Birds have been associated with myths and omens since early mankind with many ancient people believing our feathered friends to be messengers from the gods or even representations of the gods themselves.
Today most cultures throughout the world have superstitions that are centred around birds – some of these are universal while others are regional and it seems nobody can agree on whether birds bring good or bad luck.
Here we take a look at some bird superstitions from around the world, both well known and more unusual. If you know of any others, let us know in the comments below.
In fact seeing crows anywhere tends to bring bad luck, unless you happen to find a dead crow in the road, which surprisingly will bring you good luck.
Running second only to black cats, crows have a very bad press when it comes to omens. In just about any creepy scene in a film you will hear the background noise of crows calling and of course Alfred Hitchcock made a whole film about what happens when these birds attack. A particularly suspenseful scene in The Birds is of a murder of crows gathering quietly in a playground behind an oblivious Tippi Hedren.
As far back as Ancient Greece, it was believed that the arrival of a crow at a wedding reception would mean an inevitable divorce. And another crow superstition associated with marriage is that two crows should be released during the ceremony; if the two birds flew away together the marriage would be happy and successful, but if the two crows parted company then the bride and groom too would soon be separated.
Although it will probably result in the worst bad hair day ever, you shouldn’t fret if you have the misfortune to have a bird deposit its droppings on your head or shoulders because this unfortunate event is actually supposed to bring good luck and even wealth.
There isn’t a consensus on the origin of this superstition, but one idea put forward is that it is such an unlikely, yet disgusting occurrence that it is only right that something positive makes up for it.
This is an old superstition, with an even earlier version claiming that keeping peacock feathers in the house not only brings bad luck but also dooms any unmarried woman to spinsterhood.
Many actors refuse to allow peacock feathers on stage, whether as props or costume elements. Veteran performers and directors have even shared stories of sets collapsing during performances that featured peacock feathers.
The superstition is believed to have originated in the Mediterranean, where the feather’s distinctive eye-like markings are said to represent the gaze of the she-devil Lilith, who is blamed for the mysterious deaths of children. Keeping peacock feathers indoors is thought to invite her presence, allowing her to watch over the household.
However, in India, China, and Japan, peacock feathers are considered symbols of good fortune. Bringing them into the home is believed to offer protection by providing extra eyes to guard against danger.
Throughout the centuries, woodpeckers have been associated with a variety of superstitions particularly around misfortune, and many cultures believe that if a woodpecker knocks on your house, it is foretelling a death. There is a similar belief held around pigeons knocking on windows, as well as white birds or crows flying into windows, as well as the many predictions associated with a bird flying into your house.
In Slavic countries, it’s said that wood that has been drilled into by woodpeckers should not be used for building houses and other infrastructure, as it’s unstable and could quickly catch alight.
However, the ancient Romans and Babylonians looked much more favourably upon woodpeckers, and saw them as signs of fertility and abundance. In Origo gentis Romanae, a literary work that tells the origin of the Roman people, there is a reference to a woodpecker bringing food to Romulus and Remus, twin brothers who in mythology founded Rome, when they were abandoned in the wild.
This is one of many sailors’ superstitions and is referenced in Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s poem The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, published in 1798.
Traditionally sailors considered seeing an albatross to be a sign of good luck, probably originating from the early days of navigation when sailors thought that seeing an albatross meant land was near. Little did they know that albatrosses can live many years at sea without ever setting foot on land!
In The Rime of the Ancient Mariner a sailor shoots and kills an albatross with a cross bow and as punishment the crew of the ship force him to wear the dead bird’s carcass around his neck. This is where the metaphor of an albatross to mean a burden originated from.
The death of the albatross brought terrible bad luck to the ship, including a lack of drinking water – water, water every where, nor any drop to drink – until eventually a ghost ship appears and kills all the sailors.
There are a lot of superstitions associated with hearing the first cuckoo’s call and some of them are quite bizarre.
For instance, when you see or hear your first cuckoo you should put a stone on your head and run as fast as you can until the stone falls off. You should then return to the spot where it fell the next day and will find money under it.
Similar to a superstition regarding a new moon, when you hear the first cuckoo call it is very important that you have money in your pocket. You should then take the money, turn it over and spit on it and this ritual will bring you good fortune and riches in the forthcoming year. If you happen not to have any money on you then there will be a poor year ahead.
