B38A. Two birds paint each other.

.19.-.22.24.-.26.29.30.34.36.38.-.42.44.

The two birds agree to paint each other. One of them (usually due to her inappropriate behavior) does not make it more beautiful, but more often than not becomes uglier. Traditions in which not the Raven (Crow, Magpie), but another bird is dissatisfied with its color, are highlighted in bold; traditions in which the Crow or Raven's counterparty is not a bird, but an animal, are highlighted in italics.

Murane, Fergusson, Aore, Kapingamarangi, Lakher, Viets, Khmers, Sedang, Thais, Kayan, Apayao, (Bontok Igorot, Isneg), Chinese, Karachays, Yazgulyam, Chelkans, Yakuts, Japanese, Northern Ryukyu, Forest and Tundra Yukaghirs, Russian Ustye, Coastal Koryaks, Asian Eskimos, Kodiak, (Chugach), Northern Alaska Inupiat, McKenzie Estuary, copper, caribou, netsilic, igloolik, Baffin's Land, Labrador Eskimos, (polar Eskimos), Zap. Greenland, SE Greenland, Angmassalik, atna, eyak, western marsh crees (northern Manitoba).

Melanesia. Fergusson (coluvava) [raven and Kulokulo bird (does it look like a dove?) were friends; the raven invited K. to paint it and did it well; K. undertook to paint the crow, but only smeared it entirely with charcoal; the raven chased K., and she shouted "uu-uuu" and "wawawa"]: Guderian, Guderian 1999:4; Doug [crow and Kakadu decided to color each other; the Raven did his job well, and Kakadu covered the Raven with charcoal; looking at himself in the mirror, the Raven chased Kakadu. but he flew away]: Murane 1974:413; Aore [two birds, Fowl (Chicken?) and Big Legg (chicken-shaped, whole black) go to the party; the Chicken offers to paint each other; the Bigleg painted it white, black and red, and the Chicken painted it with one black; he sees his reflection in the water, indignant, refuses to go to the holiday, retires to the forest; says that from now on people will eat chicken eggs, and his egg will be difficult to find (big legs do not hatch eggs, but hide them in warm ones heaps of humus)]: Guérin 2008:492-496.

Micronesia-Polynesia. The Capingamarangs [The Tern (Bridle-turn) and the Starling decide to color each other; the Starling paints the Tern white with a black spot on its head; the Tern dyes Starling only black; that sad, for not only he but also his children will be like this]: Elbert 1949:245.

Tibet is the Northeast of India. Lakher [Rita birds (Munia, Uroloncha Striata Acuticauda) and Vacchu (Gorlinka) make beaks to each other; V. painted R.'s beak with brass; R. covered V.'s beak with wax; it's no good, they fight; a branch fell on a forest chicken, which hooked an ant, an ant bit the boar's testicles, the boar knocked down a banana, a bat lived on the banana, it flew into the elephant's ear, the elephant trampled on the white ants, they gnawed stairs, the widow's daughter fell; the widow tells the bird to punish R. to have a goiter on the back of her neck]: Parry 1932:567-569.

Burma - Indochina. Vietnam: Cadière 1901 [The peacock invited the Raven to paint each other; the Raven was the first to paint the Peacock; then the Peacock painted the Raven black, adding a white collar around the neck. said he saw people carving a buffalo and had just thrown giblets into the stream; the Raven rushed there, it turned out that there was nothing; the Peacock ran into the forest, and since then he has been living separately from the Raven]: 192-193; Karpov, Tkachev 1958 [Raven and Peacock were white, Raven offered to paint each other, and was the first to paint Peacock; when Peacock began to paint the Raven, he heard a pig screeching and a drum beat, became Hurry Peacock to have time to eat pork at the sacrifice; impatiently jumps into a vessel of black paint and flies away]: 177-178; Ho 1967, No. 151 [The crow and the Peacock were white; the Pheasant says it is necessary dress more beautifully for Mr. Tiger's wedding; Peacock suggests going to King Annam's palace to paint, where artists left the colors they used to paint the walls; the crow painted beautifully Peacock; he says as if he hears the voice of an eagle, tells him to hide, pours black paint on the Raven; in horror her voice became hoarse]: 314-316; Khmers [the birds decided to paint themselves, the Heron was appointed an artist; at the end she and the Raven were left unpainted; in the evening, the Heron asked the Raven to paint it first; when she began to paint the Raven herself, she spread the coal and, unwittingly, smeared it all black; In the morning, the Raven saw itself, rushed to the Heron; since then, herons have been hiding from crows in the forest during the day, getting food at night]: Foshko 1981, No. 8:38-39; sedang [the crows were white and the peacocks were black; the Raven and The peacock decided to paint each other; the Raven made the Peacock bright and colorful; the Peacock tried to do the same, but the Raven saw the Hawks come to peck for carrion, rushed there; Peacock just had time to pour over it black paint]: Nikulin 1976:148-149; Thais [Crow and Peacock were both white; Peacock first invites the Raven to wash himself, then paint each other; the Raven paints the Peacock like he asks; the Peacock was going to paint it the same way; the Raven saw a dead dog swimming along the river, ordered him to paint it quickly in the simplest way; the Peacock filled it with black paint, the Raven flew to peck doggy]: Toth 1971, No. 15:116-120.

