When the Starling does not follow the grazing cattle some witch charm has
been put upon them. The Magpie, as with the ancient Greeks, is the
repository of the soul of an evil-minded and gossiping woman. A round-tower
or castle ruin unfrequented by Jackdaws is certainly haunted. The "curse of
the crows" is quite as malevolent as the "curse of Cromwell." When a
"Praheen Cark" or Hen Crow is found in the solitudes of mountain glens,
away from human habitations, it assuredly possesses the wandering soul of
an impenitent sinner. If a Raven hover near a herd of cattle or sheep, a
withering blight has already been set upon the animals, hence the song of
the bard Benean regarding the rights of the kings of Cashel 1,400 years ago
that a certain tributary province should present the king yearly "a
thousand goodly cows, not the cows of Ravens." The Waxwing, the beautiful
_Incendiara avis_ of Pliny, whose breeding haunts have never yet been
discovered by man, are the torches of the _Bean-sidhe_, or Banshees. When
the Cuckoo utters her first note in the spring, if you chance to hear it,
you will find under your right foot a white hair; and if you keep this
about your person, the first name you thereafter hear will be that of your
future husband or wife.