If you have ever seen Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds, you may have acquired reason to be fearful of blackbirds. The movie is a classic thriller about a wealthy socialite who pursues a potential boyfriend in a small California town. It all turns quite scary and bizarre when birds of all kinds start attacking people. When asked, most people will be apt to tell you they were all blackbirds, mainly due to cultural beliefs about them as omens. So, of course, if something is about birds and thrillers together, the birds in question must be blackbirds. Unfortunately, humans are not always rational. With Halloween approaching, it feels like the perfect time to talk about these curious creatures and offer a different perspective.

I find blackbirds to be quite intriguing. They aren’t social like chickadees or have a stunning, eye-catching color like blue jays or cardinals. Still, I agree with the English author Joseph Addison, who said, “I value my garden more for being full of blackbirds than of cherries, and very frankly give them fruit for their song.” Ironically perhaps, I have a cherry tree that the blackbirds descend on after the second or third freeze and proceed to pick clean.

Blackbirds are ambassadors who teach us about community. They arrive in flocks of several to hundreds. They seem to enjoy each other’s company, whether picking clean a cherry tree or a bird feeder or meticulously pecking at the ground. When they seem to be finished or startled, they take off all together in a big flourish and fluttering wings that sound somewhat like the rumble of a soft drum. They seem like happy birds without care that humans may think they are scary.

While some people think blackbirds are an omen, Shamans regard the blackbird as a symbol of intelligence, a harbinger of change, a spiritual messenger, and a mystery. Blackbirds, such as crows, can see from great distances and warn others of danger, or even, as in my case each morning that fresh food has been set out. Do you know that crows are not entirely black, even though human eyes think they are? Their plumage consists of purple, green, and blue. During mating season in the spring, the blue sheen of the male crow is exceptionally bright to attract females. Other male blackbirds are brown-black, and the females are smaller and have speckled breasts.

I know spring has arrived when I hear the male blackbirds sing through the treetops to establish their territory. They are protective of their family, sometimes even dive-bombing humans who come too close to their nests. If you observe a blackbird long enough, you will see that they tend to stretch their wings and legs. They cock their heads one way and then another as though taking stock of everything around them. From this behavior, we can learn it’s wise to have movement, stretch our bodies throughout the day, and be observant.

Crows are mysterious pairings with those up to mischief, but remember, not everything is as it seems.

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