"Dead Bird Calling": Birds announcing one's death

[Maximilian Forte]

In Trinidad, sitting on a gallery overlooking a valley in the northern range, just north of Arima, we saw a hawk fly over a house and it let out a sharp call. An elder of the Carib Community, now passed on, quietly said "dead bird calling." A week or so later, the man in that house passed away. In Canada there is a famous story, and movie, that I think is called, "The Owl Called My Name," and the idea is the same -- a bird announcing one's death. Do people from other parts of the Caribbean, and/or those who have some knowledge of American Indians on the U.S. mainland, also share this belief, and as far as you know is it an indigenous belief? Where do you think it comes from?

[adem medina cardona]

the crow, as i have been told, is an ancestor visiting us again
perhaps this 'dead bird calling' could be the ancestors coming to welcome us
p&l~c

[Keiahani]

I don't have any hawk stories but my great grandmother told my father who then in returned told me (lol oral tradition) that the mucaro or owl was an animal between both worlds; the dead and living. She also mentioned that the mucaro would come to people who were to die. It would open up its eyes and call to you and you would pass. My family is from Puerto Rico, so we have one account so far of a story from an upper island. As far as I am aware the story does have Taino origins.

[Maximilian Forte]

Thanks very much, I had completely forgotten about, having only read it, and apparently a few years ago. That's interesting, this is another example of one of those beliefs that has survived to the present.

[Arenahi]

Well there's an interesting New York times article that recently came out called "Crows never forget a face". http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/26/science/26crow.html

Turns out if you do something good for a crow they remember it and they tell all their crow buddies about it too. Unfortunately they also remember if you do something bad to them. So maybe they perceived you did something good/bad to them and recognized you when you came walking along.
As for the crow on the window, it might have just been curious. They are extremely intelligent and curious animal and in some areas are not too afraid of humans.

[Anita Pagan]

I have heard of this in regarding crows and owls as well... I have owl feathers and these will make some turn and walk away from me at powwows.

I think people have always had a need to foretell the future, and a bird is as good as anything else... By the same token, I have had the experience where a dog has reacted to the death of a family member before or just at the moment of the event.

What I was always taught was that animals are higher spirits, are more connected to the Creator than we humans are and so they receive information we don't get, don't know how to receive or don't understand when we do receive it. That is why they are teachers...

In the meanwhile, I have had a hawk flitting around: it was on my car this morning and on top of my roof this afternoon. A couple of days ago it was on the ground and I almost walked into it, then I saw it drinking water from the community pond... I hope it is a bearer of good news...