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

Can you name five Christmas carols that mention birds? The first one that sprang to my mind was “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” in which birds are given as several of the gifts. Mike has done such a thorough job with this song over at 10,000 Birds that I’ll just point you to his post rather than say more myself: Birds Of The Twelve Days Of Christmas.

Several other carols feature birds, but unfortunately, they are rather obscure. One of these is “Whence Comes This Rush of Wings?” (or “Carol of the Birds”), which originated in the Bas-Quercy region of France. I’ve adapted the score for three men’s voices and sung it, presenting the recording here as my Christmas gift to you: carolofthebirds.mp3 (1.24 MB, 1:21 duration).

The lyrics and score are available on a scan from hymnsandcarolsofchristmas.com: Whence Comes This Rush of Wings? French lyrics (with a literal English translation) are available here. Evidently the third verse, which mentions the greenfinch and philomel (nightingale), was not part of the original French carol.

Another carol in which birds come to sing for the Baby Jesus is “The Friendly Beasts” (or “(The) Gifts They Gave”):

“I,” said the dove from the rafters high,
“Cooed Him to sleep that He should not cry;
We cooed Him to sleep, my mate and I.”
“I,” said the dove from the rafters high.

More…

Several different songs are known in English as “Carol of the Birds.” One, as mentioned above, originated in France. Another “Carol of the Birds” was sung first in Catalan, a Romance language spoken mainly in Spain and Andorra:

Upon this holy night,
When God’s great star appears,
And floods the earth with brightness
Birds’ voices rise in song
And warbling all night long
Express their glad hearts’ lightness
Birds’ voices rise in song
And warbling all night long
Express their glad hearts’ lightness

The Nightingale is first
To bring his song of cheer,
And tell us of His gladness:
“Jesus, our Lord, is born
To free us from all sin
And banish ev’ry sadness!
Jesus, our Lord is born
To free us from all sin
And banish ev’ry sadness!”

Full Catalan and English lyrics. (Warning: This page will make you squint.)
Alternate English lyrics.

Yet another “Carol of the Birds” features owls, cuckoos, pigeons, and onomatopoeia, and it comes in English and Irish flavors. (You’ll have to scroll down a bit after following each link.)

Not to be outdone, the Australians have produced their own “Carol of the Birds,” and I really like it:

Out on the plains the brolgas are dancing
Lifting their feet like warhorses prancing
Up to the sun the woodlarks go winging
Faint in the dawn light echoes their singing
Orana! Orana! Orana to Christmas Day.

More (including midis)…
About the song.

And with that, we conclude our “Birds of Christmas” series this year. You can access the other posts under “related posts” below. Maybe we’ll continue the series next year (send in your ideas!), but until then…

Merry Christmas!

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

Hopefully, we are all sending at least some of our greetings electronically these days to help reduce the millions of pounds of paper used each year for Christmas cards. But what to do with all of your old cards? Well, they do make nice holiday decorations (especially those with birds, of course), and others can be recycled.

Of all the cards I looked through while compiling this post, cardinals and white doves were by far the most commonly depicted birds.

In addition to the peace dove, this card displays four species very familiar in wintry backyards across eastern North America: Northern Cardinal, White-throated Sparrow, Black-capped/Carolina Chickadee, and Blue Jay.

Twenty-eight state birds decorate an evergreen tree on this card from the National Wildlife Federation. Every state bird is represented; 28 is the number of birds once all the duplicates have been removed. Northern Cardinal, for instance, is the state bird in seven states, and Western Meadowlark holds the honor in six.

Two birds add their voices to a musician’s melody on this little card from Spain. “I’m sending this little friend of mine to bring you my very warm greetings from Spain,” wrote the sender. “December, 1973.”

A swatch of Indonesian batik fabric colors the Christmas dove on this card from Jakarta. “Selamat Hari Natal,” it reads inside, “Merry Christmas & Season’s Greeting.”

A small black-and-white bird is one of the woodland creatures gathered around the Christmas tree on this card, which was hand-embroidered in Switzerland. Does anyone familiar with European birds know whether it represents a real species?

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

Nothing says Christmas quite like a cardinal, particularly when he’s matched with an evergreen and some snow. Sure enough, the USPS released a stylized portrait of North America’s beloved “redbird” on a holiday stamp in 1994 (more on the stamp).

I believe the dove from George Washington’s weather vane was the first bird to be featured on a US Christmas stamp. This 1974 issue made history in another way as well: It was the first self-adhesive US stamp (more on the stamp).

Ah yes, where would we be without the partridge in the pear tree? Despite the extravagant tail feathers, the bird in this painting looks like a Chukar (Alectoris chukar) to me. Chris Gibbins, of the fabulous bird-stamps.org, also calls it a Chukar (more on the stamp).

Wait, is that a bird the child is holding in the painting (more on the stamp)?

Yes, and here’s another depiction of the Christ child holding a bird. Intrigued by the apparent symbolism, I did some research tonight and discovered that in religious art, the European Goldfinch foreshadows Christ’s Passion because of its fondness for spiny thistles. The bird can be seen more clearly on this page: Madonna of the Goldfinch (more on the stamp).

Peruvian artist Ignacio Chacón is credited with Madonna and Child with Bird, the painting featured on this year’s traditional Christmas stamp. According to the USPS, Chacón’s use of the bird in this image drew on ancient Inca beliefs to indicate divinity.

GREENE CO., MO. — I went walking well after dark, when most of the neighbors were sealed up tightly in their boxes and a chilly wind roamed the quiet streets.

Why? Oh, I wanted to see the light displays, and to feel the cool night air. And I hoped I would hear an owl, but I did not.

I didn’t realize until the day was almost gone that this is winter solstice. That means that Search and Serendipity is two years old today. The blog itself is not that old, but two years ago on the winter solstice, I began a project: to write about the birds I encountered over the next solar year.

The project soon floundered because I didn’t have an audience — and because the spring semester roared to life soon after. But three months later as I watched a singing cowbird, I had what I thought was a revolutionary idea. I should write a blog about birds! And so a few days later, I began. I decided to put up the entries I’d written earlier in the solar year, for after all, the solstice made a good beginning.

Two years ago on the solstice, I wondered what life after college would bring. I couldn’t have imagined then that of the next 24 months, I would spend nearly half in a nation called PNG.

And now the solstice has come again. A new year has begun.

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

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.

Do you see what I see?

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.

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