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Audubon science finds that two-thirds of North American birds are at risk of extinction from climate change.
7: Auto-Avian Accidents Carry Grave Meaning
A bird that ends up splattered across your car windshield is a sure sign of bad luck for both you and the bird. Some believe accidental bird-window impacts just zap your luck, while others describe them as an omen of death. No matter what your beliefs, its interesting to note that an estimated 80 million birds in the United States meet their end each year by flying into car windows, which means plenty of bad luck to go around.
Although it makes sense that higher speeds would result in more birds colliding with car windows, scientists have discovered that, up until cars start to significantly outpace predators’ speeds, birds are generally quite adept at avoiding vehicles. The birds’ internal system that tells it when to move aside malfunctions at this point, making it almost impossible for it to avoid your car. While you might not find much solace in this while trying to remove feathers from your windshield, at least it can assist you in trying not to take the incident too personally [source: Ball].
8: Birds In or Around Houses Spell Doom
If a wild bird somehow manages to enter your home through a door, window or chimney youll suffer a bout of bad luck, and some legends say it foreshadows the death of someone in the home. Keep bad luck and death at bay by keeping birds out in all their forms. That means no bird-patterned wallpaper, crockery or artwork either as even s of birds can spell doom. In fact, rumor has it that actress Lucille Ball of “I Love Lucy” fame was so fearful of birds in the home that she refused to stay in any hotel with bird-themed wallpaper, pictures or accessories [source: Mikkelson].
This superstition also states that you should never bring a sick or injured bird inside. If necessary, take care of it outside; however, according to custom, bringing it inside is dangerous [source: The Diagram Group]. Yet not even the most watchful homeowners can completely prevent bad luck caused by birds. Blackbirds, who are traditionally thought of as ghostly messengers, have the ability to bring death and evil just by hanging around your house. If other birds choose to circle the skies above your property, such as herons, bitterns, and crows, they could also bring bad luck or news of death [source: Webster].
According to Audubon science, two-thirds of North American birds could go extinct due to climate change.
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