iS- 



ORNITHOLOGIST 



[Vol. 17-N0. 12 



THE ROBIN. 



In regard to the Robin Redbreast there 

 is a tradition that, while the Saviour was 

 on his way to Calvary, a Robin plucked 

 a tlioni out of his crown, and the blood 

 which issued from the wound falling 

 upon the bird dyed its breast with red. 



A popular notion long jDrevailed that 



the Robin will cover with leaves any 



dead person whom it may find, and we 



see this superstition made use of in the 



story of the "Babes in the Wood." An 



old rhyme says : 



The Robin and the Wren 

 Are God's Cock and Hen. 



THE WREN A PERSECUTED BIRD. 



The poor Wren, however, does not find 

 that protection in Britain, outside of Eng- 

 land, that is almost universally accorded 

 the Robin. In Ireland the Wren is relent- 

 lessly hunted down by more than half the 

 people. Every Catholic among the lower 

 classes kills a Wren whenever he gets a 

 chance. They do not often give a stranger 

 the true reason for the animosity they 

 cherish against the bird, merely saying: 

 "The Wren has a drop o' the diel's blood 

 in it." 



According to the best authorities, the 

 real reason for the rage against the Wren 

 is found in the legend that relates that in 

 one of the rebellions a party of Protestant 

 soldiers, overcome with fatigue, lay down 

 in a deep glen and soon sentinels and all 

 were sound asleep. The rebels had been 

 on the watch and soon were creeping for- 

 Avard to surprise the sleeping men. At 

 the critical moment, however, a Wren 

 tapped three times with its beak on the 

 Protestant drum, awakening the drummer- 

 boy, who sounded an alarm, when the 

 assailants were smitten " hip and thigh" 

 and ignominiously routed. 



In the south of Ireland, on St. Stephen's 

 Day, boys carry a Wren about in a furze- 

 bush, which is decorated with ribbons. 

 They shout, sing and dance as they pass 



along. Later in the day, when they have 

 killed the Wren, they knock at all the 

 doors in the village and neighborhood, 

 saying the Wren is in its coffin, and they 

 want money to bury it. 



Curiously enough, the Wren is hunted 

 in the same relentless way in the Isle of 

 Man on St. Stephen's Day. When a 

 Wren has been caught it is carried about 

 on a pole and several curious ceremonies 

 are performed. At last the bird is killed 

 and buried in the village churchyard. A 

 feather taken from a Wren killed on one 

 of these occasions is thought to be a sure 

 charm against shipwreck and drowning, 

 and good for twelve months. Formerly 

 no Manx fisherman would think of putting 

 to sea without his Wren feather. 



At the first glance one is vniable to see 

 why the fisherman should look for protec- 

 tion in the feather of a Wren. Just here, 

 however, comes in a legend whicii doubt- 

 less affords the explanation. The story is 

 that at one time tliere dwelt 



THE SACRED BIRD OF THE EGYPTIANS. 



The Ibis, the sacred bird of the Egyp- 

 tians, is the avator or incarnation of the 

 god Thoth, who in the guise of an Ibis 

 escaped the pursuit of Typhon. It was 

 said to drink only the purest of water, and 

 its feathers to scare and even kill the croc- 

 odile. It is also said that the bird is so 

 fond of Egypt that it would pine to death 

 if taken elsewhere. It was reported to 

 destoy the eggs of the Crocodile, to devour 

 serpents and kill all manner of noxious 

 reptiles. The Egyptians made it death 

 to kill one of those birds, even by accident. 

 They say its plumage symbolizes the light 

 of the sun and the shadow of the moon, 

 its body a heart, and its legs a triangle. 

 The bodies of tens of thousands of these 

 birds are found as embalmed in ancient 

 times. The Egyptian name of the bird 

 was "Hip." The Ibis is still found in 

 Egypt. The Arabs call it "Abou-men- 

 gel" — Father of the Sickle. In Lower 



