#(a crow and a blue jay are from the same family- similar birds with a few extra steps)

[syndianites]

in the tags you mentioned Tom’s wings were rotted until he killed Dianite, consider they turn into vulture wings after the fact? him being a zombie and having the wings of a scavenger

YOUR BRAIN

his wings turning into vulture wings because what is Tom if not someone who survives on the remnants of others? of their good will? their faith? the things they drop when Tom comes swinging, the glittering diamonds and mounds of iron he can raid from a person's unkept storage chest?

And of course, when a god dies and their power is posed to disperse, why wouldn't Tom naturally pick up that power? He wouldn't even have to think about it- hell, he probably doesn't even realize he was the one that sucked the power in. What is more vulture like that reaping the rewards of a dead god?

[raccoonfallsharder]

Just checking in that you are taking care of yourself and getting plenty of rest. You deserve the moons of Jupiter and the rings of Saturn.

during 2020 we started putting out big trays of birdseed on our balcony. and tuna and fruit for our local crows. we ended up becoming a weird community space. we get blue jays, cardinals, chickadees, crows, squirrels - all at the same time, eating together. once, a clearly domesticated parakeet that had escaped someone’s house and made a new home with a flock of sparrows. the cardinals and corvids eventually brought their babies (baby birds who are being made to eat their own food for the first time are LOUD.) since then we’ve had three generations of crows who are comfortable enough to let me sit with them on the balcony while they eat & i drink my tea. our particular flock usually comes back from march to august. everytime, i am so excited to see my little family. i can’t tell you the feeling i get when they come back for the season.

but it’s similar to how i feel when i get a message or a comment from you

you are so sweet and thoughtful. thank you for checking in. i know it doesn’t look like it but i am easing up! blackmail material is the only thing ill be working on this weekend. maybe i’ll do another kinktober prompt on the 25th. but i promise i am being good. i went to bed at a semi-reasonable hour last night and everything! and im just putting less pressure on myself which honestly makes the most difference

thank you, my dear friend, for being so good to me ♡

[marvelousecology]

Cyanocitta cristata

On the edges of the American Northeastern deciduous forests there is squawking, “Jay! Jay!” This boisterous call is one Midwesterners know all too well during a lively summer afternoon. Cyanocitta cristata, otherwise known as the blue jay, calmly soars the sky and elevates itself with graceful little bursting flutters. The sunlight dances on its elegant blue wings while the white underbelly and U-shaped collar of black wrapping behind its crest, compliments the striking blue plumages adorning this passerine bird. Although passerines are classified as songbirds, the blue jay takes after its distant relatives the crow and raven. Belonging to the Corvidae family, these birds learn to mimic by listening to their environment and copying sounds like human speech or impersonating a hawk, but most certainly not singing.

Humans and birds share a symbiotic relationship rooted in our love for their beauty, songs, and aesthetic presence in our gardens. Homes devote entire landscapes for aviating visitors with shepherds hooks bursting full of seeds and grains or adorably crafted miniature wooden houses inviting them to stay. Even humans befriend crows and ravens with repetitive food offerings and shiny gifts. Unfortunately, blue jays fell out of our favor.

The round blue bird’s reputation is infamous and notorious among the suburbs. Most people view them as pesky and violent, attributing this to a common belief that jays devour eggs and fledglings, however a study looking at 250 stomachs found only six to contain remnants of shells and hatchlings. Meanwhile, another study saw blue jays being dominated by red-headed woodpeckers, cardinals, and gray squirrels at bird feeders.

By focusing on the negative, opportunities to acknowledge the positives are missed. Blue jays demonstrate high functioning intelligence and form complex social relationships with their flocks. Protecting the nest is considerable business since building it was a labor of love by both the male and female. For blue jays, love is a serious affair involving more than the typical fervor because romancing the one is not as simple as dating. This courtship involves an aerial duet chase that transcends into a dance meant to impress the nimblest of feather and flight. If the suitor succeeds in swooning the lady in question, then she will allow him the intimacy of feeding her and they become lifelong mates.

Sometimes lifelong is not always the case. A recent study found a female blue jay bonding with a different male when her mate disappeared for over three weeks. When the mate returned, to his dismay, his love was taken from him. After an aggressive standoff with her new man, it seemed like he had lost the love of his life, but with several offerings of food and twigs, possibly reminding her of their thriving brood last season, she took him back. A similar quarrel between male jays involves a strapping young man and an established older gentleman. After losing his mate, the youthful jay set his eyes on the older jay’s partner. Noticing the home wrecker, the older jay never left his lady’s side and continuously offered her gifts until the surmounting pressure forces him to move his territory away from the young prying eyes. The intricate social lives of blue jays reveal there’s more to these passerines than assumed.  

