The Mystery of the Bird Signaling Death

Pig birds - birds signal death

Pig birds or pig owls are very intelligent, lovely birds. However, in ancient times in Vietnam, they were considered demons because the pig birds were calling at the beginning of the house, when that house was about to die.

The pig owl calls for 7 hours, the death is applied to men, and 9 hours for women.

It is also rumored that, when people are about to die, they will release a characteristic smell and pig birds with sensitive hearing, have discovered and signaled. Because of such conception, so when the sound of the piggy bird sounds long and hard in the late night, always creates a creepy feeling.

Even the sounds of pig birds in the night, will make the whole village talk about the death that will happen to someone, then people will judge each other, guess it. Because of the belief that these birds bring bad omens, the pig birds are hated, driven away, even killed. However, scientists do not believe it. Pig birds are really a useful animal .

Their favorite food eats rats and some insects. When rats are not hunted, they feed on lizards and some other birds. Pig owl is a bird of prey, primarily active at night, often living in pairs or alone and not migrating.

It looks like this animal seems slow, calm and mysterious, but they are really assassins, with the speed of a wind and sharp nails. In the pitch-black darkness, its keen eyes did not miss a small mouse running at a distance of a hundred meters.

They are one of the two animals of the owl family . Some species found in Vietnam are often referred to as pig birds because of its cry like pigs. Pig owl is a medium and large owl, big head, strong legs with sharp claws. Their specificity is a flat face like a disc, heart-shaped, made of feathers. These feathers also work to locate and amplify sound when hunting.

The feathers of a pig's wing have a special structure so they do not make noise when flying, help them hear better and avoid the detection of prey. Pig owl has a lighter back from gray to brown, brighter chest and abdomen, may have spots

The boar owl is usually smaller and the face plate does not have a heart shape but is divided into 3 parts, the ears are covered with feathers. The pig owl is quite wide, it can live in desert and forest environments, in areas with temperate and tropical climate. Pigs are everywhere, except North America, the Sahara and part of Asia.

In Vietnam there are 3 species of pig owls, including Tyto alba stertens, Eastern wild boar (Phodilus badius saturatus) and brown-backed pig (Tyto longimembris). Gray-backed pigs and brown-backed pigs are classified as the natural enemies of mice (the main food is mice), and are strictly prohibited from exploiting from the wild.

The wild boar owl is included in the Vietnam Red Book (the level of danger of T rank - threatened). This is a species of aesthetic and scientific value, a precious genetic resource. Although the wild boar has a wide distribution area, the number of individuals is small and rare. At the moment, it is not yet known how many individuals exist in nature.

Although the pig bird is a natural enemy, it is very precious, but because of the superstition, we are discriminating against this bird. In Vietnamese slang, 'pig birds' refer to bad people, prowling like owls and digging others.

The word "pig bird" is also for those who do illegal business, smuggling. That unjust implication makes the conservation of this animal even more difficult. In the world, it is considered as a unique beauty and favorite bird. They have a funny heart-shaped face. The silky set has many pretty pretty patterns.

Some pictures of pig birds - the "dead god" bird according to the old concept of Vietnamese people: