Daily AncestorBird in flight
A bird in flight on a gravestone stands for the soul flying to heaven; a bird at rest is read as eternal life.
Colonial carvers already used birds for eternal life and a bird in flight for the flight of the soul. The idea of the soul as a bird is very old and goes back to ancient Egypt.
On later stones a flying bird is often a dove, which adds peace and purity. Some older carvings show only wings, standing for the soul or a divine errand.
As seen in a recordNew England burying ground, 1740 to 1820
Bird with spread wings over the inscription: Elizabeth Pomroy, died May 6 1781 aged 29
Sources
How to cite this page
Daily Ancestor. "Bird in flight." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/gravestone-symbols/bird-in-flight. Last checked 2026-10-15.