The magpie has an important role in Christian myth. Biblical lore tells us that the magpie was the only bird not to enter Noah’s ark and instead it sat on the roof cackling as the whole world drowned.
Another myth claims that the magpie was also the only bird not to go into full mourning at Jesus’s crucifixion because it was actually the devil in disguise.
These legends may be the source of the belief in Scotland that the magpie has a drop of the devil’s blood under its tongue with some believing that if you cut out the tongue of a magpie it would be capable of human speech.
Like crows, magpies are often associated with all things evil and you can read more about the superstitions that surround magpies here.
This is another sailor superstition, most often associated with the Isle of Man. It appears to have its origins in the mythical story of Chlíodhna, a Celtic sea goddess who seduced men with her singing and lured them to sea where they drowned.
Eventually, some sailors attempted to catch her, but before they were able to, she transformed into a wren and escaped. In anger, the men prayed to their gods who ordered Chlíodhna to appear once a year on St Stephen’s Day taking the shape of a wren to be killed each time by human hand.
Between sunrise and sunset on that day, every man and boy on the island had to hunt down as many wrens as they could, and when they managed to kill one, they would fix it to a pole decorated with leaves and ribbons.
Feathers from the dead wrens would be distributed amongst sailors and fishermen as a charm against drowning.
Although primarily a Manx superstition, the practice of carrying a wren’s feather as a protection from shipwreck and drowning has also been recorded in Devon and other coastal communities in the British Isles.
The robin is one of our most familiar birds, so it’s not surprising that there are numerous superstitions associated with the species.
Many of them claim that if you were to kill or injure a robin, or damage its nest or steal its eggs, you will be the recipient of some form of bad luck.
For example, in rural folklore, it’s said that if a landowner deliberately kills a robin, then their cows’ milk will be stained with blood, and their home and farm buildings will catch fire, while in Ireland anyone who kills a robin will suffer tremors in the hand that killed it.
Another variation says that if someone were to break the wing or leg of a robin, then they would break their own leg or arm as a consequence. And another says that if you were to smash a robin’s egg then something precious of yours will break.
If you kill a robin accidentally, then you can cancel the bad luck by giving it a proper burial.
It is not known when ravens were first kept at the Tower of London, but records show they were present at the beheading of Anne Boleyn in 1536 when “Even the ravens of the Tower sat silent and immovable on the battlements and gazed eerily at the strange scene”.
One suggestion is that the birds were brought to the Tower to dramatise executions due to their association with death and all things macabre.
The origins of the legend are not clear either. Charles II apparently disliked the ravens due to their droppings falling on his telescope and wanted them moved to Greenwich Observatory which he had commissioned in 1675. In a conversation with the royal astronomer, John Flamstead:
“These ravens must go!” he said. “But, Sire, it is very unlucky to kill a raven,” replied Flamstead, “If you do that the Tower will fall and you will lose your kingdom, having only just got it back!” Charles, being a pragmatist, thought for a moment and said: “The Observatory must go to Greenwich and the ravens can stay in the Tower.”
However, Geoffrey Parnell, the official Tower of London historian, has conducted research which he believes shows that the superstition was invented much more recently. After The Raven by Edgar Allen Poe was published in 1845, Victorians became fascinated with the birds and the first captive birds were brought to the Tower as pets for the staff.
There are many superstitions and myths surrounding owls, and most of them foretell bad luck. For example, it’s said that if an owl perches on your roof and hoots, or if you walk under a tree which contains a hooting owl it means a relative or friend will die within a year.
The superstitions about owls go back centuries. The Romans believed owls were omens of impending doom and many famous Romans including Julius Caesar, Augustus and Agrippa supposedly had their deaths predicted by an owl.
They also believed that dreaming about an owl could cause a shipwreck or robbery, while another Roman superstition said that witches transformed into owls and sucked the blood from babies. To ward off the evil, the offending owl would be killed, and its body nailed to the door of the affected house.
There are also some rather specific owl superstitions relating to its hoot. In Wales there is a belief that if an owl hoot is heard among houses, then an unmarried girl has lost her virginity, while another says that if a pregnant woman hears an owl her child will be blessed.
‘Stane chack, deevil tak, they who harry my nest will, never rest, will meet the pest, de’il break their lang back, wha my eggs wad tak’ tak’ is a Scottish poem about the stonechat.