The blue jay is a familiar beautiful sight in the Midwest with an unfairly decided regard. Research evidence concludes that the higher society of birds handle their pecking orders differently than humans rumored. Popular opinion labels blue jays as aggressive songbirds but specimen stomach contents found less than one percent of eggs or hatchlings, and that blue jays are more likely to be chased away from a bird feeder than do the chasing. The dramatic social lives of corvids entail romantic lifelong endeavors, or so we thought. On the contrary, blue jays go through the same ups and downs of typical marriage and scandal that seem inherent of complex social structures. So, the next time one hears the squawking, “Jay, Jay,” think kindly of the blue jay.

[askandhistoryangrybirdshumansau]

Bio of my AU:

“ Silver Pigtall ”

Relationships:

Red Cardinal (They don't get along, allied)

Chuck Canary (allied, Illegal adoptive sibling)

Bomb Crow (friend)

Jay, Jake and Jim Blue (Best friends)

Matilda Whitezen (Maternal Figure)

Hal TuGreen (Legal guardian, best friend and father figure)

Bubbles Oragenblack (Best friend and interest romance)

Terence Cardinal (Friend)

Stella Galah (Friend)

Poppy Ninfacatu (Friend)

Dahlia Owler (They don't get along)

Willow Lightblue (Friend)

Luca Celeste (Great Friend)

Gale ???? (enemy)

Ruby Plumeroja (acquaintance)

The Pigs (enemies and adoptive family)

Leonard BigFatGreen (Enemy, adopted relative)

Ross Pigtall (Father / Mother Adoptive)

Mighty Eagle or Ethan (Mentor)

Frosh (acquaintance)

She's the newest of the flock, but she's currently with Hal and Bubbles.

She was found by pigs since she was an egg and she came out of the cascade in the castle kitchen. (If what you read...in my AU, human versions of birds are born from eggs...Perturbing). And from that moment on she learns the customs of her family and stays with Ross, Leonard's first assistant.

At adolescence (12 years old), the pigs send her on her mission on deck against the birds; she passes herself off as a survivor of the pigs to win the bird island, but Red doesn't trust her because of her attitude similar to her enemies. After a while, she gains the trust of almost everyone, except Red, in a moment, she publicly humiliates him by telling him that he is a poor orphan and he calls her in response: And you...phenomenon of horrible teeth; she felt shattered and ran away, almost all the people turned against Red, except her team although they still don't like that attitude. In a place far from the village, Silver wiping her tears, signals the pigs for attack as revenge on Red.

When the massive attack began, Silver realized the real purpose of her family, repented and helped the remaining members of the flock and defeated the pigs (there's an important part I won't count, because it's a spoiler). Silver decides to cut her ties with the pigs definitively and wants to start again, Hal offers to adopt her to travel and learn new things along with Bubbles, as they are the only ones, along with The Blues, Luca, Chuck, Bomb, Matilda and Terence who forgave her, she happily accepts.

Now she's with Hal and Bubbles traveling to different places, while even Red has a grudge against her.

(Something apart, I WILL NOT USE THE HISTORY OF ABM2...you already know the reason and it is not necessary to repeat it)

Her power is the same as the game (Angry Birds 2)

Her personality is just like the game and some external data, in other words, she has the same attitude as pigs, but she wants to become someone unique (not a bird or a pig).

(Also...I WILL NOT HAVE THE PERSONALITY OF THE MOVIE...seriously, it made me angry like never that "Silver Mary Sue")

Separate note: in my AU, she is 12 years old and...Red is 23...so...nope)

@loverofthebirbs

[dead-night-harringrove]

Experiment!Billy AU

I see people talking about their wing billy AUs and realize ive never talked about mine o:

This au is post-s2, where Billy is kidnapped by the labs and its covered up as he ran away for california. The rumor is planted and small town gossip does the rest. So they have a new project going at the labs: Project Avian- the hybridization of various species with bird genetics. Billy is to be a human subject.

He's one of the first three successful human experiments in the project.

Instead if giving him white angel wings or black raven wings or even owl wings, I decided I was going to go for something in my opinion was the perfect fit.

The Bluejay

Why the Bluejay, you ask? For multiple reasons, and starting with the most obvious one- look at those colors. Blue plumage to bring out his eyes, and similar in hue to the Camaro. It’s aesthetic, really. 

Now to get into the rest of it. 

They’re Corvids, in the same family as crows and magpies. They’re incredibly smart, and have been observed in captivity to create and use tools to their advantage. Given that most- myself included- headcanon Billy as intelligent and an A+ student, a corvid is a good choice of bird

If you ask most people what their thoughts on bluejays are, they’ll say they hate them. They’re very aggressive birds, known to attack smaller birds and have a reputation for being bullies amidst fowl. They’re also known to mob hawks, owls, cats, and even people. 

