Swan, Dove, Sparrow

Swan: What can I say about the Swan?

There are seven species and they mate for life, they have a common clutch of the to six eggs and will probably divorce if the eggs don't come.

Otherwise they have a long-standing history together.

As a monogamist bird (swan) has been long associated to the keeping of one partner for life, or marriage.

So then the swan closely associates with committed love and has been used in this respect for centuries in stories, etchings and carvings.

Swans are found almost all around the globe in cooler climates, none are known to be in Africa.

They have such long and graceful lines and for that they have been long admired as special by all cultures as a majestic and beautiful animal.

They are found on flags, seals and crests from all cultures throughout time.

Their species breaks down from 40 variations in 146 species, which include geese and ducks.

I laughed when in Minnesota I heard a guy from Los Angeles pointing at a flock of grazing Canadian geese and say, "Look at the size of those ducks!" but he was basically right.

Used in weddings as a symbol of marriage and monogamy for thousands of years and will be until the end of time.

Dove: One thing about doves is there's none in Antarctica, but everywhere else man has ever set foot there was dove crap there first.

Doves are known to have three hundred species and have been around people for millennium. 

They have a wide assortment of colors from stark white to neon blues, yellows, reds and greens.

There are records (1700's) of great flocks of carrier pigeons in America.

Flocks estimated to be over two billion birds in size, they were everywhere and it only took us around a hundred years to eat them to extinction, the carrier pigeon.

Hey! We were hungry! It was commonplace staple food for slaves.

The species is debated to be a descendent of the Dodo bird and its name (dove) is interchangeable with pigeon, it's semantics. 

What we call a pigeon is just another species of dove or dove another species of pigeon.

It's always had strong associations of good things and shows up in a million stories having to do with a dove delivering good things for a bunch of important reasons.

Representing God and the Holy Spirit and assisting every culture it has contacted in some way since the dawn of time. 

Sounds pretty deep and was meant to most probably for the feeling of peace itself.

Symbolically when a dove shows up it means that someone cares so you feel better and more at peace.

If you're out at sea, looking for land, and a dove stops by with an olive branch or if your enemies are distracted by a dove for a divine purpose then it makes you feel like God's on

your side and so this is the feeling of peace conveyed in the vast number of holy scriptures of every culture.

Not unlike the swan the dove associates to many different cultures to represent peace, love and harmony.

White doves (and swans) are common in wedding ceremonies and have been for millennium and so once again we have all of the similarities of love, companionship, family,

peace, friendship, happiness, harmony, holiness and purity all collected into one symbolic representation of a white bird, a dove.

Sparrow: I mentioned the swallow in chapter two and the difference between the two birds, sparrow and swallow, is very thin.

They are the same species of bird with different names, like dove and pigeon.

Swooping past our heads to catch insects since the beginning of time and making us wonder how a huge flock can all shift at the same time.

They are extremely adaptable to environments and can nest anywhere. It is the most widely distributed bird on the entire planet.

In mating the male (cock) climbs up onto the back of the female (hen). 

They bear five to six eggs per clutch, their incubation period is 10-13 days and the female does the hatching. 

They hold the shortest incubation record of any bird.

With 140 species around the world, there are some very beautiful and elaborately plumaged sparrows.

But most are familiar with the little brown bird chasing insects through the air. If you have enough sparrows around you won't have a bug problem.

Throughout history the sparrow is mentioned in many writings, Aphrodite rode in a chariot drawn by sparrows and Christ mentions the falling of a sparrow in a statement to

followers about God noticing all things, even the falling of a sparrow. (They must die in mid-flight occasionally.)

As far as companion birds go sparrows are bold and gutsy little birds. There are some species that are called fearless and live in upper altitude mountain areas only, nesting at resort

and ski lodges. 

One might say a very sociable bird.