Adventures of Johnny Eagle

WHY IS THE EAGLE THE MOST POPULAR BIRD ?

2009-01-07T22:51:00.000-08:00

It seems that from the dawn of time, the eagle has been considered THE KING OF THE SKY by nations around the world- from India to Europe.
This blog will try to answer the question why was the eagle chosen as the KING OF THE SKY by all nations and also show how the eagle has become iconic in all cultures, nations and religions.
In Asia, both Buddhists and Hindus worship Garuda, King of birds who's image is usually part man and part eagle. According to the Mahabharata, Garuda had six sons from whom were descended the race of birds.

In the picture above: Lord Krishna riding Garuda King of birds(Eagle).

It is amazing how many nations around the world have chosen the Eagle as their symbol of strength and pride. Not just in the various scriptures but also in image choosing it as the national symbol on the flag, on the coat of arms and the emblem.
It is quite stunning to look at the number game to get a true sense of the vast popularity and influence of the eagle in world cultures.
There are 6.7 Billion people in the world.
268.4 million people have a flag that has an eagle in it. Another 1260.4 Million people have it as either their emblem or their coat of arms.
For another 2.3 Billion people it is Holy connected to Asian traditions.
For another 2.1 Billion Christians it's associated with John the Apostle.

It is quite obvious that the eagle is both considered the king of the sky and the holiest of birds to most of humanity.
Below are more statistics:

FLAG/EMBLEM/COAT OF ARM WITH AN EAGLE:

NATIONAL FLAG WITH EAGLE:
Mexico 109.9 Million
Egypt 81.7 Million
Poland 38.5 Million
Austria 8.2 Million
Albania 3.6 Million
Montenegro .7 Million
Moldova 4.3 Million
Zambia 11.6 Million
Serbia 10 Million

TOTAL 268.4 Million people have a flag with an Eagle

If you add to it nations that have Eagles in their coat of arms:

EMBLEM/COAT OF ARM WITH EAGLE:

US 303.8 Million
Indonesia 237.5 Million
Nigeria 148 Million
Russia 141.37 Million
Philipinnes 96 Million
Germany 82.4 Million
South Africa 47 Million
Armenia 3 Million
Romania 22 Million
Ghana 18.4 Million
United Arab Emirates 4.6 Million
Jordan 6.2 Million
Iraq 28.2 Million
Syria 19.7 Million
Yemen 23 Million
Namibia 1.83 Million
Thailand 65.5 Million
Malawi 13.9 Million

TOTAL 1260.4 Million people have emblem/COA with eagle.

TOTAL PEOPLE WHO HAVE FLAGS/EMBLEM/COAT OF ARMS:
268.4 M + 1260.4 M = 1.528.8 Billion People

Which is over a fifth of the world population!

The Greek Orthodox flag has an Eagle on it. It is hard to find exact numbers of Greek Orthodox members in the world only of the Eastern Orthodox of which the Greek Orthodox is part of. There's an estimated:

225- 300 Million Eastern Orthodox Worldwide.

In Asian Culture the Eagle is holy and is part of the dragon with the Eagle claws.
Among the nations that give it great strength and meaning:

China 1300 Million
Korea 47 Million
Japan 127.3 Million

Total: 1474.3 Million

In India, in Hindu Mythology: Garuda is the king of the sky.
The gold-colored "Garuda" had a human body but the wings and face/beak of an eagle
It's a Sacred Bird for Hindus. Garuda is revered by Hindus as the vehicle of Lord Vishnu. Heroes who die heroic death are sometimes immortalized as Garuda.

Number of Hindus worldwide 900 Million people

Garuda is also holy to Buddhists and is the coat of arms of Thailand ( See below)

Number of Buddhist worldwide 376 Million people.

Eagles in your culture.

2009-01-07T09:26:00.000-08:00

Below:
UK : Barclays Bank- The UK's second largest bank and one of the oldest banks dating back to 1690.
ITALY: Designer Armani - Armani Exchange logo with eagle.

Before we continue, we recommend that each person reading this blog think for a minute about Eagle related items in his own culture.
The eagle symbol has become the symbol of many of Africa's nations, the symbol of many Arab nations, the symbol of many Eastern European nations, the symbol of Russia, the symbol of the USA.

It is holy in Judaism, Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism and Islam among other religions.

It has been the logo of designers, banks, nations, food companies, sport teams, weapons, for centuries.

The question is how and why this animal succeeded in united people around the world about it.