They’re also loud, and employ a wide range of vocalizations. From soft trills to their iconic jay! jay! sounds, you can expect just about anything from them. They’re also excellent at mimicking hawks, cats, crows, and even cell phone ringtones. Someone as loud and talkative as Billy would need to be a vocal bird

They mate for life, so if we’re going down the harringrove route... *eyes emoji*

[thalassarche]

Something About A Bird: Corvid Iridescence

One of the things we humans appreciate so much about birds is their colors. Of the animals we most commonly encounter, they’re the most visually interesting. They’re bigger than insects, they’re not confined to water like fish, and they’re more colorful than mammals. And we seem to especially appreciate the bright and shiny, which is a preference we share with certain wearers of iridescence: the crows, jays, and magpies, or corvids.

Iridescence is the term for when something appears to change color as the angle changes. Usually it’s caused by differences in the layers of material that affect the bending of light. It’s in oil slicks and soap bubbles, and it’s also in bird feathers, where it’s a feature of tiny microstructures in the feathers that work to bend the light in interesting ways. 

The most prominent case of iridescence in corvids are probably the magpies of the Pica genus, all of which seem to favor similar black and white aesthetics like the pictured Eurasian magpie. But the black isn’t truly black: when it catches the light just right, we see a metallic sheen that shifts from yellowish-green through blue to violet overtop the black tones. The tailfeathers seem to have a sharp separation between yellow-green and blue-violet. The wings tend to stand out in a lustrous blue. And all of this is due to those tiny little structures in the barbs of the feathers that work to bend light.

But just because magpies are the boldest doesn’t mean they have the monopoly on iridescence. Most crows and ravens have at least some amount of weak iridescence in their black feathers. Mostly it’s in blues to violets, and it takes much more exacting lighting conditions and angles to appreciate. It’s most obvious in the wings and scapulars (shoulder feathers).

Ravens and crows tend to be described as having “glossy” feathers, and that’s also an effect of the iridescence, amplifying the play of light on the feathers and making them appear almost metallic.

The basis for iridescence in corvid feathers seems to be in the bright blues worn by some jays. These colors are not technically iridescent, since they stay blue, but the cause of the blues is the same: microstructures in the barbs of the feathers that change the way that light bounces through them. It seems this kind of eye-catching blue was the origin of what became iridescence in corvids, according to at least one study on the topic. 

Unsurprisingly, one such blue-colored jay is the blue jay, but that name really understates all the blue that’s going on in its plumage. Once again it’s the wings and tail that have the most eye-catching coloration and patterning, with almost a checkerboard-like appearance on the folded secondary wingfeathers. I’d be remiss not to point out that fantastic blue crest, especially since crest feathers are so useful at expressing visual communication. Even the softer blues of the back of the neck and cheeks are from the microstructures in the feathers that are similar to what makes feathers iridescent.

Iridescence has developed multiple times in multiple branches of the avian family tree, going all the way back to non-avian ancestors like Microraptor. Fossils of its feathers show the same microstructures that make for glossy metallic green-blue-violet. The purpose of the iridescence in dinosaurs is conjecture, but in many birds, it’s the male that has the showiest feathers, including iridescent ones. Male peacocks, hummingbirds, grackles, and many other birds wear color-shifting rainbows, while the females are relatively drab in comparison, making the iridescence part of courtship and display.

However, almost all corvids are not sexually dimorphic: a male crow and a female crow are both the same glossy black. So courtship seems to be far less likely to be the reason for the sheen. Corvids are, however, very social birds, often living in extended families and flocking together. It seems more likely that the iridescence plays more of a social signalling role for them, or at least not the same kind of competitive courtship role. The result in our eyes is some stunning and understated iridescence that makes these shiny-loving birds shine themselves.

Photos reproduced here originally appeared in the following posts: Eurasian magpie - magpie tailfeathers - American crow - common raven - blue jay

[typhlonectes]

Like Humans and Apes, Ravens Can Plan for the Future  

The birds were able to choose and hold onto a tool that could unlock an eventual reward

by Jason Daley

There’s no doubt that corvids—the family of birds that includes crows, ravens, jays and magpies—are smart. But as Ed Yong at The Atlantic reports , a new study on ravens shows just how intelligent the birds are. Researchers found they can actually delay gratification and plan for the future—a skill only previously documented great apes and in humans age four and older.

Lund University researcher Mathias Osvath raised five ravens for this study at his farm in Sweden. According to Yong, Osvath and his colleagues set up an experiment in which they trained the birds to open a puzzle box by dropping an oblong stone into a tube, which unlocked a box of tasty dog kibble. The researchers then moved the puzzle box out of the bird's sight. An hour later, they offered the birds a tray covered with enticing objects, including the stone that opens the puzzle box.

