If you were to make a list of the world’s most majestic and beautiful animals, what would be on it? Maybe a Siberian tiger, or a peacock, or maybe a gazelle. If you asked 100 people you’d get a hundred different lists, but it’s unlikely any of them would include the humble chicken. We love to eat them, but they’re not much to look at.
Or so you think! Moreno Monti and Matteo Tranchellini are two photographers from Italy, and they want to change the way everyone looks at the barnyard fowl. They’re working on a coffee table book that gives chickens the supermodel treatment. The book is called CHICken, (get it?), and it’s already received over $130,000 on Kickstarter–far exceeding its initial goal of $9,898.
Matteo Tranchellini is a lifelong bird lover, and when he decided wanted to get a pet for their Milan studio, he went with a Concincina hen named Jessica. Tranchellini quickly realized that chickens aren’t just great pets, they’re pretty good at art modeling, too. He and Monti ended up photographing 62 chickens for their book, showcasing the birds’ variety of shapes, sizes, and colors.
You can check out some of the stars of CHICken below, and if you want more gorgeous chicken photos, be sure to check out the book’s Instagram.
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h/t: Mental Floss