If you’re a midcentury design enthusiast, chances are the Eames House Bird has found you. And if you’re like me, you most likely assumed this sleek creature was designed by Charles and Ray Eames. In fact, a different husband and wife duo designed the crow. When Charles and Edna Purdue of Illinois passed their gun repair business on to their son in the 1930s, they dedicated themselves to carving and painting detailed ornamental birds and decoys used by hunters. Their minimalistic crow decoys were carved from one piece of wood and painted black with two wire legs and beads for eyes. The decoys were usually deployed in agricultural fields to ward off hungry invaders.

The Eameses came across one of the Purdues’ crows while traveling in the Appalachian Mountains and brought it back home with them. Visitors to the Eames House (Case Study House Number 8) in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles get to experience a “time stood still” museum where the original crow resides. The house is filled with objects from the couple’s travels, gifts from friends, and treasures found in nature. Each object is handmade and unique and tells a story about the designers. The bird they brought to California has rested in the middle of a vintage textile rug for over 50 years. It shows the passing of time with its faded color, yet it still impresses its onlookers.

I first spotted the Eames House Bird in a black and white Herman Miller ad from the 1950s that I came across in a design book. There it was, innocently perched on the “Eiffel Tower” base of one of many Eames Wire Chairs. Once I saw it, I found myself looking for it in other Eames photos. It became my Waldo. It wasn’t that I was going mad. Charles and Ray incorporated the crow decoy in many of their photoshoots.

Vitra realized the broad appeal of the folk art piece and, in 2007, worked with the Eames family to create 3D scans of the original to make an authentic reproduction. Instead of pine, the Vitra version is made of solid alder with a black lacquer finish and steel wire legs. The Vitra version (measuring 11” x 3 1/4” x 8”) is made in Germany and available in either solid alder with a black lacquer finish for $355 or walnut with a clear lacquer finish for $495.