Though the birds had no knowledge of whether the kibble box would return or not, the ravens chose the box-unlocking stone from the tray in 86 percent of the tests. In a similar experiment, the birds exchanged a blue bottle cap for a treat. As Yong writes, "the cap had no intrinsic value and the birds" and they had no idea if the same researcher would return with food. But as with the case of the stone, in majority of the cases, the birds chose the tool that had a possibility of obtaining food in the future. They published their results in the journal Science...

(read more: Smithsonian Magazine)

photograph by BombTime | Wikimedia Commons

[nuredinburhan]

Multidisciplinary Creative; My personal branding thoroughly explained.

“Semiology therefore aims to take in any system of signs, whatever their substance and limits; images, gestures, musical sounds, objects, and the complex associations of all these, which form the content of ritual, convention or public entertainment: these constitute, if not languages, at least systems of signification.” - Roland Barthes

We are engulfed in the ether of signs and symbols and it has become instinctive to recognise the connotations of widely used symbols globally. It’s a language with no bounds that transcends linguistic barriers. I wrote a 1500 word essay on the semiology of the heart symbol <3 in the first year of studying BA Advertising in UAL;LCC (got an A, obviously) I found that there are little to no correlation between a symbol and their connotations. a better example is the use of the Swastika by the Nazi regime in Germany - initially it was used by followers of the Buddhist, Hindu and Jainism faiths, it represents the sun, another hypothesis reveals that the four arms represent the four elements of nature - the sun, wind, water  and soil.

As a Creative, I try to incorporate strategy in all my work - to define an idea or brand through semiology, colour, typography, visual styles or whatever apt technique to effectively say more with less. As Hegarty would argue “Advertising is saying more with less” leading me to the relevance of this post: 

The Magpie, a personal take

On a personal level the Magpie represents the darkest moments in my life, December 2014, London. I went through my first and hopefully last harrowing episode of Psychosis; a severe mental disorder in which thought and emotions are so impaired that contact is lost with external reality. In many cultures that episode would be described as a spiritual awakening, which makes sense given the experience I underwent and the battles i endured, am still endure and inevitably will fight and pray that I win! There I was at the beginning of the first term of the third and final year of university, which accounted to 100% of my degree. Passionate and ready to take on the world with each and every project thrown at me, I planned to apply every execution to a real world problem - i was adamant to make a change at the very least to my world, using everything in my power to effect change. To put my readers at rest, I managed to not only tame my demons but understand them and use them to my advantage in order to manoeuvre through life with my officiated diagnosis - I graduated with a 2:1, despite this crippling handicap. I won’t be explaining every thought and event that ensued as I reviled in the darkest depths in the chaos of my mind - one I hold dear is the countless sightings of a surprising amount of Magpies everywhere I went. It became my symbol of my moment of subjective reality for 3 months. I am an innately curious person, and so I researched the semiotics of the humble Magpie,as soon as the dust settled and i was able recoup, to better understand the occurrence - and maybe find out what it means, if anything at all.

Denotations of the Magpie

The Magpie is connected with a plethora of connotations, it’s best to define the denotations first; Magpies are birds of a Corvidae (Crow) family, including the black and Eurasian magpie, which is widely considered one of the most intelligent animals in the world. The only non mammal species able to recognise itself in the mirror test. Found in the temperature regions of Europe, Asia, western North America with populations also present in tibet and high elevation area of India and Pakistan. Magpies are believed to have evolved from a Jay-like ancestor and the 'pie' in Magpie and Treepie refers to the black and white or pied plumage of many of them. The common Magpie was originally known simply as 'the Pie', but in the 16th century the prefix Mag was added meaning 'chatterer'.The Magpie with its immaculate black and white plumage and green and blue gloss, is an unmistakable bird. In flight it can be easily distinguished by its long-tailed profile. In the open it flies, rising awkwardly, with quick flaps and glides - like a ragged kite. Among trees the species moves confidently, reflecting its agility. On the ground the tail is often held high as the bird 'kangaroo-hops' along. Both the European Magpies are highly social and tend to be found in small flocks outside the breeding season. Other species are usually found in pairs, or in small groups of 3 to 4. This applies to the Treepies as well. Large numbers of magpies gather in 'parliaments'. No one is entirely sure why, during the winter, these birds can gather in groups of up to 100. Gatherings possibly occur when a pair of magpies try to invade another pair's territory; the ensuing competition for breeding space may attract large numbers of magpie onlookers.

