School: Paite Gobha (Pettigo)
- Location:
- Pettigo, Co. Donegal
- Teacher: Eilís Nic Liam
Archival Reference
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 1030, Page 301
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- XML “Bird-Lore”
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- There are different kinds of birds in our country as the Robin, Blackbird, Thrush, Sparrow, Hawk, Cuckoo, Crane and Lark.
The Robin builds its nest in hedges, and also the sparrow, thrush and blackbird. The swallow builds under the eaves of houses.
The Lark and Cuckoo have the nest on the ground.
The Cuckoo comes to our country in the Spring.
It only stays with us during the Summer months and the swallow does the same.
Why the Robin is called red-breast is because when the soldiers were after Christ to crucify Him, our Lord passed through the cornfield and when the Robin saw the soldiers coming he rubbed up every drop of Blood that marked our Saviours tracks and did not leave a trace of it for the soldiers to follow.
From that day to this the robin has a red breast.
