Meet the Birds
Meet five The Song of the Overcomer characters and discover how familiar birds of the British countryside bring themes of faith, truth, courage and discernment into this Christian allegory.
Each bird's natural appearance and habits help shape its personality and symbolism, inviting readers to look beyond what is immediately visible. Here is a glimpse of the birds you will encounter in the farmhouse garden, without giving away what awaits them in the story.
Every Bird Has Something to Reveal
Some birds encourage. Some warn. Some challenge appearances. Together, these bird characters explore questions of faith, character and discernment through the language of Christian allegory.
The symbolism below offers only a glimpse. Their fuller meaning unfolds within The Song of the Overcomer.
Robin
Appearance & Habits
Robin is unusually rounded, even for a robin, with soft down around his head, nut-brown wings and back, and a flaming scarlet breast.
Character
Robin is tender-hearted and kind, emotionally honest and vulnerable with others, sensitive to The Eagle’s presence and the prophetic. He can also be overly trusting and fearful of his own insignificance. His breast blazes because his heart is on fire for his Lord.
Symbolism
A true believer will make many mistakes, but what matters is genuine hunger to know God.
Biblical Link
Acts 2:3-4 Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit …
Sparrow
Appearance & Habits
Sparrow has a little, black face; tan, striped wings; a fawn breast; an earthy grey and dark brown head; a strong-looking, little beak; and white cheeks. There is a good-natured twinkle in Sparrow’s eyes and he is always on the move.
Character
Sparrow is a natural leader in spite of his very humble size and plain colouring. He is positive and cheerful, fiercely loyal and unafraid of responsibility, wise and discerning. He can also lose his temper, and is intolerant with the foolish… but he is quick to recognise his faults.
Symbolism
True faith and leadership cannot be discerned from outer appearance.
Biblical Link
1 Samuel 16:7 For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.
Swan
Appearance & Habits
Swan has spotlessly clean and undefiled feathers which are snowy white; she is also graceful and gentle, and moves steadily.
Character
Like the purity of her plumage, Swan is gracious and forgiving, and willing to see the reasons for others’ wrongdoing.
Symbolism
God has mercy for us, as we forgive others: the Lord washes away our sins and makes us new.
Biblical Link
Matthew 18:33-35 ‘Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?’ And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him. So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses.
Cuckoo
Appearance & Habits
Cuckoo has steel-blue body feathers and lead grey wings, with soft black and white underparts.
Character
Cuckoo is resilient, determined and persevering; she also finds it difficult to be vulnerable with others and show her feelings, having been rejected and hated for most of her life by nearly every other bird. Cuckoo’s metallic-coloured plumage represents the outer shield she has created to cope with her often lonely life.
Symbolism
God often calls us to a life of persistence and endurance, in which we must find the courage not to give way to fear of man.
Biblical Link
Matthew 10:22 And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved.
Coal Tit
Appearance & Habits
Coal Tit has a black head and throat, soft white cheeks, dark grey back and wings, and a light grey breast. He also has a gravelly, gruff voice.
Character
Coal Tit’s personality mirrors the shade of his feathers and his name: he is down-to-earth, tough, straight-talking and rather blunt. He also has a great sense of humour and dry wit. He has good common-sense, but sometimes relies on his own understanding rather than faith to guide him.
Symbolism
Speaking the truth is not about great learning or articulate speech.
Biblical Link
1 Corinthian 1:27 But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty.
Wagtail
Appearance & Habits
Wagtail is all black and white in colouring, with bright, alert eyes. As his name suggests, his long, straight tail never stops bobbing up and down. Instead of hopping or flying, like the other birds, he often runs to places in a sprightly sprint.
Character
Wagtail is bubbly and eager, transparent and whole-hearted. His views mirror his black and white body: he hates all compromise with the truth, and is not afraid of confrontation. His wagging tail represents the worshipper he is, and his sprinting feet the urgency he feels to share the gospel.
Symbolism
Time is short and the harvest is plenty.
Biblical Link
2 Corinthians 6:2 Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.
Blue Tit
Appearance & Habits
Blue Tit is small, energetic and agile, with a lemon breast, sapphire-blue cap and wings, green shoulders, and a white face.
Character
Blue Tit’s zesty colours reflect his zeal for life. He is generous, playful, entertaining and funny; he is also impetuous and willing to take risks. Sometimes he likes to show off, but he is also capable of incredible bravery.
