B33B. March Bird. 15.16.27.

On the border between winter and spring, a bird (usually a thrush) flies prematurely into the cold and dies, or hatches chicks and they die or suffer from the cold.

Basques, Italians (Piedmont, Lombardy), French (Poitou, Albre, Gascony), Irish, Scots, Romanians, Albanians, (Ancient Greece).

Southern Europe. The Basques [un tordo) bred six chicks in March; but before their feathers grew, it snowed deep and the chicks froze from the cold; the thrush sang: Dirty March, introduce me to Golden April!] : Barandiaran 1961, No. 22:154 (=Valriu 2015, No. 170:190); Italians [1) Three days of thrush are considered the coldest days of the year; If they are cold, spring will be beautiful, if they are warm, spring it will come late; 1) the thrushes used to be white; one day it was very cold, I climbed into the fireplace to warm up, and three days later I got out black with soot; 3) two blackbirds with white feathers, a male and female, took refuge from the cold in the fireplace; they had nothing to eat and the male decided to get out to find something; three days later he came back and found a bird that was black as coal, did not recognize it and went looking for it again; female The thrush, blackened with soot, meanwhile died of hunger; 4) the thrush and thrush got married at the end of January, in the bride's country, on the other side of the Po River; they were supposed to return home, but stayed for two days with relatives; meanwhile, it got very cold; the thrush was forced to cross the frozen Po and died; the thrush cries, and at night her screams can still be heard along the Po River at the end of January]: Golant 2013, No. 1.8.4:243-244; Italians: Kabakova 2006, No. 117B (Lombardy) [on the last three days of January, the bride and groom went across Po to get married; the river was covered with ice, they crossed to the other side; Returning the next day, they saw that the ice was still standing and went; however, the wife fell through and died; her name was Drozdiha (Merla)], 117C (Piedmont) [there were warm sunny days in mid-January. the white thrush and its chicks flew into the field; she met white-bearded January, she laughed at him - he and his three snow sellers (St. Anthony on January 17, St. Gaudence January 22, St. Julius January 31) she is not afraid, since her chicks can already fly; furious January thought he still had January 29, 30 and 31, made cold and snow; thrush and chicks hid in the chimney, turned black ; the days from January 29 to January 31 are called thrush days and are especially cold days]: 179, 179-181.

Western Europe. French: Kabakova 1998, No. 163 (Poitou) [=Golant 2013, No. 1.10.3.: 246; January was warm and lasted 29 days; on the last day, all the little birds began to mock him, O, Janviou, m'pas rester le crotte au quiou]; January took two days in February, it froze, the birds froze to the branches], 164 (Albre, Gascony) [=Golant 2013, No. 1.10.4.: 246; the thrush began to laugh at February - it was over, and she and didn't notice; February took three days in March, it rained cold, the thrushes died; and February is still doing so]: 180, 180-181; Scots (Durness) [duck brags about its twelve ducklings, for which frost fell on her]: Golant MS; Irish [the cow boasted that she was not afraid of the March cold; then March took three days from April and froze the cow; it is believed that the first three days April is very cold, called Laethanta na Riabhaiche, "loan days"; sometimes they were counted according to the Julian calendar; how March asked for days from April is said in an old ballad; parts of Northern Ireland tell how blackbird, chuckan (Pratincola rubicola), and a gray cow began teasing March when it was over; March took 9 days in April, three for each insulting him; about the same ideas about borrowing days in Scotland]: http://www.irishcultureandcustoms.com/ACalend/BorrowedDays.html.

The Balkans. Romanians: Golant MS [some regions of Moldova, after twelve "old woman days", celebrate three more days with unstable weather dedicated to birds, two of them "thrush days"]; Kabakova 1994 (Muntenia) [the thrushes were white and lived in the garden on poplars; one day in January, the thrush decided to fly; the chicks were worried that it would freeze; the thrush replies that January was about to die, and with it frost; January became angry and frosty; the thrush huddled into the pipe and turned black; three days later, January lost its breath, and the thrush returned to the chicks]: 214; Gorovei 1893 [Jesus and St. Peter traveled, greeted the thrush; he replied that he had no time to greet them, because he created summer; today he was getting married and tomorrow his brother; on the same afternoon, the cold began it rained and then it snowed, the thrush hit under the roots of the tree, waiting to die; Jesus and St. Peter came the next day; the thrush said he would die today and his brother tomorrow; since then, the thrush has not boasted that he created summer and is concerned not to freeze in March]: 594; Albanians (Mukhurr village, Dibyr province, Peshkopi district, Albanian Central Geg dialect) [mllenj decided at the end of March that winter was over and bred the chicks before other birds; but suddenly it went snow, rain, strong winds began to blow, bad weather lasted three days, and the Lord froze the chicks]: Yulla, Sobolev 2003:422 in Golant 2013, No. 1:6:235; (cf. Ancient Greece [a young man spends all his possessions except his cloak; sees a swallow; decides that summer is already here; sells a cloak; cold weather is coming; the young man sees the swallow dead; regrets believing the swallow]: Gasparov 1968, No. 169:113).