Bird Postures
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Period Illustrations:
Displayed:
| Zacharias | Zacharias |
| Zacharias | BSB |
| Zacharias | Zacharias |
SENA
Armory Conflict (SENA A.5.G.7.a.)
"Changes that distinctly affect the number of extended wings (from wings folded to raised, or from wings seen on one side of the body to both sides) are sufficient for a distinct change." http://heraldry.sca.org/sena.html#A5G7a
Appendix L: A Partial List of Postures and Orientations
This is a list of postures and orientations that can be used to determine whether two charges or groups of charges conflict or whether there is a distinct change for posture/orientation. Animate Charges B. Birds: The postures listed within each group generally conflict, though a distinct change may be given for facing to dexter or to sinister.
- close, naiant
- displayed, migrant
- volant
- rousant, rising, striking [rousant is basically the same as rising but refers to swans]
From the Quick Reference: Bird Postures
- @http://heraldry.sca.org/armory/bird-postures.html
From "Heraldry: Blazonry of Creatures"
by Eldred Ælfwald
Beasts of the Air (birds or monsters that are mostly wing)
rising: wings are open, as if the bird is taking off. There are a variety of postures and wing positions associated with rising. In some cases the bird is seen from the side. In other cases it is seen from the front. The phoenix is always blazoned as rising and always seems to be displayed affronty. The head could be up or down.
addorsed: both wings are behind the bird's head in a natural posture. See displayed for additional modifiers.
displayed: wings outstretched to either side of the avian. When the wings are displayed or addorsed, there are two ways that they may be shown: elevated--with the wing tips up (typical of Continental armory);inverted--with wing tips down (typical of English armory). Within the SCA, there is no difference given between elevated and inverted wings.
close: wings are closed. A peacock close is blazoned pavonated. Close is a common attitude for "lesser" birds. Note: any raptor close will probably be blazoned as a falcon. A bat close will be depicted affronty, and an owl close is usually depicted guardant.
striking, rousant, trussing: raptor in flight with head down and talons out stretched to grasp. In period armory, this was blazoned as rousant or trussing. May be enhanced with another bird (usually lying close fesswise) as "preying upon an X".
affronty: as with land beasts, avians can be shown affronty. Some such as the owl and the bat are much more identifiable this way. However, their heads will typically be seen in profile.
statant:this posture is normally reserved for long-legged avians such as the heron and the crane.
in her piety: reserved for pelicans, the pelican is shown beak to breast with blood dropping to pelican chicks.
in its vigilance: reserved for cranes, it is shown with head up and one leg raised grasping a rock.
in his pride: reserved for peacocks, it is shown statant affronty with the tail feathers spread.
volant: as if the bird were in flight. There are a variety of ways to position the wings. The normally accepted practice is to show the bird as if it were banking or circling. When depicted as shown below, this matches standard period heraldic practice. Brooke-Little notes that this was once a synonym for rising but in modern heraldry volant is distingushed from risingby the bird's feet not being visible.
naiant: this is used in the SCA to describe waterfowl that are "swimming"
migrant: a bird in flight palewise, viewed from the top (similar to tergiant//). This appears to be an SCA invention--and it is virtually indistinguishable from //displayed. [[1]]
Precedents:
Precedents of the SCA College of Arms - [[2]] Morsulus Heralds Website - [[3]] (to search the LoARs and Precedents) Restatement Wiki - [[4]] (restatements of Precedents) Use the above links to be sure any precedents listed below haven't been superseded by newer precedents.
Definition:
December 2012 - Hummingbirds Volant, Rising, and Hovering
A question on one of this month's submissions caused us to investigate the postures of hummingbirds registered in the Society. There are currently 41 pieces of armory with one or more hummingbirds: 1 is close, 1 is migrant, 3 are displayed, 8 are blazoned as volant, 27 are blazoned as rising, and 1 is blazoned as hovering.
An examination of the volant, rising, and hovering hummingbirds showed that we have inconsistently blazoned the various postures. Birds in the hovering posture unique to the hummingbird - body erect but embowed, wings addorsed, tail tucked forward under the body - have been variously blazoned as rising or volant (and yes, once as hovering). We also found hummingbirds blazoned as volant that are in the posture the Society identifies as rising.
