« Grenada Dove’s existence threatened by sale of park | Solstice means beginnings »

Thursday, December 21, 2006, 12:34 am

Birds of Christmas: The Crèche

GREENE CO., MO. — Part two of a series in which I set out explore some of the ways that birds help us celebrate Christmas.

061221a

Birds do not figure prominently into most depictions of the nativity; they are often excluded in favor sheep, cattle, donkeys, or camels. Of eight or nine manger scenes on display in my parents’ home, I found birds present in three, like the dove nestled in the rafters here.

061221b

Do you see what I see?

061221c

Not a nativity, you say? This image by Ohio painter Jim Glover is said to depict a Barn Owl peering down into the manger on that first Christmas night.

061221d

A tiny wooden bird sings from the roof of this German crèche.

One Response to “Birds of Christmas: The Crèche”

  1. on 25 Dec 2007 at 11:28 pm 1.Search and Serendipity: A Birder’s Blog » Owls, Christmas birds, New Guinea birds said …

    [...] let’s not forget the many ways birds help us celebrate Christmas: The Tree, The Crèche, The Stamps, The Cards, andThe [...]

Trackback This Post | Subscribe to the comments through RSS Feed

Leave a Reply