Bird Gods in Ancient Europe 



known that the couvade, or brooding, existed 

 among the ancient inhabitants of Ireland, where 

 I have discov^ered it through the old legends. 

 Traces of the same thing, as I shall show, 

 exist in Persia also among the stories of the 

 Shah Nameh. 



The couvade has been sought to be ex- 

 plained through psychology, as if it were 

 a superstitious belief in the transfer of the 

 mother's identity to that of the father ; but 

 for the most part writers have been content 

 to chronicle the extraordinary freak without 

 looking for more obvious reasons close at 

 hand, namely, in the keen observation of the 

 habits of birds on the part of primitive men 

 and in consequence a childlike imitation on 

 their part of the actions of birds. 



The cuckoo is one of those birds which 

 deserve the special protection of men ; because 

 it not only does no harm to crops, but spends 

 its entire time, unbothered by family cares, in 

 reducing the foes of agriculture and forestry. 



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