8. Birds: Saint Louis Priory School Email Center

Humankind has always had a fascination with birds, creatures that fly and seem to easily traverse the gap between heaven and earth. They take an almost archetypal role in filling a spiritual niche in our consciousness. From their creation on the fifth day, birds appear in 188 verses of the Hebrew Bible, and the word “wing” in 76. Jesus drew on their example for lessons, and so have modern humans. What wisdom have we gleaned from our observation of these creatures?

The Biblical Wisdom Literature: "Ask the animals, and they will teach you; the birds of the air, and they will tell you." (Job 12:7) Birds are subtle, if they are anything; they may tell you, but in their own language. Consequently Wisdom references to birds are allusive. Speaking of the pursuit of wealth,"When you eyes light upon it; it is gone; for suddenly it takes wings to itself, flying like an eagle toward heaven." (Prov 23:5) The story of the ostrich in Job is an unusual illustration of natural wisdom, the best sort of wealth, operating beyond the ken of creatures (especially humans, to whom its actions seem foolish.) The ostrich prospers because of God's design and care.

Birds are known for their caution. "In vain is the net baited while the bird is looking on;" (Prov 1:17) "One who throws a stone at birds scares them away, and one who reviles a friend destroys a friendship." (Sir 22:20) Birds are recognized as social creatures, living in homes. "Like a bird that strays from its nest is one who strays from home."(Prov 27:8) "Birds roost with their own kind, so honesty comes home to those who practice it." (Sir 27:9) The Song of Songs looks particularly kindly on the dove, which becomes a metaphor both for the eyes and also the beloved, as it is also used in Psalm 94.

The Old Testament: Birds are seen as an integral part of the natural order, particularly birds of prey, which consume carcasses. In the Book of Kings, Ahijah, Jehu and Elijah all prophesy doom for the kings of Israel who will be consumed by the birds of the air. Birds are admired for their caring and protective instincts toward their young. Psalms 17 and 36 look to God's protection in the shadow of His wings. Birds demonstrate the richness of the natural order. The tree spoken of by Ezekiel (17:3 and 21:6) is of value to life because it is home to the birds of the air. While the bible does not show an appreciation of birds as music makers, it does recognize them as messengers of a sort. In one of the dreams Joseph interprets, birds are the principal actors. The sage Qoheleth warns "Do not curse the king, even in your thoughts , or curse the rich, even in your bedroom; for a bird of the air may carry your voice, or some winged creature tell the matter." (Qoh 10:20)

As in almost every culture, eagles are much admired as models of strength and nobility of spirit. Yahweh delivered Israel from Egypt on eagle's wings (Ex 19:4). Isaiah looks to the deliverance of Judah in the most beautiful passage of eagle imagery (Is 40:31). The eagle also appears in apocalyptic literature, as in Daniel and Ezekiel.

The New Testament: Just as the eagle appears in Old Testament apocalyptic literature, it appears in the book of Revelation in all its symbolic glory. The dove is notable in the gospels as the visible manifestation of the Holy Spirit and as a symbol of innocence. "So be wise as serpents and innocent as doves." (Matt 10:16b) Appropriating the images of protective and familial behavior, Jesus compares himself to a mother hen in his relationship to Jerusalem." How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing." (Matt 23:37b & Luke 13:34b). Finally the birds are models of trust; "Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they ?" (Matt 6:26)

World View: Perhaps the most popular work of European wisdom literature is the collection of Aesop's Fables, in which familiar creatures appear in characteristic roles in order to teach a lesson. As might be expected birds are frequent actors, eagles being strong and crows being clever, exhibiting their natural traits so necessary for survival; in this way they model for us the practice of virtue. "Pride goes before destruction.", "Little by little does the trick.", "Avoid a remedy that is worse than the disease." and "Necessity knows no law." are just some of the morals of Aesop's bird fables.

European folk tradition also venerates the stork, which migrates annually back to Europe in the spring after wintering in Africa. It is regarded as a bringer of good fortune and fertility and it is an honor to have a stork nest on top of your house; a pair of storks will return to the same place each year to nest.

