Birds always fascinated human kind because of their beauty, power and ability of flying. This influence is mainly seen in Ancient Egypt.
Hieroglyphs are pictures that were used to write in ancient Egyptian language.
In the beginning hieroglyphic signs were used to keep records of the King's 
possessions. Scribes could easily make these records by
drawing a picture of a cow or a boat followed by a number. But as the language became more complex, more pictures were needed.
Eventually the language consisted of more than 750 individual signs.
Hieroglyphs are more than just a way of writing, they are also pictures, and as such they are meant to be aesthetic pleasing.
Birds were also Gods and decorated Temples, tombs and every single part of all Egyptian monuments.
Ibis
The sacred Ibis was a white bird with black grits head, rock and tips of the wing pinions. It attached special significance
because it was regarded as the incarnation of "Thoth". Numerous mummified Ibises were laid to rest in the Necropolis of
Hermopolis, Thoth's main cult centre. Thousands of examples
have also been found in the sacred animal Necropolis at Sakkara.
They were specially bred on the nearby lake at Abusir to be embalmed and offered to pilgrims to dedicate in the vast
underground galleries of the site. The crested Ibis, with dark iridescent plumage, is seen in the written character for
the word "to be radiant" and in earlier times it appeared as a metamophor for "transfiguration" and lasts as an image for the transfigured dead.
Falcon
The scaring flight and aggression of the falcon gave him a special position in
cult. In the pyramid age the image of the falcon already
served in the written language as general determinative for God. As King of the air the falcon became the sacred animal of the King of
the Gods, Horus and also a symbol of divine Kingship falcon statues wearing the double crown, as the large granite example in the
temple of Horus at Edfu, are to be understood in this way.
Horus was a sky God who protected the earth with his wings. There were other Falcon Gods besides him: Morth the God of War
who wore a crown of double plumes. The Sun god Re who bore the Sun-disc of his head, and the Mortuary God, Sokar. Hathor
was often characterized as a female falcon in equation with Horus as the Sky God. In the pyramid age the
ascension of the King
represented as the flight of a falcon. The "BA" bird, symbol of the soul, was also usually depicted in the form of a falcon. In the
late period mummyform coffins, or the mummies themselves often had a falcon mask, as the silver coffin of the Pharaoh
Sheskmon II from Tanis in the Cairo Museum.
Horus
'The One Far Above'
Appearance:
Man with the head of a hawk – A hawk
Horus was a god of the sky.
He is probably most well-known as the protector of the ruler of Egypt.
The Egyptians believed that the pharaoh was the 'living Horus'.
The ancient Egyptians had many different beliefs about the god Horus. One of the most common beliefs was that Horus
was the son of Isis and Osiris.
After Osiris was murdered by his brother Seth, Horus fought with Seth for the throne of Egypt.
In this battle, Horus lost one of his eyes. The eye was restored to him and it became a symbol of protection for
the ancient Egyptians. After this battle, Horus was chosen to be the ruler of the world of the living.
One of the best-preserved temples in Egypt today was dedicated to Horus. It is located in Upper Egypt at a town called Edfu.
Ra –“Sun” Appearance: Man with hawk head and headdress with a sun diskRa was the sun god. He was the most
important god of the ancient Egyptians.The ancient Egyptians believed that Ra was swallowed every night by the
sky goddess Nut, and was reborn every morning. The ancient Egyptians also believed that he travelled through the
underworld at night. In the underworld, Ra appeared as a man with the head of a ram.
More
photos of birds in Egypt
Do you like Egypt? So, visit the beautiful web site:
http://web.ukonline.co.uk/gavin.egypt/index.htm
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