In the city where I mostly grew up, there are two very famous birds. They are called 'the Liver Birds'.
The Liver Birds sit on top of one of Liverpool's most famous buildings, which we call 'The Liver Building'
There is a great shot of the Liver Building . It was taken by Chris Howells and is at https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f7/Liver_Bird.jpg
The city of Liverpool has had a bird as its official seal for just under a thousand years. But the Liver Birds only became popular in more recent years. The are associated very much with my favourite football club - Liverpool FC as well as the city . There's all sort of cute images of the Liver Birds on the internet including this baby Liver Bird..
The statues on top of the Liver Building are called Bertie and Bella, a male and a female Liver Bird. The male, Bertie looks over the city and is said to be watching over and protecting the families of sea-farers . The female Liver Bird, Bella, looks out to sea and is said to protect sea farers and sailors.
Although they look small from the ground, the Liver Bird statues are really quite big . They are both 5.5 metres high (taller than many houses !). Here's a close up also taken by Chris Howells
Liverpool people have other legends about the birds. They say that if the birds fly away, the river Mersey (our river) will overflow. Generally, Liverpool people love story telling, singing and making legends, usually about our city! One legend we have, related to the Liver Birds, is that we love the River Mersey and the boats that travel on it. We love it so much that in the 1960's a pop band called Jerry and the Pacemakers wrote a very famous song that every Liverpool person knows called 'Ferry Cross the Mersey'. Its a very sentimental song, almost a 'soppy' song, but 'Scousers' as we call ourselves, will sing it with gusto if a musician plays it.
You can listen to the song 'Ferry Cross the Mersey' on Youtube here ...if you listen to it, imagine a busy city, full of life, song and laughter next to a wide old slow river with the Liver Birds looking over you as you take a ferry across the Mersey.....https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08083BNaYcA
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