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Superstition #185

When you see a turkey-buzzard flying alone, repeat,—

Hail! Hail! Lonely, lonesome turkey-buzzard:
Hail to the East, hail to the West,
Hail to the one that I love best.
Let me know by the flap of your wing
Whether he (or she) loves me or not.

Note the manner of the bird’s flight: if he flaps his wings your lover is true; if not, the lover is false.

Tennessee.

Source: Current Superstitions (1896), entry 185.

Fanny D. Bergen, editor.

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Tennessee

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