Ornithomancy is first recorded during the Hittite Empire (c. 1450 - 1180). From ancient Greek "take omens from the flight and cries of birds", ornithomancy studies the flight, songs and habits of birds and divines the future from these.
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 practitioner faces north, unless it's a Roman augur, who faces south.
Facing north, the flight of birds to the right, or east, the direction of the rising sun, is a lucky sign. Ornithomantists interpret the signs variously and can send messages to the Gods on the flight of birds. Unlike the haruspices, they don't read entrails, only natural bird movements.
The Romans take the observation of bird flight omens very seriously. The augurs, priests who practice ornithomancy, are an integral part of Roman national religion since the early days of the city, and form a powerful group in spirituality and politics.
Since Roman augurs predominantly look at birds for omens, they're also called auspex ("bird watcher", plural auspices). The phrase "under the auspices" comes from the need of an auspicious reading by the augur.
Although augury initially pertains to bird flight it's later used to describe all divination practices or interpretation of omens. Ornithomancy can be spontaneous, or the result of a formal consultation.
Depending on the birds, auspice readings are favorable or unfavorable (auspicious or inauspicious). Not all augurs act in the interests of the parties involved, particularly with the right motivation. The Romans are firm believers in bad omens and prophecy even in politics.
Besides interpretation of bird behavior, augurs have other skills. Augury can be done through any animal movements. Augurs divine from thunder and lightning, or make prophecies based on wind direction or unusual events. Diviners also cast the bones, dice, or use astrology.
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, relating to cycles, seasons, progress, growth and eternity. This tool is also linked to the haruspex.
Augurs use the lituus augurs to mark out a ritual space or templum in the sky. Passage of birds through the templum indicates divine favor or disfavor for a venture. The lituus is also a symbol of office for augurs to mark them out as a priestly group.
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