Matilda’s fans may never know what her last words were as she lay on her deathbed, but at least a few believe that she may have said, “Cluck, cluck."

Which, from the tone of the clucks, could possibly be translated as, “Eat beef, not poultry," some unofficial experts say.

Matilda, perhaps most recognized by fans of “The Tonight Show," was the world’s oldest chicken, according to the Guinness Book of World Records. She died of heart failure in February. She was 16.

The day she died, snowflakes like soft, white feathers fell on central Alabama, her owners say.

“The first time I saw this captivating little hen, my wife and I knew she was star quality," Matilda’s owner, Keith Barton, said Saturday, when Matilda was honored with a broken perch ceremony at the Birmingham Hilton Perimeter Park Hotel. Magicians who have passed away are similarly honored with a broken wand ceremony.

Keith and Donna Barton, or “Mort The Mystifying and Donna," as they’re better known, bought Matilda at a poultry exhibit in 1990 for $10.

Soon after returning to the couple’s home in Bessemer, the ivory-colored Red Pyle bantam hen of Old English origin got to work, training for her new life as a magician’s assistant to Barton.

Her debut into the world of magic and show business began at the Bessemer Public Library June 5, 1991, where she performed for children in the Summer Reading Program.

Her opening act was magically appearing from beneath the lid of a closed pan where only an egg yolk had been before.

“Matilda was a funny old bird," Barton said. “She had a mind of her own."

“Once when we were doing a show at a church, we gave the cue for the applause when we produced Matilda," he said. “Well, instead of hopping on my wand and perching there like she normally did, she flew into the audience and sat next to a little girl. The pastor of the church thought we trained her to do that. It was hilarious."