Native American culture is full of bird connections. North American Indians especially venerated the eagle, the hawk and the crow for their strength and intelligence and valued their feathers highly. The Thunderbird is the second most powerful spirit. The eagle is a central image in Aztec art and mythology (note the Mexican flag) and the highest Aztec deity is Quetzalcoatl, half bird and half serpent. South and Central American Indians believed that parrots had the spirits of human beings; the Andean condor was a god to the Incas.

The Bird as Guide: Perhaps as a consequence of migratory behavior, birds have achieved reputations as guides. In ancient Rome, they were guides to the future; priests took the "auspices" (avis + spicere = to look at birds), meaning that examined the internal organs of sacrificed birds for telling portents. Seamen, whalers and fishermen learned to read the birds, some of whom appeared at sea thousand of miles from land. The whalers in "Moby Dick" know to watch the birds to tell them where the whales are. The albatross of the "Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner," while embodying all the characteristics of its species, becomes a metaphor for Christ, a physical and spiritual guide. Christ himself is represented in Thomas Aquinas' great eucharistic hymn as a seabird, "Pie Pelicane," the noble pelican which supposedly feeds its young on its own blood. In India, the chief monk-samana of the order of four monasteries founded by the great Shankara at the end of the first millenium is called the "Great Swan," a mystical name revealing a great truth about Brahman; the Sansrit word "hamsa" is an inverted form of one of the mahavakya's (great utterances) of the Upanishads: "so ham" means "I am He," i.e. Brahman.

Perhaps the most wonderful and wise use of birds as spiritual guides, using all the characteristics mentioned thus far, appears in the "Conference of the Birds" (Mantiq al-Tair) by Farid ud-Din Attar, written around 1175 AD. This is an allegory for the journey on the "tariq," the sufi "way" or path to union with God, written so that the reader "should not cease for a moment to long to set out in quest of Truth." (Mantiq al-Tair, 7) Led by the spiritually aware hoopoe, "a guide to King Solomon" and consumed by love for the king, the birds assemble and all agree to make the long and arduous journey to their king, the Simurgh. As they progress, each species of bird confronts its own unique problem arising from its individual nature; solitude is a problem for the owl, song for the nightingale, pride for the peacock, purity for the duck, frailty for the sparrow, etc.. These problems either impede them or prevent them from making the journey. They must cross high mountains and seven certain valleys. Many birds excuse themselves and the hoopoe admonishes them individually. At the end only thirty of the birds survive the journey to experience the Simurgh (Persian for "thirty birds") and they are astounded by the revelation of truth. They are He. (Notice the similarity in meaning here to the wordplay of the Sanskrit "hamsa" and "so ham.")

The Wisdom of this Age: Post-Industrial Revolution Humankind has only recently relearned the ancient knowledge of traditional societies: humankind is just one strand in the interwoven fabric of life on earth. Rachel Carson's Silent Spring was an ominous awakening to the effects of environmental abuse. What had happened to the songbirds? We must more than subdue the earth, as Genesis charges us; we must care for it. In this ecological task, birds are vital.

As reflected in Silent Spring, birds are easily observable "biomonitors" (canaries in the coalmine) reflecting early effects of pollution, habitat destruction and modification, water quality and problems lower down in the food chain. Not for nothing does the author of Job tell us to ask the birds, for they will tell us.

It is birds' behavior, however, that has wisdom for the modern person. A remarkable document circulated to Outward Bound Organization staff is called "Lessons from Geese;" it details five characteristics of the social behavior of the Canadian Goose and draws appropriate lessons.(See Attachment 2.) People who share a common goal achieve it faster because they motivate each other. We should stay in formation with those heading in the same direction. (What a lesson for the church!) It pays to take turns doing hard tasks and sharing leadership. We need to make sure our "honking" is encouraging. We should stand by each other in difficult times. Amazingly, humans need to learn these lessons, since they are not instinctive; some do and some don't. Unfailingly geese do learn and practice them. There are no rogue geese and the Canada Goose has rebounded from the brink of extinction to the center lane on the highway of the commonplace.

