Bodo Beliefs and Superstitions Related to Birds and Fowls

Among the Bodo people, birds like crows, vultures, and owls are often associated with good or bad omens. Crows and vultures entering a courtyard or sitting on a roof are generally considered bad omens, though a vulture dropping excretion in a compound is auspicious, signaling good fortune. An owl's cry at night is inauspicious. While owls are seen as carriers of Goddess Laxmi and accorded some respect, other birds are not. A crow crying from a tree in the compound foretells a family calamity.

Fighting fowls in a house indicates guests will visit. A cock crowing in the evening is a particularly bad omen, leading to its immediate killing and consumption by the family. Red and black cocks and chickens are specifically used for deity propitiation and sacrifice. Female chickens are sometimes freed after religious ceremonies, and killing them is considered a sin. Other beliefs include the cry of a khalilab bird over a courtyard also signifying guests, bees building hives in a house bringing wealth, and a butterfly landing on an unmarried person predicting immediate marriage.