While the term hovering isn't an heraldic posture, neither is stooping or striking (which we equate, for conflict purposes, with volant bendwise and rising, respectively). While we are reluctant to use SCA-unique terminology in blazon, hovering is the best term that describes that unique hummingbird posture. We note that certain period heraldic charges had special terms for postures uniquely (at least in period heraldry) associated with them, for example, stags at gaze and goats clymant. In order to ensure that the emblazon is recreated from the blazon, we are adopting the term hovering for hummingbirds. The three postures can be described as:
- Hovering: the wings addorsed, the body sort of palewise but embowed, and the tail tucked forward under the belly. This term may only be applied to hummingbirds. It is granted no difference from rising.
- Rising: the body bendwise, wings elevated and addorsed. In other words, the bird is "taking off" from the ground. If present, the feet are shown beneath or slightly in front of the bird. The feet are generally absent for hummingbirds, though they are almost always present for other birds.
- Volant: the body is more or less horizontal, the wings spread on either side of the body. If the wings are addorsed this must be specified. A bird volant (wings spread) is a CD from a bird rising.
We wish to remind submitters that the use of a hummingbird is a step from period practice. http://heraldry.sca.org/loar/2007/12/07-12cl.html
March 2011 - vigilance only for cranes:
#23Constantine Trewpeny. Name and device. Per chevron sable and gules, three cranes in their vigilance argent. While the submitter wanted the birds blazoned as herons, they are unmistakably cranes: herons have a tuft of feathers on their head. They are also in a posture, in their vigilance, that is only used for cranes. http://heraldry.sca.org/loar/2011/03/11-03lar.html
October 2010 - stooping vs striking:
Padruig of Calontir. Per bend sinister gules and argent, a falcon stooping contourny counterchanged maintaining in its talons a bow and hammer azure, a bordure counterchanged. Blazoned on the Letter of Intent as striking, a bird in a striking posture has its head up and tail down, whereas a bird in a stooping posture has its head down and tail up, as in this depiction; more typically the feet in a stooping posture are swept back, not forward, but either is allowable. [[5]]
December 2007 - Hummingbird Postures:
From Wreath: Hummingbirds Volant, Rising, and Hovering A question on one of this month's submissions caused us to investigate the postures of hummingbirds registered in the Society. There are currently 41 pieces of armory with one or more hummingbirds: 1 is close, 1 is migrant, 3 are displayed, 8 are blazoned as volant, 27 are blazoned as rising, and 1 is blazoned as hovering.
An examination of the volant, rising, and hovering hummingbirds showed that we have inconsistently blazoned the various postures. Birds in the hovering posture unique to the hummingbird - body erect but embowed, wings addorsed, tail tucked forward under the body - have been variously blazoned as rising or volant (and yes, once as hovering). We also found hummingbirds blazoned as volant that are in the posture the Society identifies as rising.
- While the term hovering isn't an heraldic posture, neither is stooping or striking (which we equate, for conflict purposes, with volant bendwise and rising, respectively). While we are reluctant to use SCA-unique terminology in blazon, hovering is the best term that describes that unique hummingbird posture. We note that certain period heraldic charges had special terms for postures uniquely (at least in period heraldry) associated with them, for example, stags at gaze and goats clymant. In order to ensure that the emblazon is recreated from the blazon, we are adopting the term hovering for hummingbirds. The three postures can be described as:
- Hovering: the wings addorsed, the body sort of palewise but embowed, and the tail tucked forward under the belly. This term may only be applied to hummingbirds. It is granted no difference from rising.
- Rising: the body bendwise, wings elevated and addorsed. In other words, the bird is "taking off" from the ground. If present, the feet are shown beneath or slightly in front of the bird. The feet are generally absent for hummingbirds, though they are almost always present for other birds.
- Volant: the body is more or less horizontal, the wings spread on either side of the body. If the wings are addorsed this must be specified. A bird volant (wings spread) is a CD from a bird rising.