After flight, of course, birds are known for their vocal talents. The nightingale is legendary in European and Asian arts and literature for beautiful song. While birds sound musical to us, they are speaking plainly to each other. But a good lesson to learn is that good presentation gets noticed; it pays to speak well, regardless of what you are saying. "Sing for your supper and you'll get breakfast; songbirds always eat." (Mama Cass, The Mama's & The Papa's, circa 1968 popular music.)

Much of the bird singing we hear consists of contact calls. Birds are social and need to know where the rest of the group is. It is reassuring and makes for harmonious relationships. The lesson for us is that it pays to keep in touch, and a simple "hello" can make a big difference in a person's day or mood.

Now if you haven't experienced it for yourself over time, you would not believe that parrots actually do learn to talk and communicate in human speech. After all we condescendingly use the verb" to parrot" to refer to mindless mimicking. So I refer the skeptic to the work of Dr. Irene Pepperberg at the University of Arizona and the "Alex" Foundation. Alex is an African Grey Parrot who, along with his psittacine companions, has been seriously and scientifically studied. They have been proved to have effective abilities of symbolic interaction and conceptual manipulation. They concentrate and learn much better in groups as opposed to one on one situations, when they get bored quickly.(ADD ?) In fact, the results of these studies are being put to use in teaching language to dysfunctional children.

My own experience with parrots convinced me of what Dr. Pepperberg has proved. The moral is, be careful what you say. Parrots are indeed social and do not like being alone. (If left alone frequently, they become seriously disturbed and pluck all their feathers out.) I had one Amazon in my office during the time when personal computers were being popularized. Because they weren't so user friendly then, I would frequently explode with some choice profanity; now parrots are very sensitive to the emotional inflections of speech. One day I was coming down the hallway to my office, where the bird had been left alone. The door of the office was open, and I heard my voice cursing a blue streak. After that I left him with my secretary when I went out.

This ties in with another lesson. Another's need is a need indeed, regardless of what you may think of it. Like the biomonitors that they are, if a bird's needs are not met, they will die. Each species needs a particular and specific diet and will tolerate only a narrow range of climatic conditions.

Birds have taught me at least two critical lessons: one on discipline and one on death. I was feeding a baby cockatoo one morning when my favorite Amazon parrot (see Attachment 3) was out of his cage. He came over and was interfering, wanting attention. I rapped him on his beak with a plastic measuring cup and he went back to his cage. When I was through feeding the baby I went to feed him. I bent down to kiss him as I always did, and he reached up and sliced open my chin with his beak.(Five stitches were required.) It is true that the one who deals discipline feels less pain and forgets sooner than the one disciplined. It is time that heals all wounds, not just good will. I never forgot that lesson when I had to discipline my employees (and now students,) and I never kissed that bird again. Once bitten, twice shy indeed.

How does one learn to deal with death ? I used to scrupulously avoid wakes and funerals, as if by avoiding these one could at least avoid any thinking of such an unpleasant thing. I had been anxiously awaiting the arrival of a Blue Front Amazon. When it finally arrived, it fell sick after about a month. I tried several courses of treatment that worked for a while, and then waned. One evening I came home and the bird was too weak to stand and had fallen to the bottom of the cage. It was struggling. I picked it up and held it for a while, as it cried and struggled, feeling rather helpless myself and not knowing what to do. Suddenly it totally relaxed, stopped struggling, and became quiet and peaceful. Its feathers spread out in a most beautiful display, its eyes fixed on a distant point. It had died, of course, but it didn't seem so bad. In fact, it was quite beautiful in its own, strange way. I felt differently about death, and life too, after that.

Editors Note:" Lessons from Geese" was transcribed from a speech given by Angeles Arrien at the 1991Organizational Development Network and was based on the work of Milton Olson. It circulated to Outward Bound Staff throughout the United Slates. We share it here hoping that we can all learn these lessons