Superstitions are a fascinating topic. Around the world, people have different beliefs about what will bring good luck or bad luck in their lives. Some of these superstitions come from ancient texts, while others are as recent as last week’s horoscope. In this post, we’ll be talking about some of the weirdest bird superstitions that you might not know!
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Nowadays, most of the cultures worldwide have a lot of superstitions involving birds – a lot of these are believed globally while others have regional influence. A few long-held bird beliefs also bring contradiction to one another and provide species with a lucky aura in a region while others feeling bad.
Sometimes this isn’t about the bird, but instead, the actions bring misfortune or bad luck. While this would sound a lot confusing, but this would also make it simple for rolling unlucky avian interactions while getting total benefits.
If a black cat crosses your path, it signifies that the animal is going somewhere
Groucho Marx
1. Bird Poop and Luck
While you’re walking outside and are on lunch break, when a bird poop drops on you, it makes a messy slur of droppings in your head. Firstly, it would sound like the beginning of a bad day, but the superstitious types believe that this incident invites good luck.
- You don’t have to let it linger you would need to clean droppings safely without wiping the newfound luck.
- On a vessel, many sailors believe that the dropping should not be removed till another rainstorm as it clears up automatically.
- While a few bird superstitions have been related to carrying positive outcomes, the older British tales warn that when droppings are coming through rook, it would be a sign of punishment rather than a blessing.
2. Birds Flying Directly into the House are Considered a Sign of Impending Death
Various variations are present for the superstition. A lot of them believe that when they see a bird in the house this would be about bringing important news. When a bird is white, then the news is considered to be good, but in black color, this is considered bad and means a family member’s death.
Another superstition version here is that when a bird is tapping on the window sill or accidentally got hit on the window also is believed to invite impending death in the house.
Similar to other forms of superstition this came to existence through our ancestors who made sense of the world through attributing subtexts for both unusual and mundane events.
Actress Lucille Ball got frightened of the birds inside the house as she refused to stay within hotels displaying pictures of the birds. She also tore a few expensive Japanese silk wallpapers from the house when it was apparent that birds got incorporated into the design. Also, she got her bird fear from the day after her father shortly died after a bird flying in the house.
3. Killing an Albatross is Considered Unlucky
The superstition mainly revolves around sailors and has reference in the poem of Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s poetry “The Rime of Ancient Mariner that got published in around 1798 (see more about the Albatross symbolism here).
Conventionally the sailors consider the sight of an albatross as a good luck sign, and it originates from early navigation days when the sailor thought seeing an albatross meant that the land was nearing. They did know little about albatross lives a lot of years inside the sea without setting foot on the land!
4. Vehicles Involved in Bird Accidents Nature Have a Grave Meaning
Birds ending up dead across the windshield of your car are believed a sure bad luck sign – for both birds and you as well. Many believe that accidental bird-window can impact only zapping luck, while others would think this a death omen.
Irrespective of what you believe in, it is an interesting thing to know that around 80 million birds in the U.S. fly into car windows resembling a lot of bad luck around. While at higher speeds it’s common for birds to hit car windows, but according to the researchers, birds can easily avoid cars – to the point where cars can easily exceed predator speed. With this threshold, the internal system of the bird would tell it when you’re going out of way breaking down, making it impossible for avoiding the car. It wouldn’t be a comfortable experience while cleaning the feathers of the windshield, but at least this helps in not taking the incident personally for sure.
5. Bird Flight Plans for Future Predictions
Ancient Romans observed a bird’s flight plan for helping them in decision making regarding the future.
After all, as the birds somehow communicated with gods while flying above Earth, it made sense that they would offer helpful information for the stranded people no ground without a direct line to gods. Romans call it: Augury; a word for describing the process of diving into the future through birds.
Augur stood in a sacred spot, and faced east, then waited for seeing the way where the bird flew. Birds with the right flight indicated good vibes, and the ones flying left encouraged caution. Birds flying towards diviner indicated good luck, while ones that flew away were considered to be less opportunistic.
6. Crows and Bad Omens
A few bird species are well known for their bad reputation irrespective of whatever they do. They’ won’t need to peck at the windows or fly in the home for making your day bad. They are known to be the bearer of bad luck. Black crows are infamous for being an omen of death, illness along with other types of bad news.
The superstitious people believe that a dead crow hanging near the house would mean having a troublesome future, while other people think of this as a sure sign that there is a sooner death in the house.
If you wish to protect yourself from crow sighting at home you would have to bow towards the crow or tip a hat to it, which leads to the reduction of disaster risk.
Different species of crows either get related to bad or good luck across different parts of the world!
7. There Can Be Many Meanings behind Bird Calls
Before the internet was there, people used to mix information with predictions about conditions in the future. For making more sense out of life, and also attempting to gain control, people living centuries ago learned taking cues through nature, including sounds and calls of the birds.
According to the legend, it is believed that the songbird cries while the flying birds can be the bearer of good fortune, while the night bird calling in daytime – or any prey bird screaming in day time indicates poor fortune. The superstitious folks also get information from the direction through which birdcalls are prpresent.
8. Ravens Have Been Linked to the Demise of Great Britain
For a lot of centuries, half a dozen of ravens – dubbed “Guardians of Tower” – lived cozy life in the London tower. In the 17th century, according to King Charles II, it was decreed that when the ravens left the tower, the structure wouldn’t be able to stand still, and the entire Empire of Great Britain would fall.
A lot of people think of this as an odd thing, as ravens and other associated blackbirds are mostly thought to be an omen of bad luck. Instead, that day, ravens remained as welcome guests in the tower, charged with keeping the mighty empire in good stead.
In current practice, the wings of birds have been clipped for encouraging them for staying put, and few additional ravens have only been on hand for making sure that the group is never less than six.
9. Determining Luck and Outcomes with the Help of Peacock Feathers
It has been considered highly unlucky to bring beautiful, iridescent peacock feathers inside the house. It would be because marking the feather end resembles an eye. It was thought that the peacock feather eye is an “evil eye” sign and would result in ill fortune and back luck in the house.
According to the Metamorphoses Ovid’s, the feather is a commemoration of the memory of hundred-eyed Argus, Hera’s faithful watchman. When Zeus got Argus killed, she honored him with the peacock’s tail full of seeing eyes.
In many theatres having peacock feathers on the stage has been considered as bad luck. There have been stories discussed disasters occurring in performances (like scenery falling) when the peacock feathers present on stage.
However, peacock feathers aren’t always considered as unlucky as the peacock is India’s National bird. They often get interpreted as spirituality symbols or third eye while representing awareness, vigilance, along with protection.
10. A Bird Being Trapped in your House
Almost every action and characteristic of birds have been related to luck in an individual’s or a family’s life. Not only colors and death, but the actions of the bird can also indicate a lot of future occurrences with the situation it is about to bring.
A common superstition that revolves around many parts of the world is when a bird struggles to get out after getting stuck in someplace inside and around your house. While a bird flap and bounces against the glass in the house, this can indicate a sign that you might also get trapped as well.
Conclusion
So, if sometimes you’ll hear any bird humming in the garden or tapping in the house window, maybe you’ll have to check on the breed of bird to clear any qualms associated with the superstition. While all these superstitions arise from day-to-day negative consequences occurring within a short time right after the superstitious incident, in a lot of cases no negative experiences have been reported. So, all these happenings are known as superstition for a reason. It’s completely up to you how seriously you deal with superstitions.
No doubt that the superstitions and myths once are taken seriously worldwide, but you can take off that hat while crossing fingers any time you’ll notice a pelican, owl (check also our post about owl superstitions), magpie, or any other bird species anytime you want to.