Cultural connotations of the Magpie as defined by www.druidry.org

China The Chinese traditionally see the magpie as a bird of good fortune, except if you kill one when misfortune will arrive. Magpie is a symbol of happiness in Chinese culture. The singing of a magpie foretells happiness and good luck. That's why it is called 'Happy Magpie' by Chinese people. The Manchu minority in Northeast China even regards magpies as sacred birds. Under the Manchu dynasty it also represented imperial rule. Legends concerning magpies are found in the historical records about Manchu. In both Chinese and Korean myths the Magpie Bridge joins the 3 bright stars of Aquila in the night sky, called the Cowherd, to Lyra, or the Spinning Damsel, across the river that is the Milky Way. This happens on the 7th night of the 7th moon.

Korea Koreans believed that magpies delivered good news and invited good people. The most famous painting related to a magpie is the one with striped tiger (ggach'i wha horangi minhwa): the magpie is happily chirping to a tiger. The magpie represented good news and the tiger symbolised good luck, since its pronunciation in Chinese sounds similar to good luck (bok). Another interpretation states that the magpie is the village spirit that announces good omens, and the tiger is the servant that does his bidding; another that the tiger is a yangban (aristocrat) and the magpie is the representative of the common people, scolding him for his insensitivity to their plight.

Mongolia The Magpie is a clever creature with control of the weather.

Germany In Germany the number of birds, according to tradition, indicated forthcoming events. One is viewed as unlucky; two brings merriment or marriage; three is a successful journey; four is good news and five indicates you should expect company.

France In Poitou there still lingers a trace of pie-worship: a bunch of heath and laurel is tied to the top of a high tree in honour of the magpie, because her chatter warns the people of the wolf's approach.

Scandinavia Under Christianity the same shift of superstition from lucky to unlucky occurred in Norse countries as across the rest of Europe. In old Norse mythology, Skadi (the daughter of a giant) was a priestess of the magpie clan. The black and white markings of the magpie were seen to represents sexual union, as well as male and female energies kept in balance. Later on in time, Scandinavians thought that magpies were sorcerers flying to unholy gatherings, and yet the nesting magpie was once considered a sign of luck in those countries.

Italy The Magpie features in a Rossini opera, ‘The Thieving Magpie’, or La Gazza Ladra. This opera tells the story of a pet magpie that steals shiny objects, resulting in an innocent servant almost being sent to the gallows after being accused of the magpie's crimes. The story echoes the common belief that magpies steal and hide shiny objects. In some countries it is thought to chatter in a way that sounds like human speech. For example, in Italy it is known as ‘gazza’, and has given its name to ‘gazetta’, the Italian for newspaper.

Greece It was sacred to Bacchus, the God of wine, so it became associated with intoxication.

Britain An old English tradition notes that if one magpie flies by, you should take your hat off and bow repeating this line : Morning/Afternoon Mr Magpie. How's Mrs Magpie and all the little Magpies? This will help assure your good luck throughout the day.

One seen flying or croaking around a house or sitting alone symbolises that misfortune is present. Should a flock of magpies suddenly abandon a nesting area then, like the crow and rook, death is present and hard times are ahead. To avoid bad luck it is said that taking your hat off to the passing birds will act as protection against darker forces. Perhaps these associations stem from the fact that it was the only bird that would not enter Noahs’ Ark preferring to stay outside. It is one of the very birds that also has black and white plumage, a combination of the sacred or holy colour (white) and of evil (black).

To have one perch on your roof though is supposed to indicate that the house will never fall down. According to tradition it would be best to rearrange a journey if you see just one. If one is seen on the way to church it signifies that death is present, hence some believe that it is best to cross yourself to ward off evil or negative energies whilst saying 'Devil, Devil, I defy thee'.

In Somerset, England it was once thought that to carry an onion at all times would provide protection against magpies.

In Scotland the magpie was once believed to carry a drop of the Devil's blood under its tongue which perhaps stems from another belief that the magpie was the only bird not to wear full mourning at the Crucifixion.

The following rhyme was popularised by a children's TV programme of the same name:

One for sorrow, two for joy, three for a girl, four for a boy, five for silver, six for gold and seven for a secret never to be told.

Legend also has it that when a magpie's mate dies it summons an assembly of other magpies at which the dead bird is honoured before a new mate is selected. In Celtic lore the bird was sacred to 'Magog.'

Australia The magpie is seen in a negative, aggressive light. This may be because the Australian Magpie is of the Shrike (an aggressive hunter) family rather than the Crow family.

Native American In general in Native American myth the Magpie is seen as the ally and helper of humans. They feature in legends from the Navaho, Blackfoot and Cheyenne

Magic Magpie: one of those clever birds that has shamanic qualities

Symbolism Related to the crow the magpie is an intelligent and adaptable bird. Ancient folklore associated with the magpie suggests that when two or more fly into one’s life good fortune is coming soon. Since magpies are opportunists and seldom miss a chance to get something for nothing, those with this medicine should pay attention to subtle omens that appear in their life then act accordingly so opportunities are not missed. The magpie asks us to wake up and be conscious in every area of our life.

