166 BIRDS IN LEGEND 



avoided. The resting of one of them on a peasant's 

 cottage may signify many things, but often it means the 

 death of one of the family or some great misfortune, the 

 bird in such case playing the part of a bean-sidhe 

 (banshee)" In the western Highlands "the hoody crow 

 plays the same role; and in Brittany fairies assume the 

 form of the magpie." 



Under the influence of Christian teaching Odin 

 gradually became identified throughout northern Europe 

 with Satan: so the raven and all the Corvidae are now 

 "Devil's birds" in the folklore of the North. Even the 

 magpie is said to have devils' blood in its tongue, and its 

 chattering is ominous of evil, requiring various rustic 

 charms to counteract its harm — in fact, if the farmer- 

 folk are correctly informed, virtually all the birds of this 

 family was naturally tainted with deviltry. It is not sur- 

 prising then to hear that European crows go down to hell 

 once every year, when they must appear before Old 

 Nick and give him a tribute of feathers. The time of 

 this visit coincides with their moulting-season in mid- 

 summer, when the crows retire and remain inconspicuous 

 and silent for a time — so maybe it's true ! 



An extraordinary survival of this last notion — unless 

 it be original — is found among the negroes of some of 

 our Southern States, who say that the "jaybird" (blue- 

 jay) is never to be seen on Friday, because on that day 

 he is carrying sticks to the Devil in hell ; that in general 

 this bird is the Devil's messenger and spy; and that the 

 reason he is so gay and noisy on Saturday is that he is 

 so glad to get back to earth. An old Georgia darky ex- 

 plained the matter a follows : 



"Some folks say Br'er Jay takes a piece er wood, des a 

 splinter, down to de bad Place ev'y Friday fer ter help out 



