BIRD LEGENDS 



THE cuckoo is universally regarded as 

 a soothsayer. It is believed that he 

 foretells the number of years a person will 

 live, according to his cries of "cuckoo." 

 Swedish maidens inquire of him how long 

 they will remain unmarried, but if he re- 

 sponds more than ten times, they say he is 

 sitting on a bewitched bough, and no longer 

 heed his prophecies. It is very important 

 to note the direction whence his call is first 

 heard, for if it be the north, the auditor 

 will have woe and mourning in the course 

 of the year; the east and west signify hap- 

 piness; and the south, prosperity. A Ger- 

 man legend relates that the cuckoo is an 

 enchanted baker, or miller, which accounts 

 for the dusty hue of his plumage. When 

 times were hard he stole the dough belong- 

 ing to poor people; and when the dough 

 rose up in the oven, he took it out, and 

 plucked off a large piece, exclaiming: 

 "Gukuk!" "Oh, look!" God punished him 

 for his theft by transforming him into a bird 

 of prey, incessantly repeating his cry. In 

 Servia the cuckoo is believed to be a 

 maiden, who mourned the death of her 

 brother until she was changed into this bird. 

 The Russians have a similar legend. 



In olden times the first day on which the 

 call of the prophetic bird was heard, was 

 kept as a festival in Westphalia. Whoever 

 brought the joyful intelligence was rewarded 

 with an egg, which he at once proceeded 

 to fry and eat. He then greeted all he met 

 with the words: " The cuckoo has called! " 

 instead of bidding "Good-day." At Hil- 

 chenbach, in Westphalia, the fortunate per- 

 son rolled on the grass, and this ceremony 

 prevented back-ache during the ensuing 

 year. 



At Pill, in Tyrol, there is a strange theory 

 that the cuckoo is hatched by robin-red- 

 breasts, and begins by being a cuckoo for 

 the first twelvemonth; then he becomes a 

 hawk, during which period he devours his 



foster-brothers; and finally, the third year, 

 a sparrow-hawk. 



The plover, the jay, the snipe, and the 

 woodpecker are all weather prophets, par- 

 ticularly as regards thunderstorms. Plovers 

 go by the name of "Our Lady's Doves." 

 Their heads were used as a talisman against 

 sorcery, and their eggs as a cure for witch- 

 craft. 



An old tradition declares that the jay falls 

 into a trance during a thunderstorm. His 

 flesh was considered beneficial in consump- 

 tion, while his wings were believed to be 

 the ornaments worn by witches at their dia- 

 bolical gatherings. According to village 

 tales, the jay is always the jester among 

 the birds, and his appearance is a good 

 omen. 



The snipe is sometimes called " the thun- 

 der goat," and his head is likewise used as 

 a charm. 



The speckled woodpecker was considered 

 sacred by other nations, as well as the Cxer- 

 mans, Virgil and Ovid say that Picus, the 

 son of Saturn, and father of Faunus, was 

 transformed into a woodpecker. The Ro- 

 mans told how he assisted the wolf in feed- 

 ing Romulus and Remus, and they believed 

 him to be th^ favorite and companion of the 

 God of War, which belief was shared by the 

 Teutonic race. His tapping reminded them 

 of Thor's hammer, whence he derives his 

 peasant name of "the carpenter," and his 

 incessant screaming before a storm natur- 

 ally connected him with the Thunderer. 



The flesh of the green woodpecker was 

 good to eat, and was reckoned to be a re- 

 medy against epilepsy, and his gay plumage 

 was evidently considered an especial dis- 

 tinction. He appears in popular tales and 

 traditions as the heavenly messenger, and 

 the fairies were wont to assume his form. 

 Formerly the gray woodpecker was laid be- 

 neath the pillow of a child suffering from 

 convulsions. 



