The wagtail holds a unique place in certain traditions, particularly in folklore associated with the Romani people, or Gypsies. This tale describes how this bird was forever exiled from villages due to its insatiable hunger. Below is the story as it has been told.
The Hawai’i Oo (Moho nobilis) was an endemic passerine bird from the Hawaiian Islands, classified under the now-extinct Mohoidae family, also known as Hawaiian honeyeaters. It was once widespread on the Big Island of Hawaii, with records indicating its ability to inhabit a range of altitudes.
The White-breasted Thrasher (Ramphocinclus brachyurus) is endemic to the coastal dry forests of St. Lucia, and is currently restricted in its range to two areas along the eastern coast. Recent population estimates from researchers working on this species put the global population around 1,500 birds. Based on recent surveys, it is believed nearly three-fourths of […]
American Bird Conservancy and Osa Conservation have recently secured a key 11.8 ha (29.1 acres) property on Costa Rica’s Osa Peninsula for the IUCN Endanged Yellow-billed Cotinga. The property, now known as the Yellow-billed Cotinga Sanctuary is located near the town of Rincon on the eastern side of the Peninsula, and on the western shores […]
In this tale the swallow was originally a servant of Holy Sunday. Holy Sunday, going to church, told her servant, whom she had left at home, that she was to prepare the dinner for her, and that she should take care that it should neither be too hot nor too cold, but just as she […]
Once upon a time there was a widow who had one only child. She had a flock of sheep and a magic dog. The widow died, and the girl was left quite alone. So she took the flock of sheep and went to feed them in the mountain, accompanied only by her faithful little dog. […]
The people regard the sparrow as one of the greatest pests, for he eats up the seeds and the crops. The people believe that the sparrows reach an age of over nine hundred years, and they tell the following tale about it. In a clearing of a huge oak forest, there grew up a tiny […]
A very long time ago, so long indeed that no one can remember when it happened, there lived a king and queen. They had everything which their heart desired, except that they had no children. They were good and charitable people, and distributed alms and prayed, but all in vain. At last, when they had […]
Another story of the lark tells of one who went in search of his sister, who had been stolen away from her home by Sila Samodiva. He was directed by a curious dream, in which he saw an old man with a long white beard, who told him to go in search of her, for […]
Once upon a time there was a man who was under a spell. He got married to a woman, and after a time he suddenly disappeared. He was carried away by the spell, no one knew whither. The poor woman waited for him one day and another day and a third day, and seeing that […]