Magpies are curious and have a reputation for stealing anything that they can carry away. They use whatever they find and teach us how to be resourceful. Magpie medicine people have the ability to succeed in life. Those with this totem are usually eclectic and able to draw on a variety of resources to assist them in their pursuits. Being able to adapt to different situations in a spontaneous way is one of the magpie’s strongest attributes. Those with this totem often find that their interests are varied which make master ship of any one thing difficult although not impossible.

Magpies are extremely vocal especially in groups. They help those with this medicine learn how to use their voice to attract attention, attain desired goals as well as acquire respect from others. This applies only if this medicine is developed sufficiently. Otherwise the voice and its expression may need improvement for positive results to be obtained. Proper communication is one of the lessons that needs to be learned by magpie medicine people.

Although many in the Norse tradition associate the Magpie with Skadi, because of the similarity of the name, I associate the Magpie with Loki's daughter Hel. Hel is described as having a face that is 'half blue-black and half flesh (or white) coloured' - like the Magpie's colouring. She rules the lowest of the Nine Worlds, at the base of Yggdrasil, as mistress of the chthonic mysteries. Like Asgardhr, Helheim (Hel's home) cannot be reached directly from Midgardhr - one must ‘ride over a bridge’, or travel between worlds with the aid of one´s fylgia (usually a totem or sacred animal or Soul Companion and Guide). The bridge to Helheim crosses the river Gjoll and it’s guarded by the giant Maiden Modgudh. As Bifrost is fiery and narrow, the bridge to Helheim is icy and wide.

Helheim is also called Niflhel, meaning Misty Hel or Dark Hel, which refers to the Goddess´ primary aspect of concealment. Hel borders very closely on the world Nifheimr; it is located down and to the North, and it is the implied location of the venom-filled halls, on Na Strand, and home of the dragon Niddhogg, embodiment of the concealed powers of destruction/transformation. Hel is the hidden root to which all things sink, as all the waters wend their way to Hvergelmir, and from which all things rise again. Although the realm of Hel is described as horrible in parts - the lifeless, lightless, joyless dwelling of the dead. It is written elsewhere that Hel is brightly bedecked and hospitable. She welcomes those who die of sickness, famine or old-age and even Balder resides there after his death. This dual nature can be seen in the figure of the goddess Hel herself: She is half a beautiful woman and half a corpse, her concealment both that of the womb and that of the tomb. Hel receives those souls who cannot struggle through to Valhalla, but in time, as her name Mother Holle suggests, she bears them forth again.

All of this tells us that the Magpie can be a double-edged sword. It requires mastery of your magpie spirit to achieve things, unmastered it will be self-destructive. Gossip, or uncontrolled chatter, and an unreasoning attraction to shiny things - be it materialistic objects, people or an inability to concentrate - spells danger just as oratory, or controlled chatter, concentration and the quick opportunistic observation can be used to devastating effect.

Tokens and Artwork The Magpie is difficult to find - both in the wild and your local shop! In Korea they appear in artwork and there is Monet's picture 'Magpie in winter' but other than that they are few and far between. Your best bet is to try and find a feather and wear it as a token just as the Cheyenne do.

The Tao Ying Yang amulet would also be a good token as the Ying-yang symbolises the black and white of the Magpie and it's the sort of bright thing that would attract them. The number 7 is a significant number for Magpie people.

Sacred Times Spring and Autumn - the black and white colour of the Magpie represents the balance between light and dark that occurs around the equinoxes. Also the high winds and changeable weather reminds us of the stormy change that the Magpie can bring into life. Dusk and dawn are the times to see Magpies and, much like the equinoxes, they are times when the balance between light and dark is equal.

The other time is dawn and dusk - a time when you are likely to see Magpie's cleaning the road.

The Magpie by Robert S. Warshow

I walked one day In the Garden of Wasted Things, And there I found The bitter ghosts of all that had been spent unwisely, Or lost through brutal circumstance. I found the childhood That some labourer's child had never known; I found the youth that some young man had squandered; There I found some poet's genius That had gone unrecognised. I saw the ghosts of idle words, And small talk, That men had used to waste away the hours. I saw the hopes that had been smothered, And all the dreams That never had come true, And Laughter that had died for lack of bread. I met with all the lives that had been misdirected, And spoke with dreary shades Of loves that might have been, And songs that never had been sung. I met with all these ghosts, And many more; And each of them Sat silently in the shadows, Brooding over quirks of mad Creation, And puppets' dreams.

Once again there aren't many traditional songs or chants that can be used to invoke Magpie. I often use the trance method (as mentioned below) to fly across the otherworld.

