The animal world is full of harbingers of doom—at least, according to superstitions. From the Tower of London’s ravens (whose departure would signal the fall of an entire nation) to the average black cat crossing your unlucky path, plenty of critters warn of woe. In Ominous Animals, we explore the lore—and the science—behind these finned, furry, and feathered messengers of impending calamity. An agile gray bird with a chipper song flitters in and out of a hiker’s peripheral vision in the New Zealand bush. The bird—a fantail—often comes within a…
