U is for Uccellino. U is for the first bird who got me hooked on our feathered friends. U is for all the birds, for all of the uccelli, big and small, who keep me company on my Roman rooftop terrace.
Last week we survived the Giorni della Merla, the Days of the Blackbird. January 29-31 are considered to be the coldest days of the year in Italy and legend has it that if those days are warm then we have a ways to go before Spring but if it is quite cold then Spring is right around the corner. In ancient Greek and Roman mythology the merla was Persephone’s messenger bird, who announced to Demeter her arrival from the underworld and thus the arrival of Spring. In other stories the merla is said to have been a white bird but after surviving one very cold end of January hiding away in a chimney to keep her chicks warm she emerged blackened by the soot.
I get an occasional blackbird on my terrace, as well as a bright green wild parakeet (the non-native to Rome rose-ringed parakeet), and a sweet mourning dove. But the bird that visits me the most is a corvo, well two actually. Two carrion crows come to freshen up at the water dish I set out for all the uccelli . I confess to leaving them snacks here and there. I do it mostly out of habit. And because I miss my Lockdown Crows.
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