Kites have always been considered to be very unlikely vagrants to Iceland. Many men have been anxious to learn the language of birds, for they are wise and can tell many things, both of the past and future. There is but one way to learn the bird language and that is a dangerous one for […]
Tag: europe
Folklore Greece, the Sparrow who went walking and became too arrogant
There was or there was not a sparrow that went out for a walk. After he had gone up hill and down dale a thorn ran into his foot. Then he returned to town and went to the baker and begged him to take out the thorn. The baker graciously did so, and threw the […]
Bird stories, Magpie (Pica pica) Part II
In Germany and the North witches often transform themselves into its shape, or use it as their steed. The peasants in Oldenburg consider the magpie to be so imbued with Satanic principles that if a cross be cut on the tree in which the bird has built, she will forsake her nest at once. When […]
Bird stories, Magpie (Pica pica) part I
Bird stories, Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis)
Alcyone, daughter of Eolus, the wind-god, impelled by love for her husband Ceyx, whom she found dead on the shore after a shipwreck, threw herself into the sea. The gods, rewarding their conjugal love, changed the pair into kingfishers. What connection exists between this, which is simply a classic yarn, and the ancient theory of […]
Bird stories, Lammergeier (Gypaetus barbatus)
In Nepal the Mustangi Gurung believe that after hanging the head of Golden eagles and Lammergeier on the main entrance it is believed that the house is safe from evil. A dead Lammergeier corpse and intestine is also an effective medicine for the treatment of diarrhea for the local people and this is still believed […]
Bird stories, Hoopoe (Upupa epops)
In a Levant legend it is related that Solomon was once journeying across the desert, and was fainting with heat, when a large flock of hoopoes came to his assistance and by flying between the sun and the monarch formed an impenetrable cloud with their wings and bodies. Grateful for their ready help, Solomon asked […]
Bird stories, Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea)
The Bohemians declare that the heron warns men of their danger when lost in the marshes, and endeavours by her cry to lead them to a safe place. It is said in Ireland that small eels pass through the intestines of a, heron uninjured, so that it swallows the same individual several times in succession. […]
Bird stories, Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos)
Among the Dakotah Indians there is a deluge legend to the effect that when the flood came, all the Indians, hoping to escape, fled to a hilltop, but were finally overwhelmed, all but one woman, who was borne away by a great eagle, her father swooping down, and carried to a high mountain. She afterward […]
Bird stories, Eurasian Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes)
In the far-away time is told how the wren came about. One day, a young man of Heidelberg lay idly dreaming and pondering under an oak. A beautiful maiden crept forth from a great hole in the trunk of the tree and stood smiling at him. The youth immediately arose and made love to her, […]