School: Dunmore, Kilkenny (roll number 4331)
- Location:
- Dunmore, Co. Kilkenny
- Teacher: M. Ó Leathlobhair
Archival Reference
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0863, Page 250
Image and data © National Folklore Collection, UCD.
See copyright details.
DownloadOpen data
Available under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
Note: We will soon deprecate our XML Application Programming Interface and a new, comprehensive JSON API will be made available. Keep an eye on our website for further details.
On this page
- How he feeds in Winter
I once saw a black-bird in November alight near a bush where there were fallen leaves.
When the blackbird alighted he did'nt start to walk around, as he usually does, but he watched a redish leaf under the bush that stirred a little bit.
He looked alert but remained in the one position watching.
After a few moments I saw in his beak a red worm plucked from under the stirring leaf.
He picked at the worm till it was killed. He swallowed it in mouthfuls.
He did not sing when he had eaten like the robin does.
There is a local story about St. Francis and a black-bird. Saint Francis was about to give a sermon under the shade of trees. Birds were singing very sweetly and he could not preach with the misic. The blackbird was the one that sang the loudest.
I always see the blackbird near walls and ditches if there is bushes on them or near them. He is never seen in the middle of a field.(continues on next page)
