Sunday Messengers – Life Lessons from Birds

Blue Jay

Blue Jays are fearless, curious, resourceful, resilient, intelligent, brave and sometimes savage with their enemies. They are very protective, very social. They are known for their loud crow-like call. They can even imitate red-tailed hawks.

Blue Jays are the warning signals of nature. Their warning call alerts other birds and woodland creatures that a predator is near. They are not scared of humans. They’ll even follow you around, curious about what you’re up to. Blue Jays are loyal, they mate for life.

Blue Jays don’t overthink their nest location. They find a spot that will work and start building. No analysis paralysis with these birds.

Blue Jay Message: Speak out, stand up for yourself. Seize opportunities. Be fearless and curious. Be willing to defend others who need your help. Be strong and resilient and stand up for what is important to you. Blue Jays may be telling you that you are a person of influence. You’re here to be noticed. People look up to you. Make sure what you say and do is in harmony with your core values.

Downy Woodpecker

Woodpeckers are great communicators. Most have a loud distinct call and they use their beaks like a drum, tapping out messages to other woodpeckers or just drumming along for fun.

Woodpecker Message: The woodpecker reminds us to communicate clearly and to have fun with our self-expression. Be willing to stand out!

Native Americans believed that woodpeckers meant traveling into the astral plane. They were considered messengers, repeatedly conveying truth, delivering their prophetic messages with perseverance and tenacity.

My article on Woodpecker Animal Symbolism has more info on these fun creatures.

Carolina Chickadee

Carolina chickadees represent sublime happiness and contentment. Chickadees rarely migrate. They store up food and tend to stay in groups so they can protect each other from hawks and other predators.

The chickadee brings joy and serenity. She has her own language that birdwatchers can learn. The “dee” in her name (Chick-a-dee) is an indicator. One “dee” in her song indicates something familiar and non-threatening like, “Hey, come check out this birdfeeder, guys!”

Multiple “dees” is a warning signal that something of concern or dangerous is near.

Carolina Chickadee Message: Chickadee reminds us to relax into contentment, happiness, and joy. They remind us to collaboration and communication with others.

Red-bellied Woodpecker

Read the section above on the Downy Woodpecker for the meaning and symbolism of woodpeckers.

Notice that the red-bellied woodpecker has a bright strip of red from the eyes back to behind the neck, whereas the downy woodpecker has a thin red band across the back of the head. Downy woodpeckers are also smaller than red-bellied woodpeckers.

Eastern Kingbird

Native American lore called the Kingbird “the chief or king of the lower birds, or the birds who are nearer the earth.” Kingbirds represent:

• Balanced vision
• Love of open spaces
• Aggressive in defending home and family
• Fearlessness
• Tenacity
• Blue Jays are their enemies
• To communicate, they do not have a musical call. They have a very high-pitched trill that’s a buzzing sound. Ornithologists in the past have described it as an ‘electric fence.’ 

Kingbird Message: Be fearless and tenacious. Seek for balance. Even if your voice isn’t pretty, still use it to communicate and draw what you want to you!

Squirrel

Wait! What? A Squirrel? That’s not a bird! But he thinks he is… trying to figure out how to raid that birdfeeder. Rather than discard the squirrel from my observation as a nuisance, I thought I better remind myself of his meaning in case he’s a clue to the big picture.

Squirrels possess the following traits:

• Trusting
• Preparedness
• Intelligence
• Agility

Squirrel Message: When squirrels show up in your life, they could be reminding you to prepare for the future, to be a little more thrifty, or to utilize your intellect and agility to sidestep obstacles and achieve your goals. Or maybe there’s no spiritual message for you at all… maybe you put out a bird feeder and they can’t resist raiding an easy stash!

Pine Warbler

Pine warblers are vocal, carefree, talented and sociable. They say:

• Express your ideas and opinions,
• Let your voice be heard.
• Be more vocal about your feelings.
• Let your personality shine through.
• Be focused and develop your talents

Pine Warbler Message: Discover and sing your Soul’s Song!

Cowbird

Cowbirds are on nature’s clean up crew. They follow cattle, bison and buffalo around and eat the bugs and parasites that would bring disease to the animals and humans.

“Cowbird teaches you to find the endless well of joy and magic within, all while helping you open your mind for spiritual exploration.” (Source: What Is My Spirit Animal?)

Cowbirds look like they are lazy because they build no nest and do not care for their young. They slip their eggs into other birds nests. This parental abdication allows them to pursue a nomadic lifestyle following cattle around. What looks like malicious behavior actually serves the greater good.

Cowbird Message: Cowbirds are a reminder not to judge others. What looks like selfish or lazy behavior may serve some greater purpose… if we stop to really analyze the impact. Cowbirds are a reminder to live in harmony with your divine purpose. A misplaced cowbird (that has no cattle to follow) doesn’t bring its gifts fully to the world.

Read my post, The Cowbird Parable, for more insights.

Northern Cardinal

They say, “When a cardinal is here, angels are near.”

Cardinal Messages:

• Cardinals teach us to be loyal in our relationships, work through differences, and collaborate to create a home environment that is nurturing.
• Cardinals model the importance of embracing your unique gifts and working with others. Each parent has their roles and responsibilities and together they collaborate incredibly well.
• Let our voices be heard
• Take time to celebrate what’s going right in our lives.
• We need to trust our instincts and our intuition. The male cardinal doesn’t hide in winter. He shows off his bright colors and trusts his innate gifts of alertness and awareness to protect himself and his mate.
• Be observant. Notice the world around us.
• Look out for our partners and families and be there for them.

See my blog post on Cardinal Animal Symbolism here.

House Finch

Finches, in general, symbolize happiness and energetic times ahead. This is because they come in a variety of bright colors – yellow, red, purple. Finches also represent adaptability, freedom, vulnerability and good fortune.

House Finch Message: House finches specifically symbolize harmony in life. They remind us that even if life is particularly difficult at present that we need to hang in there because good times are just around the corner.

Check out my blog post on House Finches here.

Carolina Wren

Whistle while you work. The busy wren is always doing something and it loves to sing – loud, strong and with delight. For such a tiny bird, it’s song is loud, clear and unmistakable.

Almost any time I’m outdoors, I’ll hear a wren singing and another one answering back from across the way.

Home is where you hang your hat. Male and female wrens work together rearing their young. Wrens will migrate wherever they wish at any time. They’re not married to one location, nor is the male married to one female. A male wren may build four nests to increase his odds of finding a mate. He’ll find a new mate for each mating season.

Carolina Wren Message: Sing out loud, sing out strong. Be yourself. Be flexible, adaptable and resourceful. Go with the flow of life.