Symbolism
True valour is more than just words or daring.
Biblical Link
Psalm 34:4-5 I sought the Lord, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears. They looked to Him and were radiant, and their faces were not ashamed.
Jay
Appearance & Habits
Jay loves acorns, and collects and stores them where she can. She has a distinctive, luminous blue signal on the side of her wing, and a black and white tail, tan-pink body, screeching call, and large powerful bill.
Character
Jay has a strong prophetic gift and – like the acorns she collects – seeks to find all who have the potential for eternal life. Her wing flash represents the urgency of her witness, her screech the severity of her warning, and her strong beak the warrior-heart she has to fight alongside other believers. She is valiant and single-focussed in her mission.
Symbolism
Just as John the Baptist called men and women to repent before Christ’s ministry on earth began, we too must hear the prophetic call to repentance in the last days before Christ’s return.
Biblical Link
Isaiah 40:3 The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.”
Linnet
Appearance & Habits
Linnet has a cream and beige breast, and a light and dark brown body, both of which are patterned in such a way that the tones of her plumage are constantly varying and hard to distinguish from one another. Even her flight is in undulating bounces, rather than straight lines.
Character
Linnet is unsteady and inconsistent in her faith. She is interested in the comfort, love and good promises it offers, but unwilling to hear about personal cost or self-sacrifice. Her desire for truth and purity quickly give way to self-pity and distraction.
Symbolism
The kingdom of heaven is not for the half-hearted: God’s grace is a free gift which costs everything we have.
Biblical Link
James 1:6-8 … for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
Magpie
Appearance & Habits
Magpies has a rich ebony-black head, rump and back which contrast powerfully with his refined white belly, flanks and wing tips. He has lustrous blue-green tourmaline wings and a long wedge-shaped polished tail of the same colour. He loves – like all magpies – to collect shiny and glistening treasures. He can also make an fantastic range of sounds – from chatters and whistles, to trills and warbles. He is highly intelligent.
Character
Magpie’s character is a greedy and avaricious one: his love of glittering objects and his luxurious plumage mirror his longing for riches and wealth. He deceives believers into thinking that their faith must mean an expectation of abundance and an entitlement to their heart’s desires. His mental acuity and eloquence mean that he can easily persuade others to his point of view.
Symbolism
We must be careful to reject false ‘prosperity teaching’ within the church, as well as deception from the New Age movement – that we can control our destiny through speaking out and visualising our desires, instead of being led by the Holy Spirit.
Biblical Link
1 Timothy 6:6-10 Now godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
Little Owl
Appearance & Habits
Little Owl has a slightly comical appearance: creamy, fluffy legs; a short, chunky beak; huge, yellow-green eyes; and long, tufted eyebrows. He is also extremely small for an owl. He is very repetitive and long-winded in speech.
Character
Little Owl believes in the power of his great learning, and talks extensively about himself – often preventing others’ interruption. He has much to say about his faith but very little to offer in the way of real testimony or fruit. His knows much about his Lord but nothing of intimacy with Him. Little Owl hates his name, since it suggests to him a lack of his true significance as a leader: he has his age-old reputation for great wisdom to maintain.
Symbolism
Jesus rebuked many of the religious leaders of his day: their religion was not about the heart but about rules and form. We must be alert to the influence of a religious spirit which elevates theological understanding, routine and ritual, striving and condemnation above true faith and relationship with Christ.
Biblical Link
Isaiah 29:13 / Matthew 15:9 Inasmuch as these people draw near with their mouths, and honour Me with their lips, but have removed their hearts far from Me, and their fear toward Me is taught by the commandment of men.
Green Woodpecker
Appearance & Habits
Green Woodpecker has luminous lime-green wings, which seem out of place next to the other birds, a bright yellow rump, a striking red head, and a very long, pointed beak. She can tap holes into trunks in record time.
Character
Green Woodpecker takes great pride both in her distinctive appearance and in her unique gift of drumming, insisting on the title of Special Sent One. She is cold-hearted, controlling and self-seeking in her so-called ministry to the other believers.
Symbolism
The Lord warned us to beware of wolves in sheep’s clothing: some of the most popular, attractive and apparently anointed leaders may be false.
Biblical Link
Philippians 2:3-4 Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.
