It’s easy for mythical birds to capture the imagination, whether it’s the phoenix rising from the ashes, or Aethon eternally pecking Prometheus’ liver. And let’s not forget Odin with his ravens, Huginn and Muninn, or Memory and Thought. In Norse myth, they travelled out into the world and flew back to Odin to report on…

Humans have found a whole range of uses for birds over the centuries. Hunting with them, keeping them for their song, using them for food or divination – and because some of them are uncommonly pretty. Look at the magnificent peacock with its elaborate tail, or the sweet little goldfinch with its black and red…

James Wright (Triskele Heritage), is an award winning buildings archaeologist. He has two decades professional experience of ferreting around in people’s cellars, hunting through their attics and digging up their gardens. He hopes to find meaningful truths about how ordinary and extraordinary folk lived their lives in the mediaeval period. James is the author of…

It’s often easy to overlook what we see every day, or at least regularly. Perhaps that’s why we overlook our humble garden birds in favour of majestic eagles or mischievous ravens as our favourite birds. Yet the commonality of these small, yet often noisy, birds explains why there is a comparative dearth of folklore about…

Birds of prey have an interesting relationship to humans, having been both competing predators and avian companions for leisure pursuits. They’ve provided omens through the practice of augury, or divination by flight pattern. They appear in heraldic badges or become associated with deities in mythology. But they also have links with ordinary people who shared…

Thersa Matsuura, an American author living in Japan, explores lesser-known aspects of Japanese culture, folklore, superstitions, and myths. Fluent in Japanese, she uses her research to write stories and for her podcast Uncanny Japan. She’s also the author of The Book of Japanese Folklore, which explores a range of spirits, monsters, and yokai for Japanese…