EAGLES IN FLAGS AND COATS OF ARMS

2009-01-07T09:19:00.001-08:00

MEXICO

Egypt

POLAND

AUSTRIA

ALBANIA

MONTENEGRO

MOLDOVA

ZAMBIA

SERBIA

USA

INDONESIA

NIGERIA

RUSSIA

PHILIPPINES

GERMANY

SOUTH AFRICA

ARMENIA

ROMANIA

GHANA

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

JORDAN

IRAQ

SYRIA

YEMEN

NAMIBIA

THAILAND

MALAWI

EAGLES IN CITY and DISTRICTS ACROSS EUROPE

2009-01-07T08:51:00.000-08:00

The Eagle appears across Europe also in city flags, district flags and family coat of arms. Here are a few examples:
1. UK: Spencer Family (Princess Diana's family) Coat of Arms.
2. Switzerland: Coat of arms of Geneva
3. Germany: Wappen_Schwarzwald-Baar-Kreis.
4. Former Czech Republic: City of Karvina
5. Former Czech Republic: City of Orlova.

Asian Cultures

2009-01-06T10:14:00.000-08:00

Eagles have a long history in Asian Cultures.
The eagle has an important role in myth not just in the west but also in the east.
We have discussed the Hindu religion's role of the eagle in the first segment.
But The eagle has been influential and significant also in all the other Asian cultures.
The dragon one of the most beloved symbols in China/Japan/Korean has Eagle claws for legs.

The eagle symbolism can be found everywhere and even a famous Kung Fu styles is called EAGLE CLAW KUNG FU and has schools across the US.

Belows: Images of the EAGLE CLAW KUNG FU AND VARIOUS DRAGONS:

HISTORY OF THE EAGLE CLAWED DRAGON:

Here's a blurb about the Asian dragon:
Chinese Dragons
"The Celestial Chinese Dragon is comparable as the symbol of the Chinese race itself. Chinese around the world, proudly proclaim themselves "Lung Tik Chuan Ren" (Descendents of the Dragon). Dragons are referred to as the divine mythical creature that brings with it ultimate abundance, prosperity and good fortune."

"Many different animals contribute to the dragon's body. For instance, the dragon has the body of a snake, belly of a frog, scales of a carp, head of a camel, horns of a giant stag, the eyes of a hare, ears like a bull, a neck like an inguana, paws like a tigers, and claws like an eagle."

The Oriental Dragon Tradition
To identify the origin of an Oriental dragon, look at its claws. If it has five claws per foot it probably comes from China. Three claws means Japan. Four claws means Korea.

"Unlike the the negative energies associated with Western Dragons, most Eastern Dragons are beautiful, friendly, and wise. They are the angels of the Orient. Instead of being hated, they are loved and worshipped."

"Dragons are deeply rooted in Chinese culture. The Chinese sign for the dragon first appeared upon turtle shields as a tribal totem way back during the Yin and Shang dynasties, and was eventually emblazed on the national flag during the Qing Dynasty [1644-1911 AD]."

EAGLE CLAW KUNG FU

Ying Jow Pai (Eagle Claw Kung Fu)
The Eagle Claw system is a Northern Chinese martial arts style with an emphasis on clawed hand positions and catching and controlling the opponent.
Eagle Claw Gung Fu (Faan Tzi Ying Jow Pai) is known for its peculiar and powerful gripping techniques and for its intricate system of locks, takedowns, and pressure point strikes as well as long strikes. Eagle Claw is one of the oldest, most complete, most complex and devastating of the surviving Northern Shaolin styles. The style is said to have started in 1130, at a time of Mongolian incursions into northern China, when General Ngok Fei learned techniques from a Shaolin monk named Jow Tong. Ngok Fei adapted and taught these techniques (which he called "Elephant Style) to his army which went on to many battlefield victories. Later during the Ming Dynasty the hand techniques were combined with the Faan Tzi system by a monk, Lai Chin, thus creating the system now called Northern Eagle Claw. During the 1800's, the system was passed along to the Lau family. In the 1920's one of the top fighters in all of China was Eagle Claw master Chan Tzi Ching. One of his top students was Ng Wai Nung who went on to assist the famous Eagle Claw Grandmaster Lau Fat Mon. In the US there are many schools spread throughout the nation.

CALLIGRAPHY

In Calligraphy there are also a lot of images of eagles.

