ORNITHOLOGIST 



— A^D — 



OOLOGIST. 



PUBLISHED BY THE FRANK BLAKE WEBSTER COMPANY. 



ESTABLISHED MARCH, 1875. 



$1.00 per 

 Annum. 



Single Copy 

 10 cents. 



Vol. XVII. HYDE PARK, MASS., DECEMBER, 1892. 



No. 12. 



Legends and Folk Lore Relating to 

 Birds in Various Countries. 



Of the many superstitions relating to 

 birds, the most numerous are those con- 

 nected with the domestic fowls which 

 have longest been in familiar association 

 with man. Next comes those birds which, 

 though not domesticated, are looked upon 

 with favor b}' mankind and which have 

 their haunts near the homes of human 

 beings, birds which, for certain reasons, 

 are not only tolerated but have also been 

 protected through unanimous consent for 

 ages, as the Stork, Robin Redbreast and 

 some others. Following these come those 

 birds to which the attention of man has 

 been attracted by the peculiar notes to 

 which they give utterance or by some 

 peculiarity of action. 



The fact that most of the superstitions 

 and folk lore connected with birds relate 

 to such as belong to the Old World shows 

 that these notions are of very slow growth 

 and are the traditions of ages. The super- 

 stitions we have in America in regard to 

 birds relate only to those of species found 

 in the Old World, or so like as to have 

 been given the same names. For super- 

 stitions connected with the birds of Amer- 

 ica we must go to the myths and traditions 

 of the aborigines of the country, or to the 

 negroes transplanted on the continent as 

 savages from the wilds of Africa. Doubt- 

 less many of the superstitions relating to 

 birds in the Old World originated when 

 the white race was still in a savage or 



semi-savage state. It is a curious fact that 

 educated and enlightened people never 

 originate any such stories in regard to 

 birds and beasts nor endow them with 

 such attributes as are given them in the 

 folk-lore of the nations, though still pleased 

 with the poetical ideas embodied in many 

 of them. 



THE COCK AND HEN. 



' As among the oldest of the bird super- 

 stitions are those relating to the common 

 Cock it would seem to indicate that the 

 species have longer been associated with 



1 man in a state of domestication than any 

 other of the fowls of the poultry yard. In 

 the most ancient times, as far back as 

 written history reaches, cocks were closely 

 watched and studied by the Greek and 

 Roman augurs, and their crowing, account 

 being taken of time and place, interpreted 

 for good or evil. In the Bible the Cock 

 appears when Peter denies his Master. 

 The Cock not only lifts his voice in warn- 

 ing to the living but also to the dead ; at 

 his first crow in the morning all ghosts 

 that are scouting abroad in this upper 

 world must hasten back to Hades. 



Mahomet reported seeing in the first 

 heavens a Cock so large that his crest 

 touched the floor of the second heaven. 

 The crowing of this celestial bird arouses 

 from sleep every living creature except 

 man ; he alone hears it not. When this 

 big Cock ceases to crow the day of judg- 

 ment will be at hand. 



The Cock seen on the spires of churches 

 is to remind men not to deny their Lord. 



Copyright, 1892, by Frank Blake Webster Company. 



