MAGPIE
Birds, Magpie Seona Anderson Birds, Magpie Seona Anderson

MAGPIE

Shakespeare Species Quote of the Day, MAGPIE: Augurs and understood relations have by maggot pies, and choughs and rooks brought forth the secret’st man of blood.

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STARLING
Birds, Starling Seona Anderson Birds, Starling Seona Anderson

STARLING

Shakespeare Species Quote of the Day, STARLING: I’ll have a starling shall be taught to speak nothing but “Mortimer”. Starlings, colourful, noisy, sociably are remarkable mimics.

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CORMORANT
Birds, Cormorant Seona Anderson Birds, Cormorant Seona Anderson

CORMORANT

Shakespeare Species Quote of the Day, CORMORANT: Light vanity, insatiate cormorant, consuming means, soon preys upon itself. Cormorants are aquatic birds well known for their fishing abilities and their wing drying poses.

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LAPWING
Birds, Lapwing Seona Anderson Birds, Lapwing Seona Anderson

LAPWING

Shakespeare Species Quote of the Day, LAPWING: for look, where Beatrice, like a lapwing runs close by the ground, to hear our conference. The beautiful Lapwing was a rich Shakespearean metaphor, but they are now declining and vulnerable.

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VULTURE
Birds, Carrion, Vulture Seona Anderson Birds, Carrion, Vulture Seona Anderson

VULTURE

Shakespeare Species Quote of the Day, VULTURE: while the vulture of sedition feeds in the bosom of such great commanders. Vultures are magnificent birds, essential to healthy ecosystems but long persecuted.

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JAY
Birds, Jay Seona Anderson Birds, Jay Seona Anderson

JAY

Shakespeare Species Quote of the Day, JAY: What, is the jay more precious than the lark because his feathers are more beautiful?

The beautiful noisy Jay is still a common sight in rural and urban areas.

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CHOUGH
Birds, Chough Seona Anderson Birds, Chough Seona Anderson

CHOUGH

Shakespeare Species Quote of the Day, CHOUGH: nor the boding raven, nor chough hoar… may on our birdhouse perch or sing. The distinctive Chough with its red legs and bills features in heraldry and heritage.

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RAVEN
Birds, Raven Seona Anderson Birds, Raven Seona Anderson

RAVEN

Shakespeare Species Quote of the Day, RAVEN: the raven himself is hoarse that croaks the fatal entrance of Duncan under my battlements. The Raven is a bird of foreboding in Shakespeare. Ravens have a rich cultural heritage in many societies.

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WREN
Birds, Wren Seona Anderson Birds, Wren Seona Anderson

WREN

Shakespeare Species Quote of the Day, WREN: but if there be yet left in heaven as small a drop of pity as a wren’s eye, feared gods, a part of it! Wrens, tiny and tuneful are valued in many cultures.

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OSPREY
Birds, Bird of Prey, Osprey Seona Anderson Birds, Bird of Prey, Osprey Seona Anderson

OSPREY

Shakespeare Species Quote of the Day, OSPREY: I think he’ll be to Rome as is the osprey to the fish, who takes it by sovereignty of nature. The majestic fisher of the skies appears only once in Shakespeare.

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SPARROW
Birds, Sparrow Seona Anderson Birds, Sparrow Seona Anderson

SPARROW

Shakespeare Species Quote of the Day, SPARROW: There is a special providence in the fall of a sparrow. Perhaps there is a warning for us all about the decline of a species which used to be a byword for abundance…

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SWANS
Birds, Swan Seona Anderson Birds, Swan Seona Anderson

SWANS

Shakespeare Species Quote of the Day, SWAN: like Juno’s swans still we went coupled and inseparable. Read more about Swans, their dying song and their symbolic significance.

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BLACKBIRD
Birds, Blackbird Seona Anderson Birds, Blackbird Seona Anderson

BLACKBIRD

Shakespeare Species Quote of the Day, BLACKBIRD/Black Ouzel: the ouzel cock so black of hue, with orange-tawny bill. Read more about this widespread, tuneful bird.

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TURTLE DOVE
Birds, Turtle Dove Seona Anderson Birds, Turtle Dove Seona Anderson

TURTLE DOVE

Shakespeare Species Quote of the Day, TURTLE DOVES: as true as steel, as plantage to the moon, as sun to day, as turtle to her mate. The iconic Turtle Dove is associated with loyal love but it declining rapidly.

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