when trouble is about to visit you a bird will come sighing or tweelding about you so as to give you warning....when a man is in trouble a bird always haunts him. He will see that bird wherever he goes.
large black or white almost always assosciated with bad omen.
birds pecking at window announce a death, more particular fear towards robins pecking at a window.
If a bird flies into your house a death will follow three days after, though this is primarily attached to wild birds some persons refuse to have birds represented on cards and such
1870s bird droppings considered a bad omen.
some would even refuse bird eggs inhouse, idea that young boys and men would venture out and attempt a nest cull of local eggs, this was common fear in england between 1830s-1950s.
specific birds and superstitions attached to them
Albatross
extremely unluck to kill one, reasoning poem -the rime of ancient mariner, 1797
idea of albatorss suggested by william wordsworth who took idea from
cpt george shelvockes 'a voyage round the world by war of the great south sea 1726.
no inclination to existance of this fear prior poems publication.
Cockerels
messengers when the crow
the cock crows once for a wedding, twice for a birth, three times for sorrow , four times for mirth - 1895
crowing at door house meant a visitor would arrive,
belief arise in Scotland in early 1820s cock crowing at wrong place or time would suggest bad news, predicting illness or death earliest forms of this belief date back to sixteenth century.
Crows,rooks
in general crows have strong connotations to various negative omens and superstitions but on rare occasions are considered lucky.
particualarly feared if they seemingly placed attention on singular person or location.
Thought if even seen flying over a house that meant the master would die.
Cuckoos,house martins, swallows,
featured in many folklore of vast array of locations within britian and europe as a whole, personification of spring , numerous role predicting weather synoymous with aprials fool.
and no take this advise from me
let money in your pocket be
when first you do the cuckoo hear
if you'd have money all the year. 1763
less direct symbolism is direction you hear the cockoo effects your luck. not yet traced back earlier than 1760s simplier old lore stats that the number of notes you hear predict how long you will live for. 14th century.
Magpies
rather mixed messages some lore would consider them harbingers of death while others declare them as neutral forces denoucing visitors
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