Birds in Marine Superstition

Anyone who regularly traverses the world’s oceans knows there’s often not much to see out there, unless you love beautiful sunsets, wild storms or massive waves. Once one tires of these spectacles (and surprisingly, some do), the monotony is usually broken by a seabird drifting by, riding the winds in search of food.

Superstition is an interesting part of our culture and is used to explain the unexplainable. Sailors are particularly superstitious and have linked birds to good and bad fortune over the years. Some of these are hilarious!

So let’s look at some of the beliefs sailors have held and hold about birds at sea. In a general sense, one should never harm a bird at sea (or otherwise) as birds are believed to bring good fortune. When seabirds fly towards the land, a windstorm is at hand. If you see a flock of birds flying to your left, just before you leave on a journey, stay home, but if they’re to your right, you’ll have a great trip. A bird which flies into a ship’s cabin foretells an important message. However, if the bird dies, or is white, this foreshadows death. Not sure if this one also applies to ships, as often birds landing on ships are generally deemed to be a favourable thing.

While the appearance of albatrosses, near a ship, predicts a storm is brewing, albatrosses were thought to carry the souls of dead sailors. Killing one surely would bring bad fortune and bad weather. Those aboard a ship, where one of the crew killed an albatross, could only be saved if they tied the bird’s carcass around the murderer’s neck, then lashed him to the mainmast, where he stayed, without the benefit of food or drink, until the storm ended. It is believed, an albatross following a ship protects it, as if sailors from the past, in the form of the bird, are watching over the ship and crew.

If you kill a gull (remember Dave Winfield of the Toronto Blue Jays), particularly a Herring Gull, you’ll assuredly go blind, as they are the souls of the dead. Seeing three gulls flying together, directly overhead, is also a fatal omen, similar to coming across a cormorant floating immobile on the water; these are sure signs of bad weather or death. If a gull flies against the window of a sailor’s house, then the sailor will soon die. Bringing a swan aboard a ship was deemed bad fortune, as it was thought they were related to the albatrosses. However, it is said, if a swan lays its head and neck across its body, on its back, during the daytime, it means a storm is coming. Not sure who has swans at their disposal to even bring to the ship.

Suspending a kingfisher, by a string through its beak, will tell the direction of the wind, as the bird will always turn to face it. Wow, who thought of this one, and who was the first to test this strange theory?

Having a wren around will prevent one from drowning. On the other hand, the feather of a wren, killed on New Year’s Day, will protect a sailor from drowning. Doesn’t do much for the wren, though. I wonder what happens if you kill one on another day of the year? Oh yeah, the eco-police will come and get you, as wrens are protected. Wait. Here’s one more – if you touch a wren’s nest, you will get pimples. At last, an explanation for acne!

Storm Petrels, or “tempest birds,” are small seabirds, considered living forms of the souls of deceased sailors, so they cannot be harmed. Seeing a swallow at sea is thought to bring good fortune, but seeing a penguin is not, hmmm, that kind of complicates your trip to the Antarctic, doesn’t it? So there you have it, now you can travel safely!

Geoff Carpentier is a published author, expedition guide and environmental consultant. Visit Geoff on LinkedIn and Facebook.