I finished up the cherry painting and am now working on one involving a chicken. So I was able to pull out all of my chicken books (I have a crush on chickens. I can watch, listen and eat them all day long) and look for some photo reference.

"The Fairest Fowl: Portraits of Championship Chickens" photographs by Tamara Staples is brilliant. You never knew chickens could be this beautiful and diverse.

"Extraordinary Chickens" by Stephen Green-Armytage is equally brilliant and informative.

"The Complete Chicken: An Entertaining History of Chickens" by Pam Percy has it all. History, yes, along with photos, artwork, and such informative tidbits as:

'How the rooster became the Cock' (thought to derive from stopcock or spigot),

Until 1830, 'cock' was an acceptable term for male genitalia. Not until the 'onset of Victorian mores' did it become vulgar

And cocks have no cocks. "Instead both he and the hen each have a single orafice called a cloaca (stemming from the French word for sewer), which serves a multitude of functions, including reproduction."

"Niwatori: The Graphics of Japanese Cock" by Kazuya Takaoka and Sachiko Kuru is a japanese publication with 400 pages of chicken eye candy. Every photograph is a treasure and although I can't read a word of it (due to it being in japanese) it's still my favorite.