California News

13 Bird Superstitions

In honor of Friday the 13th, here are 13 bird superstitions. Have you heard of any others?
By Daniela Ogden
Marketing and Communications Manager
Published July 13, 2012
This article is from Audubon California . Audubon has 31 conservation action centers and more than 500 community and campus chapters across the U.S. serving local communities. Find your local center or chapter here.

  1. If a bird poops on your head it is a sign of good luck.

  2. Don't become a sailor if you kill an albatross, as superstition states you will get lost at sea (we just think you shouldn't on principle).

  3. It is good luck if a blackbird makes a nest on your house.

  4. If you see 5 crows, sickness will follow; see 6 crows and death will follow.

  5. To avoid bad luck tip your hat if you see a magpie.

  6. Whatever you do to a robin will happen to you, so be nice!

  7. It is bad luck to see an owl during the day.

  8. A kingfisher is a very lucky bird.

  9. Three seagulls flying together, directly overhead, are a warning of death soon to come.

  10. Sparrows carry the souls of the dead, it's unlucky to kill one (again, we think killing any birds is wrong).

  11. When a swan lays its head and neck back over its body during the daytime it means a storm is coming.

  12. Having a wren around will prevent one from drowning.

  13. A bird that flies into a house foretells an important message. However, if the bird dies, or is white, this foretells death.