EAGLE IMAGES

2009-01-02T13:56:00.000-08:00

The Eagle is one of the most popular animals worldwide. On a daily basis billions of people are exposed to images of eagles posted everywhere including logos, memorabilia, flags etc... ( See our previous post and watch the video: Alba- the eagle for history of the eagle in many other nations or go to:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yhg9X0LhEI4

In the next two posts on this blog, we've tried to accumulate some of the many images of eagles that surround us today from American Airlines adds, to the large beer maker Anhueser Busch.

What is fascinating is how many companies, organizations and even countries have adopted the eagle as a symbol of strength, power and trustworthiness for hundreds of years.

EAGLE IMAGES IN THE USA

2009-01-02T13:53:00.000-08:00

Even thought the eagle is part of the coat of arms or flag of nearly a quarter of the world population- it has strongly been associated in modern times with the USA.

The eagle appears in almost every US government logo and can be found in almost every souvenir store across the US in all the states. In a cross country trip I've made several years ago, I found memorabilia with it even in the smallest towns in the middle of nowhere.
Seems like it's only competition are Elvis, Marlyn and Mother Marry items.

There are many inspirational posters With eagles in them that can be bought both in stores and online. They show images of flying eagles with inspirational tags or sentences attached to them.

Many Flag posters also have an eagle gracing it.
Attached below are but a few of endless examples that can be found online as well:

The role of the eagle in myth

2009-01-01T10:03:00.001-08:00

Below:
1. Greek Orthodox Flag that has the eagle on it.
2. Popular Pan Arab Eagle this one from Syria.
3. John the Apostle in 2 illustrations one with an eagle the other the Eagle as a symbol of St. John.

I decided to revisit the first post in this blog and add more clips showing the role of the eagles in our myth regardless of culture or religion.

It seems the eagle has a similar role in many songs both old and new- Jewish, Christian, Mongolian, Native American etc...
He is the savior. The bird who is destined to save other birds from the hands of the vultures. He is the chosen one who will bring us to safety.

There are popular songs with hundreds of thousands of Youtube.com views, like the Christian song "On Eagle Wings" (which have many versions)and there are less known songs. What they seem to all show is a recurring theme of the role we have given this bird in our myth as our own savior. There are so many animals and birds and yet the Eagle in so many cultures around the world have given this bird mythic characters. It is neither the largest of birds nor the fastest and yet there is something in the way it conducts itself that makes us look at it with so much awe throughout the generations.

Below are four examples:

The Legends Project - I Am An Eagle
It seems this is a native American project uploaded to Youtube.
I've included the words of the song below.

THE LITTLE BIRD
A song from the Jewish Chabad camp. The song is interesting as it deals with the eagle saving a little bird from the claws of the vultures. In Judaism the eagle is a symbol of greatness. Many great scholars and Rebbes like Maimondes, Rebbe Lubavitch, Rebbe Menachem Shneerson have been referred to as "THE GREAT EAGLE"

Jesus with Eagle wings.
The hit comedy "Talladega Nights" is a clever assessment of American culture, religion, and obsessions.
Each person describes how he sees Jesus and it's interesting that the last one sees him as Jesus with Eagle wings.

ON EAGLES WINGS
This Youtube.com has 450,000 views and deals with Christ and redemption. There are many versions of this song on Youtube.com
The eagle is the symbol used to depict John the Apostle whose writing most clearly witnesses the light and divinity of Christ.

In art, John as the presumed author of the gospel is often depicted with an eagle which symbolizes the height he rose in the first of his gospels.

EAGLE IN ISLAM:
In the Arab world the Eagle also carries large symbolism.
The Syrian national emblem is a reproduction of the Eagle of Saladin. This mediveal Arab hero used a golden eagle as his coat of arms and had it painted on the flags his armies carried during many victorious battles. Other Arab countries have also adopted an Eagle as their emblem, including Egypt, Libya, Palestine and Iraq. This giant eagle is engraved on the wall of the Telecommunications Building in Saadallah Al-Jabiri Street. The shield in the center carries the three stars of the old Syrian flag and the inscription on the ribbon reads "Syrian Republic." This is a bit different from the current coat of arms which has two stars (since 1982) and the words "Syrian Arab Republic" on the ribbon (since 1961).

Eagle videos

2008-12-31T12:10:00.001-08:00

Back to plain good old real life videos with eagles. I've watched dozens and dozens of Eagle videos on youtube lately and many are not that interesting.

Seems everyone who spots an eagle rushes to shoot it on their cameraphone and post it as if the fact someone spotted an eagle somewhere on the planet is exciting enough and a real justification to post online. There are eagles everywhere on the planet so seeing one is not that hard.

