bird, New York state bird, and New Jersey state bird offer useful comparisons.

It's also worth mentioning that some states, like New Hampshire and New Mexico, chose birds that reflect their natural environments very directly. Delaware's approach stands apart from all of them by grounding the symbol in human history rather than wildlife habitat.

What to Do Next: Birdwatching in Delaware

If the Blue Hen Chicken has you curious about Delaware's broader bird life, the state is genuinely excellent for birdwatching, even if the official state bird won't be found in the field. Delaware's location along the Atlantic Flyway makes it a prime stopover for migratory species, and its mix of bay shoreline, coastal habitat, and inland wetlands draws an impressive variety of birds year-round.

Two refuges along the western Delaware Bay shore are among the best spots in the region: Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge and Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge. Both are well-known among serious birders for shorebirds, waterfowl, and raptors. If you head toward Cape Henlopen, driving to the end of the road and scanning the bay and ocean is a reliable way to spot seabirds and waterfowl, particularly during migration.

For those near Wilmington, the Red Clay Valley is an Audubon-designated Important Bird Area worth visiting. Pea Patch Island near Fort Delaware is another standout, hosting herons, egrets, and ibis in summer in numbers that make it one of the more dramatic birding spots on the East Coast.

Whether you're interested in Delaware's unique domestic-bird choice or want to explore the wild birds that share the state, there's a lot to discover. Start with the refuge systems along Delaware Bay and work outward from there. And if you want to keep exploring state bird comparisons, the pages on neighboring states and on which states share the Blue Jay as their state bird are good reads for understanding the broader patterns in how states choose their symbols.