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The Folklore of Birds by Edward A. ArmstrongReview by: Mary HilgersNotre Dame English Journal, Vol. 7, No. 2 (Spring, 1972), pp. 66-67Published by: The University of Notre DameStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40066587 .

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THE FOLKLORE OF BIRDS, By Edward A. Armstrong, Second edition, revised and enlarged with 159 il- lustrations. New York: Dover Publications, 1970. 284 pp. , paperback, $3.50.

66 THE NOTRE DAME ENGLISH JOURNAL

The subtitle of this work, AN ENQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND DISTRIBUTION OF SOME MAG 10- RELIGIOUS TRADITIONS, identifies it as a book for the anthro- pologist rather than for the orthinologist. In his Preface, the author states: "The unsound be- liefs about birds are much more significant to the folklorist than exact natural history. fl

(p.xii) Armstrong's study can be used as a supplement to THE GOLDEN BOUGH, for it traces the lore and super- stitions connected with the various types of birds, a subject which Frazer does not treat ex- tensively. The range of this study is limited by neither time nor place. The result is an overview of birdlore which is more selective than ex- haustive.

The student of literature may find this work valuable in tracing to its folklore origins an al- lusion to a particular bird. In his chapter on the raven, for example, Armstrong records the widespread beliefs among some peoples that this bird portends death, the notions among the Germans regarding the raven as the messenger between God and men, the old legends of men transformed into the bird, and the various associations between the raven and water.

The book is arranged conveniently, with each chapter devoted to a particular bird or to a cer- tain group of birds. There are three indices to facilitate locating information in the text. A feature of the work, too, is the extensive bibli- ography, which Armstrong has supplemented in this second edition. A major drawback of this study is

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BOOK REVIEWS 67

its lack of complete documentation. The few notes which the author provides for each chapter cannot account for the vast amount of information he has assembled within that section. Where one would desire precise documentation, including psge num- bers from the work cited, Armstrong refers only to the author.

Dispersed throughout the text of the work is a generous amount of illustration: photographs, maps, and drawings. Integral, not supplementary, to the study, these illustrations also make the book inviting browsing, even for one who may not be a lover of the feathered flocks*

Mary Hilgers, 0. ?•

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