The Secret Language of Birds: A Treasury of Myths, Folklore and Inspirational True Stories

by Adele Nozedar

The Secret Language of Birds is a wonderful treasury of folklore, mythology and historical esoterica for every bird-lover to enjoy.

Thousands of years ago, birds were considered to be winged messengers, or augurs, with the power to foresee the future. Sages from many different ancient civilizations all over the world interpreted this secret language to counsel kings and warriors. Today, much of this arcane and fascinating knowledge has been lost.

In this fabulous, inspirational reference book, Adele Nozedar takes the reader on a journey to rediscover the forgotten spiritual symbolism of birds. From ancient times to modern day, in every culture across the world, she shows how the 'secret language' of birds has never gone away, and can continue to give our lives meaning.

Genres: Nonfiction, Birds, Animals, Spirituality, Mythology, Reference, History

534 pages, Hardcover

First published May 2, 2006

About the author

Adele Nozedar has enjoyed a varied career, spanning TV presentation, being in a cult indie band, running highly-successful record labels (both independent and major) and a PR company, exhibiting her photography, writing soundtracks, and being owner/manager of a remote residential recording studio.

But the thread which underscores all these facets is an interest in matters occult and arcane; this might be as a result of having self-professed ‘wise women’ on both sides of the family.

Adele’s particular awakening to the language of birds, and their healing powers, came during her recovery from an operation, when a small hawk called a merlin appeared, which surprisingly allowed itself to be handled; although the bird disappeared after her recovery, it reappears from time to time. It was this incident which sparked a sudden realisation that birds can be the conduits to a ‘higher’ form of communication, a window to a world without words, particularly appropriate since she was deaf until the age of 7 and believes that this phase of her life has had a profound effect upon the rest of it.

Adele belongs to the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids and is a healer and colour therapist. She is the author of the Illustrated Signs & Symbols Sourcebook.

Reviews

[Claudia Loureiro · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very useful compendium. Helpful introduction to everything birds. Every major bird myth and amazing bird tale is covered here. I would have preferred more colour illustrations... It's a wonderful reference book!

[Mirela · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a really big bird lover. My hobbies are birdwatching, bird photography and bird drawing, my house is full of bird paintings, bird statuse, bird books and so on..by now you might guessed, l can't be objective here.☺️
I really love the book. I know every bird lover will . There are lots of interesting stories and information and some plain stuff that is for amusment like what is the bird of your horoscope sign that might be interesting to everyone. I honestly think who ever read this will find something for themselves. So I would still recommend to everyone not just bird ppl☺️

[Carrie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A big and beautiful tome full of legends and lore concerning birds. I love birds, and this was very fun to read... and it kinda made me think about all the different ways the world could work, and how we have no real way of telling what's truth or tale... Anyways, it was a fantastic source of inspiration for me, and I still refer to it when trying to think of story ideas.

[Lili · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a wonderful collection of myths, symbolism, and folklore surrounding the birds of the world. If you are a person who loves birds or loves studying folklore and mythology then I strongly recommend this book.

[Lydia · Rating 5 out of 5]

i am currently reading this book so far its good cause i love birds

[Ethereal Wanderlust · Rating 5 out of 5]

The only book you will ever need for birds in mythology and folklore, a large well written book detailing stories, zodiac to bird similarities, and history.

[Rena Sherwood · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is one of those books where you debate giving it away. I bought it back when I was in my Pagan/Witch phase -- this is one of those books that nudged me back into being an atheist. The Symbolism of Birds would have been a more accurate title. There's not much about how birds talk to each other.

Yes, it is a compilation of bird myths, legends and symbolism, but delivered in a bland "gosh-darn" wide-eyed kind of way. It's repetitive (how many times do we need to know about birds flying a certain way to be a message from Apollo? One is enough -- two is PLENTY, but over three times is insulting to the reader.)

You really have to dig through a lot of dross in order to find anything interesting. Very heavy book. Makes a great doorstop. Okay, I exaggerate. I do not use it as a doorstop. I do use it as a bookend.

[Jessica Reidy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really interesting book, but she uses the word "witch" in a degrading way, which is wrong and ignorant in the same instant, and I found to be irritating the whole way through. And there were an amazing amount of typos-- in general it was poorly written. But the myths were so fascinating that I still enjoyed it.

[Monique Peterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was very useful for reference material and I know I'll repeatedly look through it in the future when I'm curious about a bird that I've forgotten details about.