The earliest written accounts of ornithomancy come from the Hittite Empire (c. 1450 - 1180). As a practice it goes back much further.
The name's from ancient Greek οἰωνίζομαι "take omens from the flight and cries of birds". Ornithomancy studies the flight, songs and habits of birds and makes deductions about the lives of mortals from these. Birds are also thought to carry messages to or from the Gods.
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The most prophetic of birds include ravens, crows, owls and hens. There may be some ceremony involved or spontaneous action at the appearance of a sign. The ornithomantist faces north, unless a Roman augur, who faces south. Augury is the Roman version of the ornithomancy.
Facing north, the flight of birds to the right, or east, the direction of the rising sun, is a lucky sign. Ornithomantists especially in Greece send messages to the Gods on the flight of birds.
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To the Romans, augury is of utmost significance. Augurs are consulted before building a new city or important structure. They are called auspex or bird-watchers. Reading signs of birds is also called taking the auspices.
Depending on the birds, auspices from the Gods were favorable or unfavorable (auspicious or inauspicious). Not all augurs act in the interests of the parties involved, particularly if the augur is politically or financially motivated.
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Besides study and interpretation of bird behavior, augurs have other skills. They can divine from thunder and lightning, or make prophecies based on movements of animals or occurence of unusual events.
The symbol of the augur is the lituus, a divining staff or rod with an end curled into a spiral. The spiral is one of the oldest shapes used in ancient religion, representing cycles, seasons, positive progress, growth and eternity.
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In Greece, oracles decree the actions of the people, kingdom or individual. In Rome, the same comes from the birds, who are considered sent by Jupiter, the King of the Gods, to carry his will to the people.
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