the existence of fenix

[grendals_bane]

Arbramelin is right about Crows liking smoke and causing fires. Below is a link about how crows in Japan steal lit candles and inadvertently start fires and a link about how crows kill parasites using chimneys and steam vents etc.

www.airies.or.jp/publication/ger/pdf/07-02-06.pdf

RPSB

still missing the point of there hasnt been sightins of pheonixs the world over and lets take what you say as 100% truth and it is a crow explain to me about it turning into a chick when it does this or maybe it sets fire to its self to heat its hatcling up then kills its self and the chick comes out the egg i guess that will b your next theory take a napkin mate you just got served im out

I get the feeling you're taking the mythology of the Phoenix a little too literally. The myths that aren't just complete figments of imagination are usually embellished to the point that it becomes difficult to sift out the reality.

Edited November 27, 2011 by grendals_bane

[+DieChecker]

Ah... I read the title as fen-ics, when it is supposed to be Pheonix.

I'd guess that rooks, ravens or crows might be the original fire birds of legend, but every pic of a pheonix you find online is uber-brightly colored.

AFAIK, the pheonix is an Egyptian and then a Greek legend not a world wide legend.

Are there any golden colored birds in Africa that do the same smoke/parasite thing?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bennu_Heron

[Abramelin]

This may have a relation with what ornitologists call "anting":

Dr. Maurice Burton, a British naturalist, has suggested that this legend may have some basis in fact. He points out that some birds like to play with fire. The British rook is a bird that is a little larger than a crow. When Dr. Burton hands a rook at his nature preserve an unlit match, the rook holds the match so it can peck at it. Once the rook gets the match to light, it quickly puts the burning match under its wing, appearing to want to set itself on fire.

When supplied with straw and a match, the rook will set the straw on fire and then lie, wings outstretched, on the burning straw until the fire goes out. It is possible that in ancient times people saw this behavior and developed the legend of the phoenix to explain what they saw.

Dr. Burton points out that this behavior is common among intelligent birds, such as rooks and jays, who pick up discarded cigarettes that are still burning and fly off with them. It is even likely that this strange behavior is responsible for many house fires.

(Maurice Burton, 1959. "Phoenix Re-born")

Btw, I have the book, which is no suprize to those who know what I am interested in: corvids.

.

[brlesq1]

Interesting thread. Never heard of birds doing this. Seems like a fairly effective way of getting rid of bugs.

[Abramelin]

Interesting thread. Never heard of birds doing this. Seems like a fairly effective way of getting rid of bugs.

I sort of bumped this thread because I mentioned it in another thread on another forum here.

This was the story someone could not believe happened:

http://www.unexplained-mysteries.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=233778&st=15#entry4460611

Crows are not as afraid of fire as most other animals are. In fact they are not too scared to use it to their advantage.

[ReaperS_ParadoX]

WOW What an awesome bird!!

[Abramelin]

WOW What an awesome bird!!

They sure are!

And here another pair of photos from the same book by Burton ("Niger" is a rook, btw) :

(click on the photo)

Edited December 25, 2012 by Abramelin

[Overdueleaf]

you learn something new everyday.. thanks for sharing abramelin... fascinating birds for sure

[Abramelin]

I have been thinking: how many animals do use fire?

As far as I know it's only crows.

Personally I am convinced it's the crows who are responsible for the Phoenix legend.

[+DieChecker]

I think some Chimps have been taught to use fire, but I don't believe they use it spontaneously on their own.

[Abramelin]

I think some Chimps have been taught to use fire, but I don't believe they use it spontaneously on their own.

I have never heard of that before, I only know they use sticks to catch grubs hiding under bark, and that they use stones to open nuts.

What I find very interesting about crows is that they observe other animals or humans, and learn some trick that way, and subsequently teach it to their young. And, of course, they learn from eachother.

But that they love fire so much is kind of special because it is a very risky way of either getting rid of parasites or just to feel good (like we go to a sauna). If we burn our hands we can still walk or run away, but if a crow burns its feathers it can not fly away in case of danger.

[Abramelin]

Found something else:

[...] However, if a bird such as a large raven sits on the embers of a fire, and for some reason chooses to flap its wings (maybe as a way to cool off, or maybe because it's ready to take to the air) then it could stir the fire to life again. The sudden resurgence of flames around it would almost certainly cause the bird to take off.

And voila - you have a bird rising from the midst of flames and ashes.

http://www.shades-of-night.com/aviary/phoenix.html

[Abramelin]

And we can wonder where the directors of "The Crow" got their inspiration from for this scene:

[thewild]

how cool! I had no idea ravens did this!