I So 



ORNITHOLOGIST 



[Vol. 17-N0. 12 



Raven being a common bird in Palestine, 

 and to its habit of flying about restlessly 

 in constant search' of food to satisfy its 

 voracious appetite, may perhaps be traced 

 the reason for its being selected by the 

 Saviour and the inspired writers as the 

 special object of God's providing care. 



The notion of tlie bird being of ill omen 

 and that it forebodes death and brings pes- 

 tilence is probably much owing to its habit 

 of following armies in time of war. For 

 this the bird is not to blame, as its so fol- 

 lowing armies is merely evidence that it 

 possesses sufficient wisdom to know that 

 when armies are afoot death is also abroad ; 

 and as for the pestilence, it naturally comes 

 after the slaughter. 



The Ravens were once as white as the 

 Swans, and not inferior in size ; but one 

 day a Raven told Apollo that Coronis, a 

 Thessalian nymph, whom he passionately 

 loved, was faithless, and the god shot the 

 nymph with his dart ; but, hating the tell- 

 tale bird, — 



"He blacked the Raven o'er, 



And bid him prate in his white plume no more." 



Jovianus Pontanus tells of two skirm- 

 ishes near Beneventiun, between Ravens 

 and Kites, which prognosticated a great 

 battle. Battles are said also to have been 

 thus foreshadowed in many cases by fights 

 between armies of Ravens and Crows. 

 Many stories are told of deaths being fore- 

 told by Ravens flying into dwellings or 

 alighting on their roofs. Ravens fluttering 

 about the dwelling of Cicero warned him 

 that the hour of his death was near, and it is 

 related that a Raven entered the chamber 

 of the great orator the very day of his 

 murder, and pulled the clothes off his bed. 



The " fatal Raven," consecrated to Odin 

 the Danish war-god, was the emblem on 

 the Danish standard. It was embroidered 

 "in one noontide" by the daughter of a 

 great war-chief, with magic spells which 

 gave it a sort of life. If the Danes were 

 to be victorious in a battle the Raven stood 



erect and soaring, but if they were des- 

 tined to defeat, the bird hung his head and 

 drooped his wings. 



The two Ravens of Odin were called 

 Hugin and Munnin (Mind and Memory). 

 They sat on his shoulders, and each whis- 

 pered into an ear of the god of all things 

 either of earth or heaven. 



In Christian art Ravens are emblems of 

 God's providence. St. Oswald holds in 

 hand a Raven with a ring in its mouth ; 

 St. Benedict has a Raven at his feet ; St. 

 Paul, the Hermit, is drawn with a Raven 

 bringing him a loaf of bread. 



PELICAN LEGENDS. 



The Pelican is several times mentioned 

 in the Bible. Of Edom it was said that 

 the "Pelican and the Bittern should pos- 

 sess it." The same words are spoken of 

 Ninevah. The Pelican was probably 

 used as an emblem of mourning and deso- 

 lation, because of its general aspect as it 

 sits in apparent melancholy mood, with 

 its bill resting upon its breast. 



St. Hieronymus gives the story of the 

 Pelican restoring its young ones destroyed 

 by serpents, and his salvation by the blood 

 of Christ. The "Bestiarium" say that 

 " Physiologers tell us that the Pelican is 

 very fond of its brood, but when the young 

 ones begin to grow they rebel against the 

 male bird and so provoke his anger that 

 he kills them ; the mother returns to the 

 nest in three days, sits on the dead birds, 

 pours her blood over them, revives them, 

 and they feed on the blood." 



In Christian art the Pelican is the sym- 

 bol of charity. It is also an emblem of 

 Jesus Christ, "by whose blood we are 

 held." 



The Goose is not mentioned in the 

 Bible, though it was probably known to 

 the Hebrews, it being common in Egypt. 

 The notion of silliness which attaches to 

 the Goose is very ancient. In the old 

 Egyptian hieroglyphics the emblem of a 

 vain, silly fellow is a Goose. 