Malaysia-Indonesia. Kayan [coucal, Centropus sinensis) and Pheasant (Argusinus grayi) agreed to decorate each other with a tattoo; Kukal painted Pheasant beautifully, who poured paint on him and flew away; with Since then, the koop has a black head and neck, a brownish (tan) body]: Hose, p. 247-248 in Ho 1967, No. 150:314.

Taiwan - Philippines. Apayao [The Crow and the Oriole agree to paint each other; the Raven brightly colored the Oriole, or else made it black; since then, crows and orioles have been chasing each other]: Wilson 1947b: 100; (cf. Igorot bontok [two friends decided to tattoo each other; one did it nicely and the other smeared it black; they got into a fight, the first became a lizard, the other became a crow]: Ho 1967, No. 147:311-312; isneg [The Iguana and the Raven decided to tattoo each other; the Raven did it properly, and Iguana said she heard the dog barking, poured black paint on the Raven, ran away]: Ho 1967, No. 149:313) .

China - Korea. (At least four records, no area specified). The Raven Colours the Swan. Whoever painted birds or another bird pours black paint or mud on the crow or Crane. Since then, that black (or part of its feathers are black): Ting Nai-Tung 1978, no. 232A*: 41.

Caucasus - Asia Minor. Karachays [The Crow and Owl were white, the Raven offered to paint each other; Owl liked the coloring book, she also made the Raven beautiful; then she envied her, poured all the soot on her, flew away; the crow turned black, promised revenge]: Dzhurtubayev 2007:24.

Iran - Central Asia. Yazgulyamtsy [Magpie invites Partridge to paint each other; paints herself well, Partridge has only two feathers; they got into a fight, Magpie poured ash into Partridge's face, now Partridge ashy; The partridge threw a poker at Magpie, the poker became its tail, it looks like a stick prevented by fire in the hearth]: Grunberg, Steblin-Kamensky 1976, No. 80:511.

Southern Siberia - Mongolia. Chelkans [Owl and Bullfinch adorned each other; Bullfinch turned out to be beautiful; Owl's eyes came round and deep; for this, Filin put Bullfinch's head into the fire, it turned red]: Kandarakova 1988:158-159.

Eastern Siberia. Central Yakuts [zap. Ergis, 1930, Ergis Nasleg); Loon was black as a Raven; envious of the colorful outfits of other birds, they decided to decorate themselves with colorful patterns; the Raven was the first to do so; Loon went to look into the water and dived; for such treachery, the Raven managed to hit her sacrum with his beak and cut it in half; the Raven remained black, and Gagara was colorful, but with his legs twisted]: Kulakovsky 1979:73 (=Ergis 1974:216-217; 1967, No. 49:170; quail in Sivtsev-Omolloon 1976:23, in Sivtsev, Efremov 1990:15-16); Evens [the crow and the owl were friends and were white, decided to paint; the crow tried for a long time, the owl liked it, but she decided that it was boring to paint for a long time; told the crow to close its eyes while she was painting it, poured black paint on the crow and flew away; since then, the crow hates the owl]: Robbeck 2005:203-204.

