People tend to see a lot of symbolism in birds. Throw a bird into an encounter, and suddenly people get the notion that there is meaning somewhere… even if there isn’t. What is great about birds is that you can throw one ANYWHERE there is air to breathe and it won’t be considered impossible. The deepest caves? Might have been a pet bird or something similar to a mine canary. Middle of a stone keep? A wild one could signal that there is an opening from which to escape. The climate doesn’t matter; there are even birds today that get thrown off course and end up in places that they’ve never been seen before.

Birds have been useful to mankind for many years, for both their meat and their eggs. Their feathers and hollow bones have also been turned into tools for humans. Even their feces are found valuable by some industries. Their power of flight and their songs have inspired humanity and helped promote awareness of the world at large.

These next few articles will be about our avian friends—what is useful about them, how they can be incorporated in gaming, and the neat little aspects that can color a setting and make it more interesting. This first article is just an overview of birds in general; we’ll get more into detail as we go.

Type of Birds

Note: They are, for the most part, listed by most primitive to most evolved. This is for gamemasters that want to keep their setting more in the past or want to “monsterize” certain avian species. Also, I have changed some groupings as opposed to scientists; for example, Old World Vultures are classified as raptors scientifically, but I separated them out into their own group, carrion-eaters, for RPG setting information. Also, orders that have no well-known entries were skipped. I know, I’m mean.

The Primitive Birds: Some birds are considered more reptilian and primitive than others. Included in this group are the flightless birds, such as the living ostrich (Africa), Emu (Australia), Cassowaries (New Guinea), Rheas (South America), Kiwi (New Zealand), and other extinct birds like the Moa (New Zealand), and Elephant bird (Madagascar). The tinamous (Central and South America) are also primitive due to the structure of the jaw, but are capable of poor flight, much like chickens.

Waterfowl: Ducks, Geese, Swans, etc. All are web-footed and highly adapted to water. A fourth closely related group from South America are called “screamers” and may be the perfect solution for a vicious monster name in a campaign.

Fowl: Heavyset ground feeders often used for hunting and/or eating. Includes chickens, turkey, grouse, quails, ptarmigan, and pheasant, as well as a set of large mound-builders from South America and the Caribbean called guans, curassows, and chachalacas.

Water Birds: Many avian species exist off the sea and waterways and can be expected in ocean or freshwaters settings. These include Shorebirds (gulls, plovers, snipes, terns, puffins, as well as the grasslands sandpiper), Divers (Loons and Grebes), Seabirds (Albatrosses, Petrals and Shearwaters), Penguins (all native to the southern hemisphere), Pelicans (also cormorants, boobies, and frigatebirds), Tropicbirds (which hover and dive for food), Waders (Or long-legged birds, such as storks, herons, egrets, ibises, flamingoes, and cranes), and Kingfishers.

Carrion-Eaters: These creatures are known for their disturbing nature of ripping into rotting carcasses. The New World vultures include the condors. The raptorial Buzzards and Old World Vultures have had a long history of being scary signs of impending death.

Raptors: Also called Birds of Prey, these creatures are known for their sharply hooked beak, soaring wings, and raptorial claws. The group includes falcons, kestrels, ospreys, eagles, hawks, kites, and the secretary bird.

Doves: Edible as squab, known for their interactions with humans, and includes the dodo, known for being extinct.

Parrots: Many brightly colored tropical birds are known for their higher intelligence and capabilities.

Cuckoos: Includes the roadrunner, oddly enough, as well as a set of “go-away” birds known for their loud alarm calls.

Night Birds: Mostly nocturnal hunters (the northern hawk owl is an exception) that have figured into human legend for centuries. Includes owls, nightjars, and nighthawks.

The Footless Birds: They have feet, but they are almost never seen. Known for their small size and quick flight, this group includes the hummingbird, swifts, and tree swifts.

Tree Climbers: Mostly insectivorous with a few exceptions, these birds are built to perch comfortably on the sides of trees. Almost all nest in tree cavities and include toucans, woodpeckers, barbets, honeyguides, and puffbirds. Trogons: Also called Tree-nibblers, these birds don’t peck so much as gnaw holes in the sides of trees. Includes trogons and quetzals and all live in the tropics.

Mousebirds: Seen almost exclusively in Africa, they are considered living fossils as their lineage evolved elsewhere.

Perching Birds/Songbirds: Called passerines, the songbirds make up more than half of the bird species. This grouping includes everything from lyrebirds and wrens to corvids and robins.

Interesting Behaviors

Migration: Many birds migrate, sometimes over long distances, using a variety of techniques, including sun navigation, stellar compasses, internal clocks, and possibly geomagnetism sensors. This ability would be useful as a skill or talent in the gaming world, and can be used to introduce adventure or explain things like ley lines.

Communication: Unlike many other animals, some birds have the ability to make incredibly diverse sounds, even mimic human speech. Birds also use plumage to establish dominance and find mating partners with a wide array of colors.

Flocking: Some birds form huge flocks and are capable of flying as a group, changing direction almost simultaneously. The effect is a black cloud that moves and rolls as if with a mind of its own.

Inter-kingdom associations: Unlike most other animals, some birds have been known to develop relationships with non-avian animals. Seabirds will associate with dolphins and tuna. Hornbills develop relationships with dwarf mongooses. Alligators will associate with birds that clean their teeth.

Human Exploitation

Poultry: Birds make up the largest source of animal protein in the world. Domestication started early and chickens are the number one animal for human consumption, along with turkeys, ducks, and geese. Many birds have been hunted for millennia, mainly waterfowl, pheasants, wild turkeys, quail, doves and pigeons, partridge, grouse, and woodcocks.

Working Birds: Although many different types of birds have been kept for their beauty and singing or talking abilities, there are some birds that have special used to sentient beings. Falcons are used in hunting and cormorants in fishing. Pigeons were one of the earliest birds domesticated and can be trained to bring messages to certain places, leading to high-speed clandestine communications (and a great song from a seventies’ cartoon). Canaries were domesticated by the 16th century by Spaniards, and were used as an early warning system for toxic air in mines.

Pets: There are many birds that have a long history as pets in human cultures. Parrots were seen in Roman times and parakeets were considered prizes to nobles during Alexander the Great’s reign. Various species of sparrows have been popular cage birds for centuries, especially in Asia. Doves were first domesticated two to three thousand years ago, but caged finches became popular during the Victorian era. Some birds were once popular as caged birds, such as the brilliantly red cardinal, and many have legendary status as pets for sorcerers and wizards, such as crows and ravens.

Bits and Pieces: Feathers are used as insulation, and seabird feces, called guano, are a valuable source of nitrogen and phosphorus, used as fertilizer and to make gunpowder. A war was fought in the Pacific over the control of these guano deposits. Emus have been used by indigenous Australian populations as meat, but the fat was used for oiling weapons, making body paint, and as medicine, and the bones and tendons for knives, tools, and thread. Even the skin of some birds have produces a leather that is worth working and making items from.

Symbolism:Birds were considered the messengers of the gods, and to this day many people of many different walks of life consider the bird to be symbolic of their deities, or of a message from the universe or a spirit. Birds feature in magic spells, as totem animals, and even in fortune telling.

Next Up: The Magic of Birds.