Roughly translated, it means that someone who destroys a stonechat’s nest will never rest and will eventually catch a deadly disease, while if they were to take the bird’s eggs, they will break their back.
The stonechat is named for its distinctive call which sounds just like two stones being hit together and according to folklore it is said to be constantly chatting to the devil. Its blood-red breast is meant to serve as protection from all things evil, and some say it carries a drop of the devil’s blood under its tongue.
For such an inoffensive little bird, the stonechat wasn’t much liked in Scotland. According to The Scottish Gallovidian Encyclopedia: or the Original Antiquated and Natural Curiosities of the South of Scotland published in 1824 toads were said to sit on and hatch the stonechat’s eggs, and in the country it was looked at in the same way one might look at a female prostitute.
116 responses
A bird flew into my sister’s house and within a year and a half my sister died. There may be truth to this.
nah. too long of time difference in between.
No it’s usually within a week or 2
On Sunday I had my daughter at the park. When I opened my car door a little finch flew in and went to the passage corner of my dash/windshield. I opened all 4 doors and was talking to it trying to coerce it out of the car when all of a sudden it had a seizure and died!! Ummm y’all I’ve never experienced something like this! Advice? Help? What do y’all think? Thanks in advance!!
What does it mean if a bird fly in the front door and goes out the back door?
It depends on what color they say. A white or light colored bird is supposed to bring good luck. But a black bird usually bad luck ,or sickness coming to someone in the family. Or death to you or in the family. Idk but all you can do is wait and see. 2 times yesterday a had a black bird and a baby black bird or crows fly into a window where was. So I asked around. And asked many people and my family on this. And I didn’t have one person tell me different. Had a few tell me shut up because of the whole meaning and all that. Sadly to say everyone says it’s completely true and basically death for you or your family. And I’ve heard people say whoever’s in the room or house or at the time this happens. So basically like in the movie final destination. However if it’s deaths plan or cycle you can’t win or cheat deaths plan. All you can do is pray and keep your head up and move forward. When your numbers up it’s up. All you can do is enjoy the ride.
Guess we will see one way or another. Hopefully!!!! Keep posted if anything happens I post. Sorry I couldn’t ease your mind. I’ve always believed you make your own luck. But after hearing it from everyone I encountered and asked. That’s the news I got.
On Memorial day I was sitting on the couch in my living room and I let my little grand children out on back porch to play an a little baby bird failed out the nest from on top of our porch an flew into my kitchen I got the broom and sweep it out the back door but it didn’t even fly or anything I just hoped around the floor till I sweep it out What Does that mean ????
I’m standing outside my front door smoking a cigarette a blueish white stripes in the face area grey belly small flys about three feet away from me hovering in motion will focusing strictly on me for about three or four minutes then flys back to the tree where he came from lands but still watching me. I went the house after all that.. I truly love my Heavenly Father and son Jesus Christ from Nazerath.. can you to me what I witnessed..ty
There was a couple birds in the road. As I came up on them they both tried to fly away and 1 did but the other one smacked my windshield. No clue if it lived or died. Is that good or bad? I’m worried to death.
I woke up this morning with the bird sound inside my room.I saw this bird trying to find his way out.Is it bad or good?
A hummingbird flew in our house I saw him trying to get out the kitchen window so I got my husband and showed him,he went to the window caught the bird with his hand and put it outside,what does this mean,if anything
Did anything end up happening? This happened to me once when I was in my 20’s. I was driving by a cemetery and a crow was in the road. I figured it would move out of the road as I came upon it but it didn’t. Last minute it flew up and hit my windshield. It was laying at the base of my windshield and I had to come to a quick stop to get it to slide off my car. That next morning, I got the call from my grandma that my 2 little brothers and my little sister died in a house fire overnight. Hope all was okay for you.
Guys, today morning around 8:45 saw a bird (blue & white stripes) on my home yard, but never saw it when it lands. It looked like it was experiencing cold conditions (fall in temperature). When I got closer & closer to the bird, it seemed unscared. Thought maybe the wing were damaged. After some few moments it took off & flew. Tell me what does this mean?
