Birds of Ireland: Facts, Folklore & History

Birds have been part of Irish culture and folklore from very early times. A companion to bird-identification guides, this book focuses on the relationship between humans and birds, whether wild, domesticated, or extinct. A general introduction covers birds in Irish mythology and folklore, birds as omens, harbingers and food, and bird-related beliefs, proverbs and curses. On St. Valentine's Day the first bird a girl saw was a clue to the man she would marry, while a baby would die if a raven's eggs were stolen! Some Irish myths believed cuckoos turned into hawks, woodcock holidayed on the moon, and some birds grew on trees. Birds inspired poets such as Gerard Manley Hopkins, WB Yeats, and Seamus Heaney.