The Birds of the Kalmyk Culture

        In the Republic of Kalmykia there are many different species of birds.  According to Avibase, a Canadian partner of Bird Life International, Kalmykia has 251 species of birds.  Of these species, there are three that are endemic to the republic's environment such as the Red-breasted Goose, the White-winged Lark, and the Black Lark (Avibase 1).   

Reference: http://www.ejphoto.com/redbreasted_goose_page.htm

Although these species are endemic to the Kalmyk region, there are significant folk-tales regarding the eagle and the raven.  In Pushkin's Historical Imagination by Svetlana Evdokimova, Pugachev's character recounts a small legend concerning the two birds:

          "The raven who eats carrion does not take any risks and lives three hundred years. The  eagle, by contrast, prefers 'to drink live blood if only once' rather than feed on carrion for centuries, and 'then what will come will come' (VIII: I, 352)" (Evdokimova 81). 

        In a Kalmyk Buddhist legend called "Is There More Evil Than Good in the World?" the eagle and the raven are also mentioned.  The legend describes how both of these two birds lie to a young man named Manvarhkan, to which the wise elder, Tsetsen responds, "They have told you lies to make you feel better. They wished you good. Do you still think that there is more evil than good in the world? " (Klitsenko 1).  It's clear from this statement that both the eagle and the raven hold a supernatural significance within the Kalmyk culture, helping the people of this culture to explain some of life's greatest questions.

 

Reference: http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/bald_eagle/id

        
Works Cited:
"Kalmykia, Republic of Bird Checklist - Avibase - Bird Checklists of the World." Kalmykia, Republic of Bird Checklist - Avibase - Bird Checklists of the World. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 May 2014. <http://avibase.bsc-eoc.org/checklist.jsp?region=RUsokl>.

 

"Pushkin's Historical Imagination." Google Books. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 May 2014.

 

"Religious Fables, Folklore, Legends, and Stories." Is There More Evil Than Good in the World?: : All Creatures Articles Archive. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 May 2014.