Crossbill
Appearance & Habits
Crossbill has a twisted beak and a deeply forked tail, as well as a large, brick-red head, orange crown and rump, and dark brown wings. His call is a distinctive ‘jip-jip-jip’. He uses his bill to get seeds from pine cones, whilst acrobatically flitting around fir trees. Crossbill is used to being part of a large, noisy flock.
Character
Crossbill’s twisted beak and forked tail represent his false prophetic words and the way he inspires false hopes in those he ministers to. He uses his supposed gift to win favour – and remuneration. He also ‘trains’ others to offer distorted prophecy, without learning to test and apply discernment to the revelation they receive.
Symbolism
Jesus warned us that many false prophets would come in his name: we must learn to test everything by God’s Word and in prayer.
Biblical Link
1 John 4:1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
Goose
Appearance & Habits
Goose is an Embden goose, which means that she: is all-white; walks proud and tall; has a burnt-orange, squat, triangular beak; sports wide, webbed feet; and has downy belly feathers. She also speaks with a soft, smooth – almost seductive – voice, different to the familiar honking common to her kind.
Character
Goose is highly skilled at making her listeners feel comfortable and soothed. She prides herself on her ‘loyalty’ to others, which she describes as a special kind of love. She is indiscriminately nice, taking pains to preserve unity at all costs. Such an appearance of grace deceives others into thinking that she could be Swan, and the fact that her plumage is strikingly similar to Swan’s mirrors this deception.
Symbolism
True grace and love do not fear confrontation, and refuse to compromise the truth for the sake of unity or the demands of the crowd. ‘Hyper-grace’ false teaching preaches Christ’s love for the church, but fails to speak of the cross, the reality of God’s judgment, and the unpopular call to die to the flesh.
Biblical Link
Romans 16:17-18 Now I urge you, brethren, note those who cause divisions and offenses, contrary to the doctrine which you learned, and avoid them. For those who are such do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly, and by smooth words and flattering speech deceive the hearts of the simple.
Crow
Appearance & Habits
Crow is unnaturally sinister. He has a very large, grey, pointed beak and sharply-polished claws on the ends of rigid, un-feathered legs. His body is black, and his back is shiny like the carapace of a giant beetle. His red eyes are completely dead. He is extremely intelligent and speaks with a raucous screech. He is surrounded by flies – which even crawl on his skin beneath his feathers.
Character
Crow is pure evil. He is filled with disdain and cruelty, and motivated by a desire only to torture and to pervert that which is good. The flies are his servants, sent to fill the air around believers with confusion and tormenting lies.
Symbolism
Satan is the enemy of all believers. The Lord taught that he is a liar and comes only to kill, maim and destroy. Biblically, God brings deliverance from the holds of demons who do the devil’s bidding.
Biblical Link
John 8:44 You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.
The Golden Eagle
Appearance & Habits
The Golden Eagle is huge compared to the garden birds, and magnificent. He has: colossal wings, fringed with ebony; a majestic head of soft bronze; a perfect, curved beak and talons of yellow gold; powerful legs, flared with saffron feathers; and eyes of warm amber. He also manifests a heart-breaking alliance of honour, compassion, ecstasy and raw pain.
Character
The Eagle is perfect. Perfect love. Perfect justice. Perfect holiness. But, he can still be seen and felt by the birds who have faith in him. The impossible richness of his plumage symbolises how indescribably precious his presence is to each believer.
Symbolism
Almighty God, who created all things, has sent his son to us – to die on our behalf – so that we might draw near to him, even in the midst of our sins.
Biblical Link
Ezekiel 1:4-10 Then I looked, and behold, a whirlwind was coming out of the north, a great cloud with raging fire engulfing itself; and brightness was all around it and radiating out of its midst like the colour of amber, out of the midst of the fire. Also from within it came the likeness of four living creatures… Each one had four faces, and each one had four wings… They sparkled like the colour of burnished bronze… As for the likeness of their faces … each of the four had the face of an eagle.
Please note that this book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents
are either the result of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any similarity to real
persons, living or deceased, or to actual events or ministries is entirely coincidental and
unintentional.
Look Beyond the Feathers
The Song of the Overcomer characters are more than a cast of memorable birds. Their true-to-life qualities become part of an allegorical world where appearances can mislead, quiet choices matter and character is revealed over time.
These introductions are only the beginning. Discover the farmhouse garden, the world surrounding it and the deeper questions waiting within the story.
From the Garden to Your Inbox
Follow the Journey to November 5
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