I've tried to be more selective in the clips I've posted on this blog and to include only those that have something that is a little different to create a full range of interesting videos with some justification.

EAGLE VS EAGLE: SPECTACULAR AIR FIGHTS LIKE WWII AIRFIGHTS

EAGLE and RAVENS hunt in the snow:
I liked the Youtube.com video below because of the interesting POV shots of the eagle looking down at the world.

Eagles Swimming

2008-12-21T23:25:00.001-08:00

Unlike other birds that float on water (like ducks) eagle actually swim. There are a lot of videos on Youtube with images of Eagles around the world swimming.

Beautiful POV shots young eagle being fed by older eagle

2008-12-21T23:21:00.001-08:00

The POV shots in flight are interesting in this video clip. Also the narration is interesting about baby eagles.
The clip is about the golden eagle.

Eagle hunts Wolves in Mongolia snow/deserts. Unbelievable.

2008-12-21T23:08:00.000-08:00

What is interesting is that the Eagles show no fear hunting even predators. They'll attack wolves, Coyotes, Foxes without hesitating and from these videos it's clear the eagle wins easily. Perhaps that will explain the older videos posted on this blog in the past with images of eagles attacking a cougar and even a bear. Perhaps that is an additional reason eagles have become the symbols of almost every large empire as it is one of the animals who's main character trait is bravery.

EAGLE HUNTING IN KAZAKH/MONGOLIA with narration:
Still images with history and explanation about Eagle Hunting. Interesting shots of eagles with eyecovers.

Although this is the last video post on this page, do go to the button on the bottom of this page : "OLDER POSTS" that will connect you to many other video clips of Eagles that have been posted previously with both real life eagle clips and songs of eagles by everyone from John Denver to Dolly Parton.
I recommend also checking out the various storytellers in the previous pages telling ancient fables and stories relating to the eagles.

Amazing Eagle footage PBS

2008-12-21T16:54:00.001-08:00

This footage is interesting for the flight shots of the eagle in a very colorful forest. These shots of an eagle gliding through the woods is breathtaking.

Eagles in Alaska-The Eagle Lady

2008-12-21T14:23:00.001-08:00

Alaska is home to a huge flock fed by the famous Eagle Lady.

Amazing shots eagles hunting ducks

2008-12-21T14:21:00.000-08:00

Eagle Attacks Bear

2008-12-21T14:14:00.000-08:00

This is truly a crazy video of an eagle attacking a bear proving once again that the eagle fears no animal no matter it's size. It is not only the king of the sky but also one of the toughest animals on the land.

Eagle Inspired Stories

2008-12-21T14:07:00.000-08:00

It seems there are many stories, fables, myth's and tales of the eagle in various cultures. I have included but a few to illustrate them. The first one, I've included different story tellers telling the same story as it's interesting to see how different people tell the story differently.
It is interesting to think why this bird has been used so extensively for so many metaphors about life.

Eagle and Chicken Story:

This is the second version retelling the same story. The basic is similar but notice how some elements have changed making it similar but different:

Third retelling of the same story and again some elements have been changed making it truly interesting what stays and what changes in folk tales that travel around the world:

Prophecy of Eagle and Condor- South American:
This is a South American story that has lived for ages. It's interesting but might be a little different in the storytelling than regular western culture stories.

Another version of this same South American myth told by John Perkins who's info is below.

John Perkins is a leading authority on shamanism and is the author of several books on the subject, including Shapeshifting, The World Is As Your Dream It, and Psychonavigation. His latest books, Confessions of an Economic Hit Man and The Secret History of the American Empire have been New York Times best-sellers. dreamchange.org

eagle and the condor time of transformation, wisdom, power, crystal indigenous cultures of the amazon andes mountains toltec, aztec mayan peoples.

INSPIRATIONAL: REBIRTH OF THE EAGLE
While the info in this folks tale is not that accurate- the story is interesting and has been retold many times. The eagle has been given powers it doesn't have in real life- but who ever said stories are about real life. They are about stories.

The Eagle Story: Native American
One more story. This time a Native American one.

ALBA THE EAGLE

The next video is a little long and it's first half is dedicated to the history of Albania. But the second half is dedicated to the legend of the eagle in modern cultures around the world.

