Flights of Fancy: Birds in Myth and Legend

Tate, Peter

ISBN 10: 1905211619 / ISBN 13: 9781905211616

Published by Random House Books, 2007

About this Item

Seller Inventory # U9781905211616

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Flights of Fancy: Birds in Myth and Legend
• Publisher: Random House Books
• Publication Date: 2007
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1905211619
• ISBN 13: 9781905211616
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: 1780918172.
• Condition: Very Good
• Dust Jacket Condition: 16460525
• Signed: 6/8/2026 11:29:32 AM
• Seller catalogs:
  • 3
  • U
  • 9781905211616

About this title

Synopsis

A beguiling collection of myths, legends and superstitions attached to birds.

Throughout history, birds have fascinated and intrigued mankind, so it isn’t surprising that a rich body of myth, legend and superstition has grown around them. Flights of Fancy explores the stories surrounding approximately thirty of the world’s best-known species, from the blackbird to the wryneck, drawing on traditions from every quarter of the globe. The vast majority of these stories seem to have their origin in people’s delight in inventing stories — whether the legend that the blackbird was originally white, or the suggestion that witches kept owls as their familiars.

As Peter Tate points out, what is so extraordinary is that the same story often crops up in many different parts of the world: the belief that eagles and snakes are sworn enemies can be found as far apart as Iraq and Mexico; the view that the raven is the harbinger of bad luck can be found throughout Europe from Denmark to Spain.

Flights of Fancy is a fascinating and entertaining read, the ideal book for anyone interested in birds or myths — or both.

About the Author

Peter Tate has published several books on ornithology, including Bird, Men and Books: A Literary History of Ornithology and A Century of Bird Books.