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The Augurey, also known as the Irish Phoenix, was a thin and mournful looking magical bird, somewhat like a small underfed vulture in appearance, with greenish black feathers and a sharp beak.[1]

Description[]

Illustration augurey-book

Appearance of the Augurey

Intensely shy, the Augurey lived in a tear-shaped nest in thorn and brambles. Its diet consisted of insects, fairies and flies, which it hunted for in the heavy rain. The cry of the Augurey signalled approaching rainfall.[1]

It was native to Great Britain and Ireland, but it had spread to the rest of Northern Europe. It was long believed that the mournful cry of the Augurey foretold death, and wizards would go to great lengths to avoid Augurey nests. However, research determined that the Augurey merely sings when it is about to rain. Why I Didn't Die When the Augurey Cried, written by Gulliver Pokeby, was published in 1824 by Little Red Books, and dispelled the myth that the cry of the Augurey signalled impending death.[1]

Augurey feathers repelled ink, making them useless as Quill feathers.[1] However, the magical Quill of Acceptance that recorded prospective students for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in the Book of Admittance was believed to come from an Augurey.[2] When it was learned that Augureys could foretell the coming of rain, they were used as weather forecasters. However, the continual moaning from them during the winter months was difficult to bear.[1]

History[]

Middle Ages[]

Uric the Oddball once owned fifty pet Augureys. On one particularly rainy day, they all cried at once, leading Uric to believe that he had died and was now a ghost. This led to him giving himself a concussion by trying to walk through walls.[1]

19th century[]

During the 19th century, there were several Augurey skeletons located on displays around the castle.[3]

1920s[]

In 1927, Jacob Kowalski encountered Patrick, an Augurey, one of several kept in Newt Scamander's home.[4]

1980s[]

In the late 1980s, an Augurey lived in the Magical Creatures Reserve and was often visited by Jacob's sibling.[5]

1990s and 2000s[]

The gloomy, oversized Augurey Hans was the mascot for the Liechtenstein National Quidditch team. He was popular enough to have his own fan club.[6]

Euphemia Rowle kept an Augurey in a cage while Delphini was growing up; Delphini would later adopt it as her symbol and had a tattoo of an Augurey on the back of her neck. In an alternate reality where Voldemort won, she was known as 'the Augurey'. Making this connection allowed Albus Potter and Scorpius Malfoy to realise Delphini's duplicity.[7]

Etymology[]

AugureyPOP

An Augurey as a POP! Vinyl

Augury was the ancient Roman practice of foretelling the future by observing the flight patterns of birds.[8] Today the word more generally means, "a sign of what will happen in the future; an omen."

The Augurey itself is a bird, and thus a play on words. As is the fact that the cry of the Augurey is used to predict rainfall, and was once thought to foreshadow death.

The addition of "-ey" at the end may indicate a portmanteau with the word "grey". Rainwater is grey, the Augurey is a greenish-black, and grey is often shown to be a sad, mournful colour.

Behind the scenes[]

  • Although the Augurey's alternative name is Irish Phoenix, it is never made clear if the species are related.

Appearances[]

Wiki
The Harry Potter Wiki has 37 images related to Augurey.

Notes and references[]

Magical creatures by classification
X Flobberworm · Horklump
XX Augurey · Bowtruckle · Chizpurfle · Clabbert · Diricawl · Fairy · Ghoul · Gnome · Grindylow · Imp · Jobberknoll · Mooncalf · Porlock · Puffskein · Ramora · Winged horse
XXX Ashwinder · Billywig · Bundimun · Crup · Doxy · Dugbog · Fire crab · Fwooper · Glumbumble · Hippocampus · Hippogriff · Hodag · Jarvey · Knarl · Kneazle · Leprechaun · Lobalug · Mackled Malaclaw · Moke · Murtlap · Niffler · Nogtail · Pixie · Plimpy · Pogrebin · Red Cap · Salamander · Sea serpent · Shrake · Streeler · Winged horse
XXXX Centaur · Demiguise · Erkling · Erumpent · Golden Snidget · Graphorn · Griffin · Hidebehind · Kappa · Kelpie · Merperson · Occamy · Phoenix · Re'em · Runespoor · Snallygaster · Sphinx · Tebo · Thestral · Thunderbird · Troll · Unicorn · Winged horse · Yeti
XXXXX Acromantula · Basilisk · Chimaera · Dragon · Horned Serpent · Lethifold · Manticore · Nundu · Quintaped · Wampus cat · Werewolf
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