ITS 



ORNITHOLOGIST 



[Vol. 17-X0. 1 z 



In Persia there are lucky and unlucky 

 hours for the crowing of Cocks, and the 

 Cock that crows at an unlucky hour is in- 

 stantly killed, for there, as in many other 

 countries, men and poultry " roost" in the 

 same dwelling. In Ireland the fate of the 

 Cock that crows out of hours is not so bad. 

 He is supposed to prophecy some event 

 affecting the family, and the mistress of the 

 house hastens to feel his feet. If they are 

 cold a chill strikes her heart, for she knows 

 that he predicts a death ; if warm she re- 

 joices, as she is well aware that the pro- 

 phet of her home and hearth sees good for- 

 tune coming and has raised his voice to 

 proclaim it. 



In one place in Ireland, howe^er, no 

 Cock is ever heard to crow. That place 

 is Ballyfay. The reason is this : The last 

 night that St. Columba was in Ireland he 

 lodged in Ballyfay. He informed the 

 mistress of the house that he must posi- 

 tively leave her at cock-crow in the morn- 

 ing. The woman's Cock crowed very 

 early in the night, awakening St. Colum- 

 ba, who departed wearily, and as he went 

 he cursed the town in the following words : 



" Oh, luckless Ballyfay. 



Deprived of Chanticleer, 

 Evil to drive away, 



And morning light to cheer I " 



Since that day no Cock has ever been 

 heard to crow at Ballyfay. 



There are ten thousand stories in which 

 the sagacity and prophetic powers of the 

 Cock play an important part, but all are 

 too long to be mentioned here. We of 

 the present day are fortunate in that the 

 Cock has given over his ancient practice 

 of laying eggs. That fearful creature, the 

 Cockatrice, was produced from a Cock's 

 egg hatched by a serpent. It was a mon- 

 ster with the wings of a fowl, the tail of a 

 dragon and the head of a Cock. The very 

 look of this creature caused instant death. 

 The Cockatrice is mentioned in the Bible, 

 and Isaiah speaks of a time when even the 

 "weaned child shall put his hand on the 



Cockatrice's den." The word "Tsepha" 

 or " Tsiphoni " occurs five times in the 

 Bible ; three times it is translated as Cock- 

 atrice and twice as the adder. 



The Hen is not so highly honored as the 

 Cock, and her crowing is generally looked 

 upon as a thing not to be tolerated. The 

 old adage asserts that — 



" A whistling maid and crowing Hen, 

 Are good for neither God nor men." 



The crowing of a Hen is thought to be 

 unlucky, and in many places is looked 

 upon as foreboding death. A whistling 

 maid means a witch, who whistles like the 

 Lapland witches to call up the winds ; 

 they were supposed to be in league with 

 the devil. 



The Hen, however, is not always pun- 

 ished for crowing. In Ireland the Cock is 

 believed to be well aware of the reason for 

 rejoicing at Christmas-tide, since for nine 

 nights at that season he crows all night 

 long. In the village of Carrigan county, 

 Donegal, lived a family who possessed a 

 Hen of a disposition so pious that on 

 Christmas eve she imitated her rejoicing 

 lord and crowed vigorously. 



"Whist, you villain of a bird!" cried 

 the mistress of the house from her bed, 

 "just wait till to-morrow and I'll wring 

 your unlucky neck." 



"Deed you will not ! " cried the master, 

 "you'll no stir thou Hen, for she has more 

 wit nor many a Christian." 



THE GOOSE. 



Although the very name of the bird is 

 the synonym for silliness, yet the Goose has 

 been highly honored by some people. In 

 Rome it was a sacred bird, as was the Ibis 

 among the Egyptians. There is a tradi- 

 tion that, when the Gauls invaded Rome, 

 a detachment in single file climbed up the 

 hill of the captial so silently that the fore- 

 most man reached the top without being 

 challenged ; but when he was striding 

 over the rampart, some sacred Geese, 

 disturbed by the noise, began to cackle 



