Beliefs to crow about

The following text is originally lifted from the trivia section of The Jakarta Post dated Tuesday, 3 June 2008.

~Compiled from various sources~

• A hen that crows is considered to be unlucky, as is a hen with tail-feathers like those of a rooster.
• Hens that roost in the morning are said to be foretelling a death, usually that of the farmer or someone in his household.
• A hen that enters the house is an omen that a visitor will arrive, and this is also the case if a rooster crows near the door or comes inside.
• Roosters have long been connected with the sun, as they crow to herald its arrival at dawn, and are considered watchful protectors of humankind.
• When a cock crows at midnight a spirit is passing.
• In England, it is a death omen if a rooster crows three times between sunset and midnight. Crowing at other times is often a warning against misfortune.
• If a cock crows while perched on a gate, or at nightfall, the next day will be rainy.
• A white rooster is considered very lucky, and should not be killed as it protects the farm on which it lives.
• Black roosters are a bad omen and are often associated with sacrifice.
• Three seagulls flying together, directly overhead, are a warning of death soon to come.
• Killing a seagull is bad luck.
• Seagulls seen far inland indicates bad weather approaching.
• To kill a raven is to harm the spirit of King Arthur who visits the world in the form of a raven.
• A raven seen near a sick person means the person will not recover.
• The Welsh believe that a raven on a chimney is good luck to those within.
• Ravens leaving the Tower of London is believed to signify that the United Kingdom will fall.
• Raven flying towards the sun means fine weather.
• It is unlucky to kill a sparrow as they carry the souls of the dead.
• Killing a sparrow will make the tree it lived in die.
• Hearing a sparrow call means rain is approaching.
• Aristotle made killing a stork a crime, and Romans passed a stork law, saying that children must care for their elderly parents.
• Storks deliver babies.
• Storks were sacred to Venus in Roman mythology.
• If a stork builds a nest on your roof, you have received a blessing and a promise of never ending love from Venus.
• Killing a stork is bad luck.
• Seeing two storks is an omen of pregnancy.
• The swallow is the herald of the summer.
• A swallow nesting on the roof is protection against lightning and fire.
• Storms will accompany the arrival and departure of swallows.
• A swan's feather, sewn into a husband's pillow, will ensure fidelity.
• Seeing a vulture is an pmen of death.
• Harming a wren will cause a broken bone.