In the previous post I forgot to mention Benjamin Franklin - you may remember him - lightning, kite, Leyden jar, etc.

Ben proposed the turkey as the national bird for the fledging (sic) country. As is now known, he was voted down and the bald eagle made its debut as the national bird.

Ther've got to be some good one-liners about a country eating its national bird in celebration of survivng the first nasty winter, but none comes to mind.