Prophecy and Divination You can use the traditional nursery rhyme:

One for sorrow, Two for joy, Three for a girl, Four for a boy, Five for Silver, Six for Gold Seven for a secret never to be told

Or

One for sorrow, Two for mirth, Three for a wedding, Four for a birth. Five for rich, Six for poor, Seven for a witch -- I can tell you no more.

For other tools things like mirrors that contain both dark and light, or other shiny objects would attract the Magpie spirit.

Dreamwork In dreams the Magpie will signify opportunities coming into your life. The number seen will help signify what you should expect.

Magic Circles When drawing the circle dress yourself in black and white and try alternate leg hopping (or visualisations as mentioned in trance below). You can dress in formal wear, a black bowler hat and tailcoat, with your thumbs in your waistcoat (just like in the old films), then bend yourself double, spread your arms out, spread your fingers wide and swoop round the circle to get that magpie feeling.

Trance I find that visualising the Magpie's movement, the way it hops, flexes its tail and flies is the key to trance work. The brightness of its beady eye will draw you in… If you have a magpie spirit guide, once you get used to the visualisation, it becomes a hop, hop, fly to shift into the magpie.

Healing

Fairy of the Magpie Bridge, Poem by Qin Guan (Translation by Kylie Hsu)

Among the beautiful clouds, Over the heavenly river, Crosses the weaving maiden. A night of rendezvous, Across the autumn sky, Surpasses joy on earth. Moments of tender love and dream, So sad to leave the magpie bridge. Eternal love between us two, Shall withstand the time apart.

The Magpie is a strong healer for relationships, particularly those emotional hurts. In Chinese legend a bridge of Magpie's is used for two star-crossed lovers to meet. It is the magpie's faithfulness to their partners and families which you can invoke to send a message to the Gods. Try burning this poem or a drawing of the magpie with incense to speed the message on its way.

Protection - Haiku by DaRC

Magpie meal awaits: Fast car - country lane - danger, Fawn dead on roadside.

Magpie's are excellent protectors and will call out their 'Caw, caw, caw' warning. So in that way forewarned is forearmed. They are also masters of evasion - often using the two of them to do the old 'one-two' on any opponent.

Invoke the Australian magpie for the fearless, aggressive aspect especially when protecting friends or family.

Conclusion

The system of Semiology is malleable, as illustrated by the misuse of the Swastika and the controversial definitions of the magpie. As is branding and the the definition of my creative personal brand, that this essay aims to define. It’s only been a couple of months since I began to openly speak about my experiences with my mental illness - no doubt with the help of Mental Illness Awareness week and many other organisations that have worked to shed light on the matter of mental health. Many of my family and friends and random people i have met have begun to be more understanding of the many conditions that many people are going through. I have accepted it as a part of me, as it has been ever since i could remember before I was officially diagnosed. That being said my mental illness is only a part of my over all eclectic identity as a person and a creative. It has changed and changed me since 2014 and taming my demons has made me stronger and appreciative of the experience - in that i can help others defeat their demons with an empathetic ear, while navigating this world as a divine being in the human experience. What it also means to me as a Creative is to remain steadfast to my Truths and the pursuits there of, to remain undefined or to embrace and not be constricted by the many confusions of connotations that it represents widely. I have taken the magpie as my logo for the reasons stated above, refusing to be pigeon holed or strictly specialising in one Creative discipline. 

In order of most experience in years and works - (Fine) Artist, Art Director, Designer, Photographer, UI/UX - all of these disciplines compliment every idea and can have a part to be in every project that I undertake. I refuse to undertake a sole specialty as it constricts my view of the bigger picture, to go the whole nine yards and further still above and beyond, finesse in execution! 

[windycityparrot]

