Ornithography: An Illustrated Information to Hen Lore & Symbolism (Quantity 2) (Hidden Languages)

Wonderful
Such a wonderful book. So glad I decided to order it. I love the bird lore and the pictures. I loved it so much I decided to order the book on the flora lore. Can’t wait to read that one.

Beautifully illustrated
I am a fan of this illustrator. I also have her tarot deck and calendar. And I love them. I am a picture book illustrator, and I know how difficult drawing and painting birds is. Jessica Roux does a fantastic job using an earth-tone palette for her subjects. The book serves as a quick reference for bird symbology, and it indeed stirs the imagination of any writer or illustrator.

I love the illustrations
It wasn’t until I read this book that I thought about how integral birds are to our folklore, mythology and history. We know the story of the ugly duckling and we want to be as happy as a lark. Birds feature in religious texts and literature. They warn us of danger, inspire us and feature in tales of morality.There were many connections I’ve never made before. One that stood out to me was Peter denying Jesus in the lead up to His crucifixion and weathercocks.“In the ninth century, Pope Nicholas I decreed that a rooster be placed atop every church in Europe as a reminder of this betrayal. Because weather vanes were already present on many church steeples, roosters were added to the devices, creating the now ubiquitous “weathercock.” The oldest surviving weathercock, the Gallo di Ramperto, was installed around the year 820 atop the bell tower of a church in Brescia, Italy.”My favourite entry was the Māori legend relating to the kiwi, which I had heard before but appreciated more with this reading.“Tāne Mahuta, the father of the forest, discovered that insects were eating his trees and making them ill. He called upon his brother, Tāne Hokahoka, the god of the birds, for help. Together, they asked if a bird would come down from the sky and live on the forest floor to eat the destructive insects. Only the brave kiwi agreed. Although he knew this meant he would never fly again, he chose to protect the forest.”With a focus on America and Europe, most of the birds I’ve come across weren’t included. There were even some birds I’d never heard of before. That didn’t make the book any less entertaining, although I’m keen to learn the stories behind the birds I know.The cover image, which is what initially drew me to the book, is indicative of the illustrations you’ll find accompanying the information about the one hundred birds you’ll meet within its pages. I particularly liked the details that line up with the lore of that bird, for example, the skull pictured with the owl.Thank you so much to NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for the opportunity to read this book.

Beautiful book!
I’ve recently gotten into birds and I love Jessica Roux’s work, so I immediately pre-ordered this. The illustrations are gorgeous and the associated facts are unique and interesting to read. This would make a great gift for any bird enthusiast!

Muy bonito

“While augury is no longer common practice, and we don’t have a “language of birds” as standardized as the Victorian language of flowers, we can look to folklore, mythology and history for insight into the symbolism associated with our feathered friends.”Ornithography is a very beautiful little book. In its pages, a hundred birds are pictured. For each of them, the meaning, the elements of lore and a gorgeous illustration.Each entry is short, and you might want to do some deeper research afterwards, as meaning often varies depending on cultures, but I loved that form. While turning the pages, or using the index, you can find the information you want. While creating a bestiary, I found it was a very useful tool, helping me to narrow my research to a couple of birds.This book will please people who like beautiful books, those who like birds and/or lore, as much as people like writers or artists who would want to quickly find a symbol to use in their work. As for me, it has now a spot on my desk for quick access.One regret, though. I wish the author would have put the references she used together at the end of the book. I would have helped further research.