We wish to remind submitters that the use of a hummingbird is a step from period practice. http://heraldry.sca.org/loar/2007/12/07-12cl.html
February 2007 stooping vs striking:
Balin Kendrick. Quarterly azure and gules, two eagles stooping respectant and a two-horned anvil Or. As defined for SCA use (in the LoAR Cover Letters of July and Aug 1986), stooping is reserved for when the raptor is "dive-bombing", falling on its prey: wings swept back, body vertical or diagonal with head down. Striking is the moment when the raptor comes out of its stoop, its feet ready to grab or punch the prey: body diagonal with head up, heraldically equivalent to rising. [[6]]
November 2006 - displayed:
Syban Khal. Device. Sable, on a plate a Russian firebird volant palewise head to sinister gules within a bordure rayonny argent. "This device is returned for a redraw. ...In addition, the bird is not displayed, as blazoned on the LoI: that posture is specifically defined to have the feet stick out on either side of the body, and this bird has no feet." http://heraldry.sca.org/loar/2006/11/06-11lar.html
February 2002 - passant vs close:
"A bird passant, that is to say, with one leg raised, is considered an unblazoned variant of close" February 1996 LoAR & February 2002 LoAR
May 1980 - vigilance:
Kingdom of Ansteorra for The Sable Crane of Ansteorra. Or, a crane in its vigilance sable, armed, orbed, membered, crested and throated Or, fimbriated sable, bearing in its dexter claw a mullet of five greater and five lesser points sable. Note: A crane in its vigilance is statant with its dexter foreleg upraised. http://heraldry.sca.org/loar/1980/05/lar.htm
August 1977 - stooping:
"Stooping" means that the bird is seen affronty, its wings addorsed and its talons extended as if about to pounce on something. (KFW, 11 Aug 77 [14], p. 1) http://heraldry.sca.org/laurel/precedents/karina/karinacombined.html#stooping
Registerability:
(Restricted, Reserved, SFPP, OOP)
November 2012 - non-eagles displayed:
From Wreath: Blazoning Fun -- Non-Eagles Displayed We have long held that the use of any bird other than an eagle in the displayed posture is a step from period practice. The January 2000 Cover Letter stated that "with vanishingly rare exceptions the eagle is the only bird found displayed in period heraldry. Therefore any other bird displayed will arguably be visually similar to an eagle..." This visual similarity affects how much difference we can grant when considering conflict between a non-eagle displayed and an eagle displayed. In the case of a _raven displayed_, a fairly popular charge lately, versus an _eagle displayed_, there is neither a substantial nor a distinct change.
There is, however, a blazonable difference between a non-eagle displayed and an eagle displayed. It is important to remember that we register the picture, the emblazon, not the words, the blazon. The blazon must be able to accurately describe the submitted emblazon. If we cannot tell from the submitted emblazon that a displayed bird is not an eagle, it will be reblazoned as an eagle. Ravens will typically have a long straight beak, no crest on the head, and occasionally shaggy or hairy feathers. In order for a _raven displayed_ to be identified as such, it is suggested that as many non-eagle attributes as possible be used. http://heraldry.sca.org/loar/2012/11/12-11cl.html
Conflict:>
May 2014 - volant vs close:
From Wreath: Volant and Substantial Difference This month we ruled that a bird volant// had substantially different posture from a bird //close//. SENA A5E5a does not currently list the //volant// posture in one of its groups of postures that receive substantial difference from other groups of postures. Look for a Palimpsest rules letter to further discuss whether or not //volant should be added in general to SENA A5E5a, and if so, under what circumstances. http://heraldry.sca.org/loar/2014/05/14-05cl.html
November 2012 - non-eagles displayed:
From Wreath: Blazoning Fun -- Non-Eagles Displayed We have long held that the use of any bird other than an eagle in the displayed posture is a step from period practice. The January 2000 Cover Letter stated that "with vanishingly rare exceptions the eagle is the only bird found displayed in period heraldry. Therefore any other bird displayed will arguably be visually similar to an eagle..." This visual similarity affects how much difference we can grant when considering conflict between a non-eagle displayed and an eagle displayed. In the case of a _raven displayed_, a fairly popular charge lately, versus an _eagle displayed_, there is neither a substantial nor a distinct change.