Why How Intelligent Are Birds and Parrots Will Make You Question Everything

Recently Science magazine ran an article entitled "Parrots, songbirds pack more neurons into their forebrains than most mammals" Now some scientists are saying that birds are way more intelligent than we ever thought because they somehow counted the total number of forebrain neurons - with soup (we'll get to that in a bit)! The study, published online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, found that 28 bird species have more neurons in their pallial telencephalons, the brain region responsible for higher level learning, than mammals with similar-sized brains. Parrots and songbirds in particular packed in the neurons, with parrots (like the African grey parrot) ranging from 227 million to 3.14 billion, and songbirds—including the notoriously intelligent crow—from 136 million to 2.17 billion. That’s about twice as many neurons as primates with brains of the same mass and four times as many as rodent brains of the same mass. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0E1Wny5kCk The count was accomplished using something called brain soup (you can't make this stuff up) made by dissolving dissected bird brains in a detergent solution. This allowed them to literally count approximately how many neurons occupied a certain region of the brain. The regions they focused on were portions that allow birds to make tools, plan for the future, learn new songs and mimic human speech. Surprisingly it was discovered the neurons were much much smaller than expected as well as shorter and tighter connections between the cells. They're (the scientists) are not sure if these neurons were just small or shrank through evolution in order to keep the birds light enough for flight. File under correlation does not necessarily imply to causation Some scientists report that because they know how many neurons belong to different brains they can state more brain equals more cognition. Thus if neurons generate conscious cognition, does having more neurons mean more cognitive capabilities? It is actually now believed that cognitive capabilities are no longer exclusive to humans but that cognitive differences lie between humans and other animals to a degree. In other words they are not qualitative they are quantitative differences. We know that chimpanzees and monkeys use tools like twigs and rakes to dig for termites and reach food that is out of sight. Not surprisingly crows can make tools out of wire (shapes) to get food, they put the tools away where they can find them to be used again. Alex the African grey could produce words that symbolized objects. Birds seem to know what other birds are thinking about  like magpies (members of the corvid family) who will bury food with other birds looking and then move it to another location (caching)  once the flock has moved on and no other birds are watching - (we'll talk about this more below). Magpies seem to actually recognize themselves in a mirror and will use the mirror to self inspect the mark that humans have placed on their heads, below the beak. Birds have something called the nidopallium, meaning nested pallium. It is the region of the avian brain that is used mostly for some types of executive functions but also for other higher cognitive tasks. Without getting very technical, we know that the nidopallium governs migration and during migration spatial sensory stimuli actually grows making the birds smarter in real time - something called neuroplasticity A small bird call the scrub jay, aka blue jay of the west (also a member of the corvid family which includes crows, ravens and magpies) will move its food, usually worms to any number of hiding places. This behavior is called recaching.

Many researchers have assumed this behavior indicates subtle social intelligence. Others like  PhD student Elske van der Vaart believe this is simply due to stress. Personally , I think the scrub jay is pretty slick because if it observes other birds viewing it, as it puts its worms in the ground, it keeps moving them (recaching) repeatedly like it's trying to cause confusion in the minds of the other birds (like they are spying). Once the other birds leave, the scrub jay moves the worms one more time. This behavior appears to indicate that the scrub jay is very special, having abilities that we normally see in humans and maybe some monkeys. Ms. Van der Vaart and her team feel that this behavior has nothing to do with intelligence but stress. In other words the scrub jay knows from experience that its own worms are best kept as far away as possible from the rest of the flock. She goes on to relate that the bird is just stressed about its potential supply of worms and because it moved them so many times it begins to lose track of where the burial places are. This then stresses the bird out further, all this to bury and move, bury and move - more worms. The caveat here is that this theory was created with a “corvid computer model” that she (Van der Vaart) designed for studying corvid memory and corvid learning behavior. Personally I think the birds are pretty smart. Let's take another look at corvid behavior in Japan from this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGPGknpq3e0 Pigeons have been used by the military for centuries not just for their homing abilities but for their cognitive abilities. We talk about how 1/2 million homing pigeons helped us win World War II but after that the military experimented with them from search and rescue https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOkpvEZ-p2k experimenting with using them as ballistic missile guides: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vIbZB6rNLZ4 In spite of their incredible accuracy versus humans, the military felt that reliance on 50 years of man made machines and electronics research was superior to 50 million years of avian evolution. From Wikipedia: ‘In the 1970s, on the Li River, Pamela Egremont observed fishermen who allowed the birds (cormorants) to eat every eighth fish they caught. Writing in the Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, she reported that, once their quota of seven fish was filled, the birds "stubbornly refused to move again until their neck ring was loosened. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNEplaYZtpI They ignore an order to dive and even resist a rough push or a knock, sitting glum and motionless on their perches." Meanwhile, other birds that had not filled their quotas continued to catch fish as usual. "One is forced to conclude that these highly intelligent birds can count up to seven," she wrote. End Wikipedia: Many birds illustrate they have the ability to make tools. Woodpecker finches use sticks to impale grubs. Cockatoos make long objects (tools) to retrieve food from otherwise unattainable source https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBQpqtbxplQ A laboratory crow named "Betty" improvised a hooked tool from a wire with no prior experience In the video below tens of thousands (millions?) of budgies act as a single organic object to find food using scouting parties to branch off and report back. Small groups exchange information about food sources an quality. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wyfCMrqitWI In this video enough starlings to block the sun work in tandem to avoid capture by a single Peregrine falcon. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3w90X92pDSs Hawks flying horizontally through heavy forest at 60 miles an hour are able to avoid collision because of their expectation that there is always an "out" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2CFckjfP-1E&t=3s We can continue with anecdotal and scientific observations but one thing is clear. In that birds have been evolving 100 fold longer than humans, they still have a lot to teach us. written by mitch rezman approved by catherine tobsing your zygodacty footnote via GIPHY Click to Post