Augurey

Augurey
Species information
Eye colour	Blue
Feather colour	Greenish-black
Related to	Bird
Native to	Britain and Ireland
Alternative names	Irish Phoenix
Mortality	Mortal
Distinction	Cries foretell rainfall Feathers repel ink
Ministry of Magic Classification	Beast XX
Status	Extant

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.

Description

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.

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.

Augurey feathers repelled ink, making them useless as Quill feathers. 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. 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.

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.

1920s

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

1980s

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

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.

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.

Etymology

An Augurey as a POP! Vinyl

Augury was the ancient Roman practise of foretelling the future by observing the flight patterns of birds. 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

• Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (video game) (Appears on a Famous Wizard Card)
• Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (video game) (Appears on a Famous Wizard Card)
• Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (Mentioned only) (As a tattoo)
• Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (play) (Mentioned only) (As a tattoo)
• Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald - The Original Screenplay
• Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald
• Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (First appearance)
• Fantastic Beasts: Cases from the Wizarding World
• Pottermore
• Wizarding World
• Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery
• Harry Potter: Wizards Unite
• Harry Potter: Puzzles & Spells
• Harry Potter: Magic Awakened (Mentioned in History of Magic classes)