There is, however, a blazonable difference between a non-eagle displayed and an eagle displayed. It is important to remember that we register the picture, the emblazon, not the words, the blazon. The blazon must be able to accurately describe the submitted emblazon. If we cannot tell from the submitted emblazon that a displayed bird is not an eagle, it will be reblazoned as an eagle. Ravens will typically have a long straight beak, no crest on the head, and occasionally shaggy or hairy feathers. In order for a _raven displayed_ to be identified as such, it is suggested that as many non-eagle attributes as possible be used. http://heraldry.sca.org/loar/2012/11/12-11cl.html
August 2007 and January 2002 - period postures:
"There is no difference between the falcon and the Cornish chough."[2002 LoAR] BUT... "Normally a detail as small as a beak would not be grounds for a CD; however, RfS X.4.e states in part "Types of charges considered to be separate in period, for example a lion and an heraldic tyger, will be considered different." As a merlin/falcon close and a raven close are both period heraldic charges, in their period posture (close), and as period heralds consistently distinguished, in their heraldic art, the birds in these positions, we will grant a CD between a merlin/falcon close and a raven close."http://heraldry.sca.org/loar/2007/08/07-08cl.html%7CAugust 2007 LoAR Cover Letter
March 2003 - head position
"There is no difference in posture between these birds except for the head position, which is insufficient for posture difference by RfS X.4.h." http://sca.org/heraldry/loar/2003/03/03-03lar.html%7CMarch 2003 LoAR
Identifiability:
August 2003 - winged head cabossed:
#139Mora de Buchanan. Device. Per chevron purpure and vert, a winged owl's head cabossed and in chief a crescent argent. Some members of the College did not find the owl's head as drawn here to be identifiable. We note that this is a very stylized depiction of an owl's head, without a clearly drawn beak or eyes. Those members of the College who were able to identify the owl's head all perceived this "winged owl's head cabossed" as a depiction of an owl flying straight out of the shield towards the viewer. While the SCA does register many winged objects, such as winged swords, they generally cannot be perceived as anything other than a winged object. When one adds wings to a bird's head cabossed, one does not perceive a winged bird's head, but one perceives an entire bird seen flying towards the viewer, which is to say, a bird volant affronty//. Previous precedent notes that "The posture //volant affronty has been ruled unsuitable for use in heraldry on at least two occasions ... on the grounds that it is "inherently unidentifiable"... in those case[s] the returns involved birds... [This return was of a demi-pegasus.]" (LoAR February 1998 p. 18). Pleae advise the submitter that, if she plans to resubmit using an owl's head, she should draw it as a more standard heraldic owl's head to avoid the identifiability problems in this submission. http://heraldry.sca.org/loar/2003/08/03-08lar.html
Collected Precedents:
Tenure of Elisabeth de Rossignol (May 2005 - July 2008) - na
The 2nd Tenure of François la Flamme (October 2004 - May 2005) - na The Tenure of Shauna of Carrick Point (May 2004 - August 2004) - [Armory Precedents] The Tenure of François la Flamme (August 2001 - April 2004) - [Armory Precedents] The Tenure of Elsbeth Anne Roth (June 1999 - July 2001) - [Armory Precedents] The Tenure of Jaelle of Armida (June 1996 - June 1999) - [HTML Document] The 2nd Tenure of Da'ud ibn Auda (November 1993 - June 1996) - the 1st part (Nov 1993 - June 1994) and the 2nd part (July 1994 - June 1996) The Tenure of Bruce Draconarius of Mistholme (June 1992 - October 1993) - [precedents] The 1st Tenure of Da'ud ibn Auda (June 1990 - June 1992) - the 1st year (June 1990 - June 1991) and the 2nd year (July 1991 - June 1992) The Tenure of Alisoun MacCoul of Elphane (September 1986 - June 1990) - [Precedents] The Tenure of Baldwin of Erebor (August 1984 - August 1986) - [HTML Document] The Tenure of Wilhelm von Schlüssel (August 1979 - August 1984) - [Precedents] The Tenure of Karina of the Far West (December 1975 - June 1979) - [Precedents] The Early Days (June 1971 - June 1975) - [Precedents]