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Birds and Symbolism

Many images of birds have been spotted in the show by eagle-eyed fans (pun intended) in crime scenes, bars, police stations and homes (17). In the Navajo religion, birds are often considered to have a symbolic meaning that is correlated with their colour. For example, bluebirds (or any bird that has blue) are thought to be related to happiness and joy. On the other hand, gray is thought to be evil and related to evilness. Thus, any birds with gray are a sign of evil (18). 

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While this may be a stretch, there is a bluebird decoration in Marty's house, which can be spotted in episode 2. This bluebird may be a sign that Marty's home is a safe place away from the crime as Marty's wife and children are not part of the case and have very limited knowledge. Marty also sees his home as a comforting space as there are a few scenes where his wife wakes him up with coffee and breakfast.  Another bird that is shown in the show is an owl in the same episode. While owls are often thought to be wise in Navajo religion, this owl may be seen as a sign of evil and it appears to be gray. The owl was present when the detectives discovered a clue, but the clue was related to evil.  Having the owl at the old church as a sign of evil is understandable as there are links to the cult inside, in the form of a drawing of a woman hunched over with a crown of thorns, much like the posing of Dora Lang’s murdered body (19, 20).  These birds are pictured below in a slideshow. 

Birds: Text
Birds: Pro Gallery

There are other ways to interpret symbolism for birds as they can represent omens, be the carriers of a message, and/or the personification of the dead. It is often thought for an owl to be a bad omen of death (21). Referring back to the previous paragraph, the owl that Rust and Marty see before entering the half-burnt church (where a clue about the cult was found),  was on the roof. This owl may represent the death of that church as it was burned down and the death of the followers is shown to be dwindling in numbers in later episodes. Other people believe that bird cries are a symbol of death. If one listens closely to when the detectives are integrating a family member of a missing person bird sounds can be heard (video below). These birds may be warning the detectives of the death that lies ahead (22, 23).

Birds: Text

This is a relative of a missing girl. Around 30 seconds in one can hear the birds in the background and then throughout.

Birds: Video
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