Bird Legends. 



261 



since his efforts to release Our Lord from 

 the Cross. The presence of a crossbill 

 drives away gout and rheumatism, and 

 even the water which he drinks, or in 

 which he bathes, is used as a remedy for 

 these complaints. Moreover, the Tyrolese 

 crossbill counteracts witchcraft, and pro- 

 tects a home from evil spells and lightning. 



The robin is likewise a protection against 

 lightning, but woe betide the rash person 

 who ventures to molest the robin or its 

 nest. He will either be struck by light- 

 ning, or, as in the Zillerthal, he will be- 

 come epileptic, or, in the Ober Inn Thai, 

 his cattle will all give red milk, and even 

 the water in his house will assume a ruddy 

 hue. The despoiler of a robin's nest will 

 lose as many relations in the course of the 

 year as the number of young birds stolen. 

 Absam and Schwaz are the only Tyrolese 

 exceptions to the universal estimation in 

 which this bird is held. At Absam it is 

 said that the nest attracts lightning, and at 

 Schwaz a robin flying over a house foretells 

 a death. 



The bullfinch also possesses good quali- 

 ties. At Schwaz the water in which a bull- 

 finch has bathed is reckoned a cure for 

 epilepsy, and at Lienz nobody will suffer 

 from erysipelas in the house where a bull- 

 finch is kept. 



In the valleys of the Unter Inn and the 

 Lech the siskins are believed to have stones 

 in their nests which render the owner in- 

 visible. It can therefore only be discovered 

 by means of placing a pail of water beneath 

 the tree where the nest is supposed to be 

 located, and then the water will reflect it. 

 According to the Bavarian peasantry the 

 eggs and nest of the siskin have the same 

 qualifications as the stone. 



The tiny titmice were held in great esti- 

 mation by our forefathers, and heavy pen- 

 alties fell on any one who entrapped or 

 otherwise injured them. 



Starlings and other small birds often ap- 



pear in legends as messengers of the deities, 

 and prophesy accordingly. They speak a 

 language of their own, and discuss the 

 affairs of mankind; so that whoever under- 

 stands their tongue hears many wonderful 

 things. The starlings were especially con- 

 sidered to be the companions and mes- 

 sengers of the elves. 



Among our chief songsters tradition re- 

 lates the following superstitions regarding 

 the lark, the blackbird, and the nightin- 

 gale. The former is under the peculiar 

 patronage of the Blessed Virgin. The 

 lark commences singing at Candlemas, the 

 Feast of the Purification. In former times 

 it was considered a crime to kill a lark; 

 but, on the other hand, if a child eats as 

 his first meat the flesh of a roast lark, it 

 will make him virtuous and pious. A ris- 

 ing lark is a good omen to the peasant as 

 he enters the meadow and he calls it " the 

 pious lark," because it never omits to 

 praise and thank God before and after a 

 meal. He who points at a lark is sure to 

 be punished for his want of respect by a 

 gathering on the offending finger. 



The blackbird is sometimes called " Gott- 

 ling," or "little god." It preserves the 

 house from lightning, and also possesses 

 soothsaying powers. If it sings before 

 March, corn will be dear. Much informa- 

 tion may be gained from its first spring 

 carol by those who are learned in such 

 matters. The Gdod Samaritans who feed 

 the blackbirds through the winter months 

 will be rewarded with prosperity in all their 

 undertakings, and will never suffer from 

 fever. 



The Westphalian chaffinch at Iserlohn 



sings: 



"Suk, Suk, Siik ! 

 In the two and twentieth year, 

 In the two and twentieth year, 

 The Prussian soldiers will be here." 



Probably this refers to some ancient pro- 

 phecy. 



