Creature Feature: Bennu Heron.

Sometimes, it's really hard to tell how a myth got started. Where did mermaids come from, for example? Not all of us are going to buy that sailors were drunk enough to think that manatees were alluring sirens. Luckily, the origins of the Egyptian phoenix, or Bennu, are traceable to a single, extinct species of heron. Fancy that.

The origin of the Bennu is known only from the bones of a large heron species, dubbed Ardea bennuides after the phoenix. Another likely base is the Goliath Heron, even though it looks absolutely nothing like the sketches. Although the bird was indeed around in the age of man, it had an ironically-short lifespan; there are no Bennu Herons in this day and age. 

The mythical Bennu was the archetypal firebird: there was only one in existence, and it was certainly immortal. The sacred stone it perched upon, the ben-ben, was said to have been around since the dawn of creation, thus linking the Bennu with time - a sort of avian sundial. It was even linked to the Nile's flood cycle.More than just an immortal firebird, the Bennu was also thought to be the soul of Ra, the (main) Egyptian sun god. In later times, the simple hieroglyph of the Bennu was used to represent Ra. So, yes, it was a very potent symbol.

Derp.

Unfortunately, much less is known about the Bennu Heron. What we do know is that it was larger than the Goliath Heron. It probably had similar nesting habits to other herons in the area. Although the two-plumed crest of Osiris was likely exaggerated, nearly all drawings of it emphasize the symmetrical plumes. It was likely gray-blue on the top and white on the bottom. Mind, these are all from ancient Egyptian drawings, so it's not like they could go into PhotoShop and take a spin on the color wheel.

This is, for once, not a case of "OMG humans wiped a mythical bird out!" This heron's remains were found in areas dating 2500-2000 BCE in the United Arab Emirates. If it was wiped out by humans, they weren't killing it in any of the modern ways. Nobody knows how it died. For now, its bones have revealed the root of one of the most beloved legends of all time. Let's see if more bits of evidence rise from the ashes.

Until then, however, please have this Moltres. ;)

Creature Feature: Java Green Peafowl.

What would the month June be without at least one peacock in honor of its namesake goddess, the Roman Juno? No, this is not the Indian peacock (Pavo cristatus); the green peafowl, Pavo muticus, fits the goddess better in a number of ways.

There are a number of checks against that association, starting with the peacock not being Hera's original bird. The Greeks did not even have a word for peacock, instead calling it the "Persian bird." Prior to the peacock, Hera had the cow and the cuckoo (a brood parasite...interesting choice) as her animals. Damn if the peacock did not prove the most popular out of those.

The association of a peafowl with marriage and childbirth is not limited to Greece and Rome. Starting with the words 'Persian bird,' an immediate similarity surfaced between Hera's peacock and the simurgh, a phoenix-like bird that appears in the Persian Shahname. Along with raising the albino (here I go again with that) Persian Prince Zal, she (ALWAYS 'she') invented the C-section. The simurgh is present throughout a great deal of Persian history, inherently benign, and frequently depicted with a peacock's tail (...despite being female).



China has a similar creature in the fenghuang, which is linked to marital harmony and the empress. Originally, 'feng' used to be used to indicate a male phoenix, and 'huang' a female; now they are both symbolic of feminine (yin) power. The sexes can still be identified by the amount of tailfeathers; a male has an odd number of plumes, the female an even (usually two). Parallel to how the Chinese emperor is identified with the dragon, the empress is linked to the fenghuang.

I wish I could have found a purse or something...I may end up photographing one of my own fenghuang necklaces/clothing pieces later, but for now, have a truly Japanified fenghuang/houou. Ho-oh actually follows the even-feather rule, too!

Yup. Back to Indo-China. Again. You KNEW I could not stay away from that area for long.

There are quite a few differences between the Java green and India blue peafowl...besides the obvious change in color. The Java green has a different crest, stronger wings capable of sustained flapping flight, and is overall leaner and taller than the blue peafowl. They can be more aggressive than blue peafowl, and are more susceptible to cold, which makes them harder to keep as well.

Unusually for galliformes, the male and female do not look very different from each other. Just about the only time one can tell them apart is when the male has his train. Also unlike the India blue, Java greens have been proven monogamous in captivity and spend time raising their offspring (like a few other oddball predatory birds). This lack of difference between the sexes makes the feminization of the whole genus Pavo a bit more logical; if the tail is only present during mating season, and they themselves live in happy relationships, why not link them with matrimony as well?

A male and female...I think. It's hard to find side-by-side pictures, but the female is slightly darker.

Indian peacocks, on the other hand, tend to have wholly different habits and deities associated with them. They are not as clearly predatory as their Javan counterparts, and have, like chickens, very clear distinctions between hens and cocks year round. Unlike the feminized Eastern phoenix, many entities associated with the peacock are male. That includes the bizarre-as-hell demon Adramelech and a peacock angel (that was, of course, labeled as 'Satan' by nearly all monotheistic religions).

Just for comparison's sake.

The only logical explanation for the switch between birds is that ancient people really did not care what sort of peafowl they linked the Queen of the Gods to. Either that, or Hera is secretly a dyke.

There. I said it.