In the original Egyptian creation story we find a serpent and the primordial egg, which contained the " Bird of Light"(Alba,Ark). Eagle symbolized immortality, courage, farsightedness and strength. It is considered to be the king of the air and the messenger of the highest Gods. After old faith it looks directly when flying up into the sun, why it is also a symbol for the ascent in the sky and the release of the soul. Mythologically, it is connected by the Greeks with the God Zeus, by the Romans with Jupiter, and by the Germanic tribes with Odin.The eagle was regarded, as a holy bird, a protective spirit, and the guardian of heaven.The two-headed eagle later was an emblem of twin gods depicting power and omniscience. Albania is the Land of the Eagles, but the ancient (eagles)Albanians are located and mobed from east to the west to the new cities and countries that they created. They were called often Albania and Albany. These two names comes from term Alba which means daylight showing in the Morning before the Sun rises. Eagle is like the day light with its open arms. The symbol of the key that Eagle holds is mystery. Snake is what the Eagle holds often and the snake is a symbol of the key. For what door? East and west's gates between the upper and under worlds?
Snake is too the Sun(Snake)of the Underworld where the sun sets and lights to show later its light as the down for the upper world. Together the eagle+snake are the Dragon Sun. They can not be without each other; a dragon (snake) with eagle's arms or an Eagle is holding the snake or the key. As is above is below.They are One.
Alba,Albania and Albany means the same thing;means the daylight,which as an Eagle does fly from the light(white) mountain(tower,pillar) of east to that of the west. This direction of the Daylight,is the direction of the Sun Eagle for the Upper world(and the Sun Snake for the Underworld).
This move is the reason that Albany name is showing everywhere in the world,in east and west,north and south, up and down the world.So Albanians must be proud that they are called the sons of the (Sun) Eagle.
And who are the "sons of the Sun Snake" ?
They must be the twins sons,and both as one Son; the Son of the Sun Dragon.This Old Dragon has moved from far East to the far West.You find many Albanys in Americas and Australia, which came from St.Alban.These were Brythons or Britons who came from Gaul;Belgium,France who did mix later with Germanic tribes Angles to create Anglia,Britain.These ancient Europeans came from Caucasus where Albania was.But Rome was connected too with Gaul, was created by Alba's tribes near Rome who were ancient Albanians moving from Balkan,Greece,Turkey and Albania in Caucasus.There are the roots of these two tribes who left east to meet in the west as German-Dutch and Belgs-French.Their root was Albania,Alba,Al,Alans in the est,in Euro-Asia. Look the symbols in all the flags here; where the dragon,eagle,lion,sun is the Alba,light,down,east's gate,entrance of the King of the World.So the light moved from east to west, and so will happen again now in the new down.

Harpy Eagle vs. Sloth, Stellar Sea Eagle, Philipinnes Eagle.

2008-12-21T02:39:00.000-08:00

A few more Eagles: Harpy Eagle, Russian Stellar Sea Eagle, Philipinnes Eagle which looks like a flying lion.
I found this video interesting cause it's an eagle we still haven't shown on this blog. The Sloth for those who don't know is an arboreal mammal indigenous to the South American Rainforests.

Russian Stellar Sea Eagle: The largest eagle

Philippine Eagle (Monkey-eating Eagle)
The Majestic Philippine Eagle crowned by a royal head crest like a Lion's mane. In spite of a seven-foot broad wingspan flying low, navigating in steep dense rainforest.
Some have called this bird the LORD OF THE SKY.

Eagle catching birds in mid air.

2008-12-21T02:36:00.002-08:00

What's interesting in this video is how fast the eagle is. I had to watch this video a few times to actually see how the eagle captures a bird in mid air.

Amazing images of Eagle catching fish

2008-12-21T02:36:00.001-08:00

Fish Eagle vs Flamingo

2008-12-21T02:32:00.000-08:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NRWehNVSAlA

This is a segment from a BBC documentary. Shots are very professional and beautiful. There was no embedding so you will have to link directly to youtube.com to view the video.
In the video is a Fish Eagle.

Cougar vs. Eagle

2008-12-21T02:29:00.001-08:00

This time eagle doesn't win- or at least not by the end of the video- but notice that Eagle doesn't fly away when Cougar arrives. It isn't afraid and is ready for fight meaning that eagle believes it can win cougar or similar sized large cats. (As the videos show, it beats coyotes, foxes and wolves easily so indeed it does have a chance against he cougar)

Kazakh Eagle Hunter Festival: Eagle vs. wolf

2008-12-21T02:26:00.001-08:00

Kazakh Eagle Hunters Festival, Mongolia. In the final event, eagles are unleashed on a live wolf.

Eagle vs Wolverines and Deer

2008-12-21T02:25:00.001-08:00

Eagle vs Sea Snake

2008-12-21T02:22:00.001-08:00