Japan. The Japanese, including the north of the Ryukyu Islands: Ikeda 1971, 249J I. The White Raven asked the Owl to paint it. II. (1) He was mistakenly painted black. (2) The raven came last among the birds and then asked for one thing or the other, testing the Owl's patience. (3) While it was being painted, the Raven twitched with excitement and moved, Owl ran out of patience. III. Now seeing the Owl, the Raven attacks her, so she hides during the day. IV. Hawk asked for a favor, but didn't pay. The Raven was painting, now, seeing the Hawk, he croaks, demanding payment. In these versions, the Hawk and the Raven can change roles]: 60-61; Japanese: Markova 1956 [the owl painted the birds; the raven asked to paint it beautifully; the owl planted it in a pot of black ink; the raven promised to take revenge on her; now the owl is afraid of him and hides during the day]: 105; 1991 [The crow is tired of the white outfit; the owl offers any dress, but he wants an unprecedented color; then Owl dyes his clothes black; The raven is angry, and since then he rushes to the Owl, during the day she hides in hollows]: 241; 2000 [The owl was a dyer, God told her to paint the birds in different colors; the Raven was the last to have the Owl left black paint only]: 83.

SV Asia. Yukaghirs: Jochelson 1926 (tundra) [Chomga asks the Raven to paint it, promises to paint it later; while the Raven sleeps, he smears him from head to toe with coal; the Raven chases Chomga, hits him with a stick; she falls into the water and stays there, because the Raven broke her tail bone]: 275 (=Johelson 1900:327; retelling in Slobodin, Slobodina 1998:105); Nikolaeva et al. 1989 (1) (forest, p. Ridiculous, Verkhnekolymsky District) [all birds are invited to the wedding of Owl and Little Goose's daughter, are painted; the Crow paints Gagara, now asks to paint her; she first painted Chomga, then The crow is bad; they began to fight; the crow broke the lumbar bones of Loon and Chomga; left alone, she painted herself completely black; the birds compete in singing and dancing; the Swan shoves Kuksha into the fire; at the last the moment Goose's daughter refused to follow the Owl; he began to shamanize, since then aquatic birds have been molting], No. 5:27-31; Russian Ustye [Gagara asks the Raven to fill her, he paints her with beautiful specks; tied The crow's eyes, smears it all with soot; he sits on the water, he manages to hit it on the tail, now it is flattened there]: Azbelev, Meshchersky 1986, No. 78:214; coastal Koryaks (Karagin dialect) [ The raven was white; asks Loon to paint it better with tar than other birds and animals; Loon stumbles, a tar bucket overturns on the Raven, he has been black ever since; Crows attack Gagar, forcing leave them from land to sea]: Zhukova 1988, No. 49:173.