I was listening a voice record of a lady and a man then speaking to my mom and dad suddenly a bird flew in so hard I heard a loud noise they say it is a owl but I am not sure its probably brown or black still not sure but it open his wings out and just left like how he came on 1st May
My dad passed away on the 18th April, a pigeon with a white strip on either side of its neck landed on my window sill what does this mean I’ve tried down loading ghost apps but they’re all fake can anyone recommend a ghost app or tell me what it means
Hey guys a bird flew into my home through the dog hole into my lounge room then I woke my partner up to catch it and he did and put it back through the same way it came in, we always have a lot of birds around my house so I’m assuming the bird was injured and was looking for safe keeping and also I went outside and found one of its feathers outside so yeah I knew it was gonna happen sooner or later. I would also say don’t believe in superstition it will just play with your mind and it most likely will come true , if death occurs it is what it is sad but only thing you can do is pray and don’t worry about it, random shit like this happens and I always see birds fly in to shopping centres and car parks and other places looking for a safe place :))
Two years ago, a bird flew into our house. Within months, my cousin passed away. This year, one got into my daughter’s house. About 35 days later, we lost our grandson. He was 4 months old.
I had a House Wren fly into my home on 3/31/21 which was yesterday and plaid heck getting it out. In fact, it kept going into my adult sons bed room, then would fly back into my bed room where he lay sleeping. Now I’m super worried cause he almost died last year.
I’m so sorry for your loss!! My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family!
Yesterday, I heard a loud whistling thinking it was a friend of the friend whose house I was at to get his attention, but my friend was crashed out. It turned out to be in the next room from me was a brown bird that came in thru the dog door and couldn’t get back out. It was in a room that had glass windows including glass on both doors to the room and it kept smacking into the windows I didn’t want it to hurt itself even more as I tried to open one door to let it out. Finally after 10 minutes give or take it flew out and was free, but then only flew to a post within eyesight from me and just sat there looking my direction. Any ideas for what that could mean?
a bird died in front of my door today. it was a black and white pigeon and there was blood near it and on the pillar near the door, so maybe it was a cat. does this mean anything, i am really scared
Jack, dogs & cats have been known to hunt small critters & birds. They will leave a dead one on your doorstep as an act of love & respect to you. So you have a true friend providing you dinner, feel loved !!!
Please please anyone should try and reply me. Three days ago on March 1 a black hawk came to my porch I’m very very scared because have heard about that the bird is bad luck . Either a death will occur in a family or something bad is about to happen. I chased the bird a way and started praying ? . Can anyone tell if I should be worried or not .??
Hawks aren’t associated with death. They are known as the messenger birds.
Last year I had many encounters with black birds…dead birds around my flat …november 5th a black bird started hitting its beaks on my window at work
Already my sisterinlaw my best friend passed on the exact same time…today is one of my cuz funeral n a black bird came into my office n popped. It looked frantic trying to get out. But flew out itself…
So here I am not sure to go for funeral or not.
On February 14, I found a black bird in my basement. No idea how it got in. I opened the door and eventually it left. On February 26, my brother took his own life. The family is in shock and devastated. This makes me wonder about that bird.
I’m very sorry for your loss ??. This morning when I was sleeping a black cane on my porch I’m very very scared I chased it away and started praying ??? because I have all known ablack bird is a bad luck
I’ve had a Raven or crow land on my power line and caw twice in the last week what’s that mean
Hi, I had a black bird fly under my car and killed it on the way to work today, what does this mean?? 🙁
you have goodluck
That I’ll be back for you, CAW CAW
Recently had a bird fly into my screen of bedroom window….at nite. Thoughts?
I have Covid been in a dark bedroom for 5 days. The light and my head wants to explode. Last night my husband said a little bird flew in the house first time ever. What does this mean for me
I’m sorry you have covid and hopefully you are improving. Birds signify a message from the gods – in your case Linda, it may be foretelling better days are ahead.
The Church viewed the magpie very differently. It’s said that the magpie was the only bird not to go into Noah’s ark, and also the only bird not to sing to comfort Jesus on the cross or go into a proper period of mourning because of its pied plumage, which also has an association with evil and bad fortune.
This morning i heard a bird hitting my window so i went outside to check it out and saw it was a bird holding another smaller bird in its mouth, he then ate it… what does this mean im scared
I don’t know what it means, but I’d be screaming too if a bride flew around in my house 😉
I found a dead bird outside of my door to the garage. Should I be worried?
We took a walk with my son and a bird had died on the driveway. A few minutes later I learnt that my worst enemy had died. Dead bird is definitely a symbol of triumph for me.