A Celebration of Birds

Birds have been represented in culture and society since prehistoric times, depicted in cave paintings and carvings. Later birds became religious or symbolic icons. Birds hold a sacred spiritual significance, as all animals. The sacred symbolism of birds is seen clearly through observation of the spiritual practices of early African tribes and in Egyptian civilization. These ancient tribes studied the sacred symbolism of birds because they were thought to express the divine will and expression of God.

“More than any other bird, owls play starring roles in mystical folklore. This may be because of their nighttime wanderings, their eerie gift of silent flight, or simply their large, human-like eyes that seem to stare so intently. Whatever the reason, beliefs about owls abound around the world.

Native Americans, in particular, had very strong superstitions regarding owls. The Apache tribe of North America viewed owls as the most frightening of all birds. Owls filled Apache people with foreboding because the birds were believed to be the embodiment of their dead. Apache people believed that misfortune followed the person who sighted an owl. This belief still prevails among some Apache people today.” From Project Beak.

The sacred symbolism of birds is interwoven into the mythology and spirituality of early African tribes. Early Egyptian gods were zoomorphic; they had animal characteristics. The Egyptian god Horus was known as the Sky God. He is usually shown with hawk’s head. The pronunciation of his name in the Egyptian hieroglyphs was Horus meaning falcon, brother to the hawk. The Egyptian goddess Nekhbet was the protectress of the king and goddess of heaven. She is depicted as a woman with the head of a white vulture. Early African tribes worshiped these birdlike gods and honored their feathers as a means of sacred ritual.

Birds were useful to the military. During World War I, pheasants detected oncoming hostile aircraft at long distances and “gave the alarm by their insistent cries,”  canaries sensed poison gas; gulls followed submarines in search of garbage. Carrier pigeons successfully navigated through shellfire and transported messages that helped the Allies capture German submarines, and saved the crews of downed seaplanes and a sunken minesweeper. Birds are bona fide heroes.