Olandsk Dwarf

Description

In 1989 there were 54 of these birds on the planet, and today their number can be measured in the hundreds.

These avian rarities hail from Olands, the second largest island in Sweden; a strip of land about 85 miles long and 10 miles wide anchored near the mainland along the southeast coast. Here, centuries ago birds simply known as British garden hens (a literal translation of the Swedish word for this precursor landrace) were brought to the island, and from these birds the Olandsk Dwarf emerged as a distinct breed. Olandsk Dwarfs are cold-hardy birds that lay smallish white eggs. Their feathers are a wild, splattered canvas drawing from a palette of red, black, white, and gray. Dwarfs are active foragers and socialize well in a flocks.