RAPTOR STORIES and FOLKLORE
(excerpts from posts)
(If you want to retell any of the stories listed below, be sure to obtain permission from the copyright holder if the material is not in the public domain)

Query: I have been asked by a potential client if I could do a ST program about raptors. Hey, I hate to say no! Do you folks happen to know of any good raptor tales? I would like for such a program to have an international flavor, but that isn't essential.
Sharon K.C. 5/24/05

1) Dr. Debra Olsen Tolar on her album has a wonderful story on her CD The Stars in The Sky Storytelling With Debra Olson Tolar: The King and His Falcon -- a tale from Asia & Europe
http://www.debraolsontolar.com/CDs.htm
John 5/24/05
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2) There are lots of eagle tales in British folklore. A google search should
give a few. And look on the Ashliman folklore website:
http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/folktexts.html

One of the earliest folktales I can remember hearing is How the Wren got his Tale.
For ornithologists: Troglodites troglodites, I believe.
This is a picture (inexplicably labeled "robin") of the European wren:
http://www.ukexpert.co.uk/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=12020&size=big&sort=
1&cat=704&page=1
You can at least see the tail - which is the point of the tale. I was watching one in my garden on the weekend. But to the story:
Bones:
The birds wanted to choose their king: the one who could fly highest.
All birds assembled - even the wren, the smallest, although he had a lovely long tale.
The race was about to start to see who could fly highest. But the wren looked around and saw the others had a physiological advantage.
So he slipped under the wing of the biggest, the eagle.
And up went the eagle, far higher than any other bird.
But still he went up.
And even higher.
Until even he was exhausted and could go no further.
But as he turn to go down, out flew the wren.
But as he tried to get higher, the eagle snapped at his beautiful long tale - and cut it off so short.
As you can see today.
Richard M. - Germany 5/24/05
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3) Would Glusabi and The Wind Eagle be a good one? It's an Abenaki tale collected in one of Joseph Bruchac's works Keepers of the Earth .

Here's a summary Greg sent:
Glusabi decides to stop the wind so he can paddle around more easily while duck-hunting. On his quest to find the wind-eagle, his clothes and even his hair are blown off by the intense flapping wings of the eagle. Later, when he realizes what a mistake he's made in stopping the wind, he tries to pretend he's someone else who just happens along to rescue the eagle from the crevice into which the eagle's been stuffed. Initially the eagle doesn't recognize him because of his former nakedness "Gluscabi! An ugly naked bald man trapped me here!) Then the eagle sees through the disguise, but is compassionate anyway.

Also Rafe Martin has an Inuit story The Eagle's Gift.
Ina V.D. 5/24/05
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4) I'm a day late and a dollar short, but it just popped into my head that a personal favorite from one of Margaret Read MacDonald's collections is Marsh Hawk - great fun to tell, too.
Bones:
Marsh Hawk is hungry. He flies east and he flies west. He flies over Chipmunk Village. He lands in a tall pine tree to watch the chipmunks. They are scampering in and out of their holes and sitting on their haunches making that chipping sound. (I teach my audiences how to loudly kiss the back of their hands with their lips pursed up to imitate the chipmunk sound.)

Marsh Hawk calls down to the chipmunks, "Hey, chipmunks, do you have fat little bellies."
Chipmunks are sassy. Say, "Yeah, Marsh Hawk, what's it to you?"
Marsh Hawk says to himself, "I want to eat those fat little bellies."
Swoops down. Chipmunks scamper into their holes.

Marsh Hawk attemps to stick first his wings, then his beak and finally his claws into the hole. Can't reach chipmunks. Tries to cajole them out of the hole. Canny chipmunks agree to come out of hole if Marsh Hawk will dance for them. Marsh Hawk boasts he's a great dancer. Gets out into meadow and starts dancing, while singing, “Uwi ha hee, Uwi ha hee. Chipmunks come out and look at me-ee!” Really gets into his dance, turns around and around and closes his eyes. At which point, chipmunks come out of the hole and disappear.

Marsh Hawk realizes he's been tricked. Flies away to come up with new plan. Decides to sing to chipmunks and get them to stick their tales in the air so he can grab a whole bunch at one time. Sings from branch of pine tree: Uwi ha hi, Uwi ha hi. Chipmunks put your tails in the sky. Chipmunks actually do stick their tales up, but see Marsh Hawk's shadow when he swoops down and scamper into hole before he can catch them.

This time Marsh Hawk backs his rump up to block hole. Chipmunks cower at the back of the hole until one brave one goes up and pokes Marsh Hawk's rump. He pokes and pokes and then pulls and pulls out a feather! Then the others pull out feathers and start singing a mocking songs, Uwi ha hi, Uwi ha hi. We're pulling feathers out of Marsh Hawk's rump. (I've changed the second Uwi, ha, hi to uwi, ha, hump to make it rhyme - kids always giggle at this point.)

Marsh Hawk begins to feel cold. Checks his rump and discovers his rump is naked! Flies off and finally finds an old rabbit skin and puts a patch of white rabbit fur over his rump. And to this day, that is why Marsh Hawks have a white tail patch which you can see when they fly low over grasslands while they are hunting.

Marsh Hawk returns to Chipmunk Village - sees chipmunks doing their thing. Calls down that he bets their belies aren't fat at all and that they taste like shoe leather before flying off for good.

Note: If you consider Buzzards (turkey vultures) a part of the raptor group - most bird books include them with the hawks - then you have widened your possible story list considerably. A beautiful Iroquois story is How Buzzard Got His Feathers as told by Joe Bruchac.
Judy S. 5/25/05
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5) There are a lot of great turkey vulture and buzzard stories, but consider your client. If you're being hired by a zoo, natural history museum, or bird-related conservatory or group, you may want to clear it first. Bird taxonomy is in flux, because of new evidence from DNA testing, showing that New World vultures (turkey vultures, condors) are more closely related to the Ciconiiformes (storks) instead of the Accipitriformes (hawks and eagles).
Tim E. 5/27/05
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(This web page updated 5/26/05)