Native American Myth: How Robin Became the Harbinger of Spring

My great-grandfather knew everything there was to know about birds. He could tell every variety just by their sound and called them all by the proper name (scientifically speaking). He, of course, encouraged my love of them as well.

We used to sit for hours in his front porch swing and watch the birds that seemed naturally drawn to his yard. It was almost as if they knew they would be welcome there.

One of my favorites was, of course, always the robin. I loved his beautiful red breast and the sound of his singing. I also loved that my grandfather could coax him to eat birdseed right out of his hand.

I was intrigued with everything about the bird, including why he was considered the harbinger of spring. Just like virtually every animal, my grandfather had a myth about that as well.

I'm not sure which Native American tribe this myth comes from. I found nothing about it in my great-grandmother's papers so I doubt it is Cherokee in nature. Perhaps one of my many other Native American friends on AC will recognize it.

Like the animal kingdom, the bird kingdom had its own hierarchy. The eagle was considered the leader. The owl was the wisest among them. The crow was the scavenger. The blue jay was the outsider and so on. Only the robin didn't have a special title or a significant role in the kingdom.

Of course robin didn't like that. He wanted to be included in the council meetings and have a say in the way the kingdom worked. So he decided to talk to his friend, the owl.

"Owl, I want a job in the kingdom and a seat on the council," said the robin. "Surely there is something that I can do to make a significant contribution."

"What can you do?" asked the owl. "Can you protect the kingdom like eagle or scavenge the supplies we need like crow?"

"No," responded robin. I'm too small to protect others from the animals that would eat us. My voice isn't stern enough to scare them away. Nor can I bring back the kind of supplies that crow does. I wouldn't even know where to look."

"Can you sing beautifully like the lark or draw attention away from the nest with your cries like the cardinal?" asked the owl. "Or can you dive for small fish like the heron?"

"I can sing," said robin "although my voice isn't as beautiful as some of the other birds. But I can't dive for small fish."

"Then I don't know what to tell you, robin. If you can find a job that you can do that no one else can, come back and tell me and I will talk to eagle on your behalf."

Robin spent months trying to figure out what job he could do in the kingdom. He watched the other birds and found some things he could do but not nearly as well as them. He was becoming very discouraged when one day he overheard something that helped him.

As winter began to wind down, the birds called a meeting to talk about how to plan for spring. "I don't know when it is safe to make a nest for my babies," said blue bird. "I don't know when the small fish will be ready to pluck from the water," said the heron.

Robin was lurking nearby listening to the council as he so often did. "If we move too early, too many of us will die," stated eagle. "Yet, if we wait too long, we will miss out on the bulk of the food we need to store," declared the crow.

Excitedly robin flew into the council. "I can help," he declared. "I can tell you when spring is coming."

"How will you do that?" asked the eagle smugly. "What makes you think you know more than the rest of us do?"

"I just know," declared robin. "I can feel it in my bones just like crow knows where to look for supplies and heron knows when to dive for fish.

"If you can prove that," said eagle, "you will win an important place in this council for now and ever more." Robin nodded and flew away to the birds' spring home. There he spent many days lighting on one tree and another. Then one day, he hurried back to the council.

"Spring is coming!" he declared. "We can move right now," he stated.

"If you are wrong," declared owl "it will mean the death of many of our clan. Be certain little bird."

"I'm sure," said robin "Trust me, please. I won't let you down."

So the birds followed robin to their spring home and were delighted to find that the trees were indeed beginning to blossom. The weather was warm enough for them to build their nests and begin their families. Heron found small fish in the water and crow found their much-needed supplies.

As promised, eagle gave robin a seat on the council and the very important title of harbinger of spring. "Your talent will undoubtedly save many of our clan, robin. We owe you a debt of gratitude."

And that, they say, is how robin became such an important part of spring. Even today, when we first see him, we know that spring has at last come to the land.