Myths

I've heard of that one, Anne.

I know of another bird myth: If you throw rice at weddings, birds will eat the rice, it will expand in their stomach and cause them to explode. This is false.

When I got married, we chose to be pelted with birdseed. We weren't sure if white rice would be good for birds to eat. Some over aggressive wedding attendees also poured birdseed down my tuxedo pants. I'm sure the birds watched every step I took.

I'll contribute a bird myth . . .

If a young bird (such as a nestling) is touched by a human, the parents will smell the human odor and abandon the birdy. Birds don't smell all that well from what I know.

They do however smell delicious when they're roasting . . .

I've heard the bird - dying myth many times, but it usually involved an owl. I think Native American's have a myth about how, if you see an owl, you're going to die.

MidnightMuse said:

I've heard the bird - dying myth many times, but it usually involved an owl. I think Native American's have a myth about how, if you see an owl, you're going to die.

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An owl in the daytime . . .

(I am not a geek!)

Well I was gonna wait for the Parrot to tell us about her shower...but sigh...alas we must do without that report...
There are quite a few myths about legendary animals...so for my first post I will share one that most know which is the Phoenix

Talmudic and Biblical Legend call this Legendary bird the "Hol" and there is a great deal surrounding its origin. (Also in the Apocrypha in the Book of Enoch (Sefer Hanoch in Hebrew) it is mentioned.

In Biblical Legend (Midrash and Talmud) the Phoenix is a bird that was the ONLY creation to NOT partake of the forbidden fruit in the Garden In Eden. When Eve fell for the snake's lines and ate the fruit and then Adam also partook of the fruit, (which is not an apple in the legends) the rest of the story is told in the Legends. Eve, was the "mother of all that lived" and in legend it is told that she knew the language of all the animals. (Something that appears again for King Solomon as well.) The animals dearly loved Eve, and when they realized what their "mother" had done, they all gathered around, and with great sorrow, ate from the fruit in their love to be with Eve. However, one Bird, the Phoenix, refused to partake of the fruit, as its love for the law of God was greater than the love it had for Eve. It is strange as in all the Talmudic and Midrashic legends, the Phoenix is always depicted as NOT having a partner.

Anyway, as a reward for its loyalty to the word of God it recieves a strange reward (and I will let you ponder over this - remember the Phoenix was torn between its loyalty and love for Eve and its obediance to God's word - a fascinating dillema which continues until this very day.)

The Phoenix is the only animal upon the face of the Earth that knows the way back to the Garden in Eden. The legend says that every 2000 years it returns to the Garden and builds a nest. Then in a final act it breathes fire upon itself and in a conflaguration of flames, dies, and when the flames cease, a new egg is in the nest from which the Phoneix rises forth to travel upon the Winds of the Earth to wherever its wings may take it.

Indeed, it is said in some of the legends that the clothes of Adam and Eve, made for them by God (Genesis), had embedded within them, woven among the threads a picture of the multi-colored bird.

It is said that whomever lays eyes on the Phoenix is blessed with good luck till the end of their days.

(My second children's book "Of Rabbits Wool & Camels Hair" is built around this legend, and my WIP in fantasy - The Chronicles of the Children of Heaven contains it as well.)

(Back with more myths and legendary animals later - but they are not really myths or legends....they do exist!)

So the myth is an Owl in the day time means you're going to die.

And a geek after noonish, fish will be fried? Wait, this isn't the limerick thread . . .

MidnightMuse said:

So the myth is an Owl in the day time means you're going to die.
And a geek after noonish, fish will be fried? Wait, this isn't the limerick thread . . .

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Speaking of owls....Owls are always associated with wisdom, but i know research has found that birds in the crow and parrot family are the smartest birds. MM, are we supposed to write in limericks here? Ok. (with apologies to owls and limerick poets)

There once was an owl named Moe
Who wasn't much in the know
He wasn't as wise
as birds smaller in size
Like the wise old parrot and crow

alleycat said:

I'll contribute a bird myth . . .

If a young bird (such as a nestling) is touched by a human, the parents will smell the human odor and abandon the birdy. Birds don't smell all that well from what I know.

They do however smell delicious when they're roasting . . .

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You'll enjoy this story:

One late afternoon, I came into the house to find a dark lump on the carpet. I stepped over it and turned on the light to find...3 baby mockingbirds.

One of my mom's cats, had brought them in the house and deposted them on the carpet. They were alive!

I got my mom, showed her, and we gathered them up and went to look for a mama and nest. A few minutes later, we found a squawking mama and looked into the tree she had landed in. I got the kitchen steps and sure enough, there was one baby in there.

I looked down and right next to mom's foot was another baby. I told her do not move , picked up the baby and put it in also.

Everytime, we came out of the house, if the mama mockingbird was sqwaking, we'd look for a baby and put it back in the nest.