The Arctic. Asian Eskimos (Naukan) [two options; Owl and Raven are white, decide to color each other; The Raven painted the Owl long and diligently, the Owl poured black paint on him when he closed his eyes eyes; crows and owls have been at odds ever since]: Menovshchikov 1972:53-54; 1985, No. 6:32-33; Kodiak [the leader's son follows five geese; they turn into girls, swim in the lake; he hides the youngest's clothes; she gives birth to him a son; his sister calls her a goose; she puts on her feather outfit, takes her son and flies away; her husband comes to Bird Heaven for her; sees a tree splitter along the way; chips turn into salmon and trout; his wife agrees to live with him if he does not leave the house; he looks into another house, where the birds dress up and paint; the Seagull and the Raven have not yet finished this procedure; in In panic, she paints it whole black, it white; birds are reluctant to take it back to the ground; the raven carries it, falls, turns into a floating log; the person turns into a white whale]: Golder 1903, No. 10:98-104; (cf. chugach [The Raven is going to marry Duck; he was white, asked to make him as beautiful as her; Duck agreed, but then the kayak showed up, the Duck said she couldn't finish coloring; The Raven replied that she should just smear it with charcoal; The duck did it, dived into the water]: Birket-Smith 1953:64; =Johnson 1984:70); Northern Alaska Inupiate: Lucier 1958, No. 4 (Noatagmiut ) [The raven wants to be invisible to the animals it hunts; first he paints Loon, makes black spots around her neck; Loon asks him to close his eyes, paints it all black; says he can't dive, but will hunt on black rocks]: 92-93; Gubser 1965:250 (nunamiut) [Raven and Loon paint each other; G. asks V. to close their eyes, paints him completely black; Raven throws at Loon ash, that neck turns black] in Kleivan 1971:19-20; McKenzie's mouth [Raven and Loon paint each other; first G. makes the Raven black; man scares off both, G. doesn't have time use other colors]: Jenness 1924, No. 20 [first the Raven paints Loon speckled, makes it a yellow beak]: 47 (translated as Menovshchikov 1985, No. 139:337); Ostermann 1942:106-107; Ostermann 1942:106 in Kleivan 1971:19; brass: Jenness 1924, No. 44 [The Raven is angry that the Seagull is stealing his food; the Seagull paints it black, the Crows used to be white], 45 [The Raven tattoos Loon in specks, paints his beak yellow; Loon throws soot from fat at the Raven, it is now black]: 71; Rasmussen 1932 [white Raven and Loon tattoo each other; G. throws soot from fat at the Raven]: 223; caribou [Raven and Loon paint each other; Loon doesn't like how she was painted; Raven spits on, making him black; Raven pounding Loon on the hips, now she goes in transit]: Rasmussen 1930b: 87; netsilic [Raven and Loon tattoo each other; V. loses patience, throws ash at G., making her back gray; G. throws fat soot at V.]: Rasmussen 1931:399; igloolik : Boas 1901b, No. 19 (West coast of Hudson Bay) [like the Eskimos of Baffin Land; Raven and Loon frame each other's clothes with black specks]: 320; Kroeber 1899, No. 13 [Hawk painted the Raven speckled; when a man approached them, Hawk knocked over the soot vessel, the Raven turned black; he had previously speckled Hawk]: 174; Rasmussen 1930a [like the Eskimos Baffin Land; Raven and Loon tattoo each other; V. throws flint at G., now she can barely walk]: 277; 1930c [Loon smears Crow with excrement]: 39-40; Spalding 1979 (Repulse Bay) [Raven and Loon agrees to tattoo each other; The raven fiddles, shudders, Loon is tired of it, she knocked over a fat soot vessel on him, went to her home; the Raven threw a vessel at her from -under the paint, he damaged her tail, so the loons cannot walk normally on land]: 78; Labrador Eskimos: Hawkes 1916:160 [Owl and Raven quarrel; Owl knocks a lamp over the Raven, making it black]: 15; Turner 1894 [a man paints his sons Gagara and Raven; V. laughs at what G. looks like; he runs into the water in shame; V. does not want to be painted in the manner of Loon]: 262-263; Baffin Land (Cumberland Sound): Boas 1888 [(=1964:233); The Raven makes black and white clothes for the Owl, the Owl makes white clothes for the Raven; he does not sit still while trying on; the Owl knocks over in his hearts fat and soot on it]: 641; 1901-1907, No. 39 [as in Boas 1888; they decorate each other's clothes]: 220-221; polar Eskimos [children (=birds) paint each other speckled; the man frightened the Falcon (falco rusticolus), he knocked over fat and soot on the Raven (commentary in Kleivan 1971:14)]: Holtved 1951, No. 61b: 92-93 (translated into Menovshchikov 1985, No. 208:418); Zap. Greenland [Raven and Loon paint a friend]: Kleivan 1971:13 [Loon is annoyed that the Raven has smeared her legs black, smears him black from head to toe], 14 [The crow doesn't like that Loon painted it white; she now paints it entirely black]; SE Greenland [(Rasmussen 1906:138, 1921:66); Raven and Loon decide to paint each other; Raven colored Loon black with beautiful white specks; Loon painted the Raven in the same way, he didn't like it, Loon poured black paint on him]: Kleivan 197:12-13; Angmassalik: Kleivan 1971 [(Rasmussen 1921:146); The Raven and Loon are both white; they paint each other with beautiful spots; The raven is dissatisfied, until he demands to be corrected until he turns out to be completely black]: 11-12; Thalbitzer 1923, No. 279 [Loon asks The crow paints it; then the Raven paints it, who is dissatisfied; then he smears it all with soot]: 529-530.

Subarctic. Atna [The Raven invites Gagara to paint it; draws her a beautiful necklace; G. is a bad artist, makes the Raven black; runs to the middle of the lake; V. throws black mud on her head]: Smelcer 1997:23-24.

NW Coast. Eyak [all birds are white; Raven and Loon paint each other; V. makes Loon a beautiful black necklace; without finishing work, asks to paint it now; G. is a bad artist, V. turns out to be all black; chases her into the lake; throws black mud on her head]: Smelcer 1993:69-70.

The Midwest. Western Marsh Cree (northern Manitoba): Clay 1978:38-42 [all birds are white, ask Keche Manitoo to paint them; Wesukechak does this; the woodpecker is the last to arrive, paint is over; the other birds gave it their bright colors each], 43-47 [The Goose and the Raven decide to paint each other; Wesukechak has only black paint left; the Raven painted the Goose with beautiful specks; The goose painted badly, the Raven chased him, the Goose threw the rest of the paint at him, and the Raven turned all black].