NEW YORK – Bam! You win! Target-shooting games have been a big part of carnival fun for over a century. Now such amusements are avidly sought after by collectors of antique and vintage circus and carnival memorabilia. While it would be very unusual to encounter a carnival game of the pre-World War II era that is complete and intact, appealing figural components of such games can still be found, mostly in auctions.

When we think of carnival games, the one that probably comes to mind most often is swimming ducks. You aim, shoot, and if you hit the moving target, the duck falls backward. It’s harmless fun for both duck and shooter, who walks away with a prize if he bags enough ducks.

Far less common, however, are the early, figural cast-iron birds like this fantastic cast-iron owl made by the carousel manufacturer C.W. Parker of Abilene and Leavenworth, Kansas.

To aid the war effort in the 1940s, most non-essential or non-functional cast-iron objects were scrapped for reuse as armaments, but somehow this bird of substantial weight and height flew the coop before it could be melted down and lost to the antiques and collecting world forever. The owl is 16 inches high and very well detailed, down to the “feathers” on its chest and wings, and the lashes around its large, observant eyes.

What makes this bird extra rare is the fact that it is also mechanical – its wings flap when the target on its chest is struck. A rare prize to collectors of carnival relics, it is expected to make $5,000-$8,000 in a December 17 online auction of Americana, tramp art and folk art conducted by Jasper52. Bid absentee or live online as the auction is taking place, exclusively through LiveAuctioneers.

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