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Summary
- A bird at your window is no sign of death: no verse of Scripture links the two, and the belief is folklore.
- Birds fly into windows because they see reflected sky or trees, or see through the glass to plants on the other side.
- A bird that keeps tapping or pecking at a window is usually a nesting bird attacking its own reflection, most often in spring and early summer.
- A 2014 study estimated that building collisions kill between 365 and 988 million birds a year in the United States, about 44 percent of them at homes.
- The Bible forbids reading omens (Leviticus 19:26; Deuteronomy 18:10), and the Didache and the Catechism of the Catholic Church (2116) repeat the warning.
- The kind or colour of bird changes nothing; in Scripture the dove pictures the Holy Spirit, and ravens brought Elijah bread.
- Jesus said not one sparrow falls “without your Father” (Matthew 10:29), and our comfort in grief rests on him: “I am the resurrection, and the life” (John 11:25).
Bibliography (Click to show)
- The Holy Bible, King James Version (public domain), quoted from BibleGateway: Leviticus 19:26; Deuteronomy 18:10; 1 Kings 17:4, 6; Ecclesiastes 10:20; Jeremiah 10:2; Matthew 3:16; Matthew 6:26; Matthew 10:29–31; Luke 12:6; John 11:25–26; Romans 8:38–39. Context checked in Deuteronomy 18:10–12, 1 Kings 17:5 and Luke 12:6–7.
- Francis Brown, S. R. Driver and Charles A. Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), entry II. nachash (Strong’s 5172), via Bible Hub: biblehub.com/hebrew/5172.htm
- Hugh Powell, “Why Birds Hit Windows—and How You Can Help Prevent It”, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, updated 21 May 2025: allaboutbirds.org/news/why-birds-hit-windows-and-how-you-can-help-prevent-it
- “A bird keeps flying into my window or car mirror, on purpose. What should I do?”, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, 15 May 2023: allaboutbirds.org/news/a-bird-keeps-flying-into-my-window-or-car-mirror-on-purpose-what-should-i-do
- Scott R. Loss, Tom Will, Sara S. Loss and Peter P. Marra, “Bird–building collisions in the United States: Estimates of annual mortality and species vulnerability”, The Condor 116, no. 1 (2014): 8–23: doi.org/10.1650/CONDOR-13-090.1
- University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension, “Why is a woodpecker knocking on the cedar shingles of my house and how do I make it stop?”, 2 January 2018: extension.unh.edu/node/2478
- Laura Erickson, “Superstitions”, For the Birds radio program, transcript (first aired about 30 October 2004): lauraerickson.com/radio/program/11279/superstitions
- The Didache, chapter 3, translated by M. B. Riddle, Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 7 (Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1886), via New Advent: newadvent.org/fathers/0714.htm
- John Chapman, “The Didache”, The Catholic Encyclopedia, vol. 4 (New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1908): newadvent.org/cathen/04779a.htm
- Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraphs 2115 and 2116: vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P7E.HTM
- Heidelberg Catechism, Lord’s Day 34, Question and Answer 94, translation of the Christian Reformed Church in North America: crcna.org/welcome/beliefs/confessions/heidelberg-catechism
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