In the beginning, birds were created without covering. Ashamed of their long legs and ill-shaped bodies, they hid themselves among trees and rocks. They were also without song, as their throats had not yet been fitted for producing music. Long afterward, they learned their songs from whispering leaves, falling rain, running brooks and whistling winds. […]
Category: Folklore
Bird stories, the Turtle-Dove
In Swabia doves are much kept, from a belief that they are more predisposed than mankind to rheumatism, and that when this complaint visits a house, it attacks the birds rather than their owners. Mahomet had a dove he used to feed with seed out of his ear, which dove, when it was hungry, lighted […]
The White Stork and the bring baby story
According to European folklore, the stork is responsible for bringing babies to new parents. The legend is very ancient, but was popularised by a 19th century Hans Christian Andersen story called The Storks. German folklore held that storks found babies in caves or marshes and brought them to households in a basket on their backs […]
Why the White-rumped Vulture eats only dead meat
According to the Gond, humans and animals originally all lived together in perfect harmony. One day, the gods Niranjani and Nirankali decided that all of the beings must be called together and taught what sort of foods they should eat. The Gond were allotted vegetables, the Pig was given excrement, the Tiger was provided all […]
Bird stories, the Greater Roadrunner
The excrement of the roadrunner (correcaminos) is used against bad witchery. It should be bolied and drank. The excrement is also used among the Otomies to straighten the legs of children who cannot walk. If someone on his way to hunt runs into a roadrunner (correcaminos), the hunter will not find animals to hunt. To […]
The Slothful Nightingale and the Industrious Ant
It is related that in a certain garden a Nightingale had built his nest on the bough of a rose-bush. It so happened that a poor little Ant had fixed her dwelling at the root of this same bush, and managed as best she could to store her wretched hut of care with winter provision. […]
The King who became a Stork and the evil wizard
Once upon a time in Persia there lived a handsome young man called Sasha, who was the Ruler and greatly loved by all. Sasha had only one enemy, Kashenor, a cruel wicked wizard whose desire was to put his own son Mizrah on Sasha’s throne. Sasha loved to collect ancient precious objects, and he always […]
The Skylark is capable of moving its eggs to safety
Intelligence of the Lark. It is stated in ” Wood’s Natural History ” that a pair of larks had built their nest in a grass field, where they hatched a brood of young. Very soon after, the young birds were out of their nest, the owner of the field was forced to set his mowers […]
The Whooper Swan in science lore
According to Bewick these birds, on the approach of frosty weather, associate in large flocks, and, thus united, use every effort to prevent the water from freezing : this they accomplish by the continual stir kept up among them: and by constantly dashing it with their extended wings, they are enabled to remain, as long […]
The Yellow-billed Cacique marks the time
Until recently when many Mopan began using wristwatches, birds played a crucial role in marking time. Even today when watches are more commonly seen, many birds are still a valued resource for knowing the time of day. For example, the Yellow-billed Casique (Amblycercus holosericeus) (known as otz, otz otz, or ootz ootz) is said to […]