Never once did the mama bird attack us. A few weeks later the babies were gone, I guess by mama to another nest.

awatkins said:

Since childhood, I've heard that if a wild bird gets into your house, someone will die soon. I don't believe this, but I know some older people who are convinced it's true. Has anyone else heard this one? Or is it a regional (southern) thing?

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Hi Anne!
Nope, it's not a southern thing. I've heard this myth or "old wives tale" too. I do know someone who believes this and a bird did get into their house and someone in the family did die shortly after.

True? Myth? Coincidence?

Quote:
Originally Posted by MidnightMuse
I've heard the bird - dying myth many times, but it usually involved an owl. I think Native American's have a myth about how, if you see an owl, you're going to die.

alleycat said:

An owl in the daytime . . .

(I am not a geek!)
__________________

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The NA belief actually is: if you hear an owl call your name, death will follow soon.

jdkiggins said:

The NA belief actually is: if you hear an owl call your name, death will follow soon.

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No wonder Dr. Who had so much trouble . . .

The old country myth was an owl in the daytime. I can't remember whether it was death or just bad luck that was to follow.

jdkiggins said:

Hi Anne!
Nope, it's not a souther thing. I've heard this myth or "old wives tale" too. I do know someone who believes this and a bird did get into their house and someone in the family did die shortly after.

True? Myth? Coincidence?

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If it was true I wouldn't be here. Ever year at my parent's house we would have swallows ("chimney sweeps") that would nest is the chimney and drop down into the house, and in wintertime Carolina wrens would get into the basement and then take a house tour. Every year we'd have to save a wren or two. In the summertime the wrens would nest in my mom's hanging baskets on the porch.

jdkiggins said:

The NA belief actually is: if you hear an owl call your name, death will follow soon.

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Ahh, that's it! Yes, thank you And here I remember writing a paper on I Heard The Owl Call My Name back in college, too.

The NA belief actually is: if you hear an owl call your name, death will follow soon.

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No wonder Dr. Who had so much trouble . . .

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I remember hearing of a superstition involving a cat caterwauling on the front porch, something to do with after midnight or maybe a rainy
night, someone in the household would die. . .anyone remember hearing anything similar?

alleycat said:

No wonder Dr. Who had so much trouble . . .

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LOL, funny you said that, alleycat. I did have a sentence at the end of my post and decided against it and edited it out. I'd written. . . is anyone here named Who?

The old country myth was an owl in the daytime. I can't remember whether it was death or just bad luck that was to follow.

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I think the country myth is an owl in the daytime is bad luck.

Good grief! I've had birds in the house, owls in the daytime, maybe it's all bad luck. LOL Without bad luck, I wouldn't have luck at all.

Fern said:

I remember hearing of a superstition involving a cat caterwauling on the front porch, something to do with after midnight or maybe a rainy
night, someone in the household would die. . .anyone remember hearing anything similar?

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I've heard this one too, Fern. I heard it as caterwauling after midnight.

My mom's cat has done this several times in the past month. Don't get me wrong, I love my mom's cat, but it may be the one in the household to die if it screams at 2 am again and scares me half to death!

No, Anne. I never did find out what kind of bird built that nest. I think the bird had second thoughts about living in my chair and built her house somewhere else after seeing my mom's cat on the porch. (Maybe the poor bird got scared out of the nest from the cat's screaming too.)

I did reclaim my chair, but kept the nest and added it to my weird and wonderful and strange collection of outdoor conversation pieces.

Here's a marine myth worth debunking: Fish breathe only through their gills. The tarpon (a.k.a. silver king) possesses an air bladder, in addition to gills, which allows them to gulp oxygen from our atmosphere. When they break the surface, the bladder functions much the same as a lung, and they can survive in waters so stagnant as to be devoid of oxygen.

This behavior is also a detriment, as it betrays their location and allows anglers to cast into the path of rising fish. Tarpon have no food value, thank goodness, and are usually released unharmed.

owl

MidnightMuse said:

So the myth is an Owl in the day time means you're going to die.

And a geek after noonish, fish will be fried? Wait, this isn't the limerick thread . . .

Click to expand...

Around here, it isn't seeing an owl in the daytime. . .that's easy to do. . .it's hearing an owl hoot in the middle of the day that means someone is going to die.

We also have a different take on the bird. If a bird flies into a closed window and dies, then someone in teh house is also going to doe.

Wiki lists a number of myths about owls (including seeing one in the daytime): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Owl

Jamesaritchie said:

We also have a different take on the bird. If a bird flies into a closed window and dies, then someone in teh house is also going to doe.

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Well that's no good ! I get birds flying into my big kitchen windows all the time and dying . . . so far neither my sister nor I have doe'd, but there's always a first time !

MidnightMuse said:

Well that's no good ! I get birds flying into my big kitchen windows all the time and dying . . . so far neither my sister nor I have doe'd, but there's always a first time !

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Just don't let a bat fly into your hair. You'll go mad.

Well, if toads had hair . . .