This is Bird Note.

Some birds are very well known, a few are even legendary.

The ancient Greeks in Egyptians described a mythical bird called the Phoenix, a magnificent

creature that was a symbol of renewal and rebirth.

According to legend, each Phoenix lived for 500 years, and only one Phoenix lived at

a time.

Just before its time was up, the Phoenix built a nest and set itself on fire.

Then, a new Phoenix would rise from the ashes.

Both the Greeks and Egyptians associated the Phoenix with the sun.

One myth says the dawn song of the Phoenix was so beautiful, the sun god Apollo would

stop his chariot and the sun to listen.

Ancient sources differ on the birds' size and color.

Some say it was the size of an eagle, others bigger than an ostrich with bright red and

gold or maybe even purple feathers.

All agree it definitely had a golden aura, and in every version it was exotic, literally

one of a kind.

Poet Wallace Stevens imagined the mythical gold feathered bird perched in a palm tree.

He wrote,

The bird sings, its feathers shine.

The palm stands on the edge of space, the wind moves slowly in the branches.

The bird's firefangled feathers dangle down.

For Bird Note, I'm Mary McCann.

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