The national symbol of Portugal: the noble Rooster

England gets a Lion. Brazil has a Jaguar, the USA has an eagle and China, who I suspect may have cheated, have a dragon. Someone check the rules - are they allowed fictional beasts? When it comes to national animals, it's hard to make the Portuguese rooster seem cool in comparison. Basically, if the world were a barnyard, Portuguese life expectancy would be about ten minutes.

The Barcelos rooster has long been recognised as the national symbol for Portugal and the tourist shops are crammed with the things painted in traditional colours:
The story of the cockerel dates back to the 14th century. A crime was committed in the town of Barcelos and a man from Galicia fell under suspicion. To make a long story short, he violently protested his innocence but despite his assertions that he was a pilgrim, he was condemned to be hanged. Before his execution, he requested (and was granted) an audience with the magistrate that had pronounced him guilty. The magistrate was dining with some friends but agreed to see the prisoner. The Galician once again protested his innocence, and, to the amazement of those present, pointed to a roast chicken on the table and exclaimed: "If I am innocent, that cock will crow if I am hanged!" Sure enough, as soon as the rope went around the pilgrims neck as he stood on the platform, the cock stood up on the table and crowed. The man was freed and later returned to Barcelos to build a shrine.


Hundreds of years later, the cocks have gone from being generic tourist souvenirs to being individually hand-painted works of art. The Porto shop Aguas Furtadas is stocking these unusual versions (from €8 to €80), all of which can be bought in three different sizes by emailing them. I want one of these as a doorstop but I just can't choose...