The Legend of Liver Bird

One of the highlights of the apartment where we stay in Liverpool is the wonderful bird's-eye view we get of the town from the balcony. When I turn my head diagonally to the far right, I can see two statues atop the clock tower on the Royal Liver building at the Liverpool’s Pierhead on the banks of the River Mersey. I initially mistook this creature to be some kind of dragon or a seahorse, the handiwork of an overzealous medieval architect.

Later, while I was going through the council tax bill, my attention was drawn to the emblem of the Liverpool City Council (Council) which looked strikingly similar to the winged creature I get to see daily from my balcony. However, the winged creature on the council emblem looked like a bird to me.

During a casual chat with a colleague, I learned that the bird on that emblem was called the “Liver bird” (pronounced as Lyver) and the city took its name from this mythical bird. As I explored and read more, it dawned on me that the Liver bird was inseparable from the city, popping out and making its presence felt in all spheres of life. 

Royal Liver Building, Liverpool Pierhead

And indeed the birds atop the Royal Liverpool Building (built in 1911) are the most famous and photographed Liver birds – Bella and Bertie. As with most fables, nobody knows where the names and gender of the two birds originated from.  Folklore has it that the female bird is looking towards the sea to watch over the city’s seamen who are out working to provide for their families. And the male bird is looking inwards towards the city to watch over the families who have been left behind. It is also believed that the two Liver birds have been tightly chained to the building to ensure they don’t fly away. For, if it happens, there will be a natural calamity for Liverpool in the form of floods and the city may be destroyed forever.

The chained Liver Bird - Royal Liver Building

Liver Bird atop the Clock Tower - Royal Liver Building

The Liver bird has been associated with the city of Liverpool for at least 800 years. There are surviving Royal seal impressions from 1352, which depicted a generic bird with a plant sprig in its beak. Some historians say the bird on the seal was almost certainly intended to be an eagle, the symbol of John the Evangelist, who was the patron saint of King John, the then ruler of England. Others have theorised that the bird on the seal was a dove with an olive branch.

13th Century Liverpool Seal Impression
Source - Wikipedia

Liverpool City Council Coat of Arms
Source - Wikipedia

Though there have been pictorial representations of this bird in many historical documents related to the city, it is only in 1668 that it is referenced by a name – the “Leaver” bird. It seems that over the next few centuries the “Leaver” bird came to be called as the Liver bird. Some linguists suggest that “Leaver” can be a corrupted version of the Dutch word “Lefler” which stands for Spoonbill. As the legend around this bird grew, it seems that pictorial depiction also changed over the centuries. The historical references and representations from 16th and 17th century also suggest that this bird may indeed be a cormorant, which was a fairly common bird to the seafarers. Thus, in modern times, Liver birds have been commonly drawn as a variation of the cormorant and its representation can be found in more than 100 locations across Liverpool.

From the streets of Liverpool 

The Liver bird is now unofficially acknowledged as the symbol of Liverpool and it appears on all sorts of souvenirs, buildings, paintings, logos and in fables. It also appears on the masthead of the highly circulated local tabloid Liverpool Echo. The Liver bird was also the symbol of the Bank of Liverpool, which merged with Martins Bank in 1918, followed by its acquisition by Barclays Bank in 1969. When the Beatles mania was ruling the world in the 1960s there was an all-female rock band called “The Liverbirds” playing in the pubs of Liverpool. There was also a popular 1970s British sitcom aptly titled “The Liver Birds” on the lives of 2 women from Liverpool.

The liver bird is also associated with Liverpool’s biggest sporting icons - Liverpool Football Club (LFC) and Everton Football Club (Everton). And the city's  most famous bird takes prominence on the logo of LFC, one of the most identifiable football emblems in the world today. As branding and marketing became the buzzword in modern football, in order to stop fake club merchandise, in 2008, LFC attempted to trademark the version of the Liver Bird on its logo. This led to a bitter tussle between the Council and LFC on the legitimacy of the ownership of the Liver bird. Finally, in 2010, an agreement was reached between the two parties, LFC finally trademarked the Liver bird with the European trademark office, and the Council filed a trademark with the British Intellectual Property Office. Everton also featured the Liver bird prominently on medals and souvenirs until 1930 when it was replaced with the "Lockup". There is a sense of pathos amongst Evertonians that the Liver bird is now associated with LFC and they are no longer a part of this legend.

From what I have seen of the modern representation of the bird, it looks to me more like a cormorant than an eagle, or a dove or a spoonbill or any other bird of prey. And the most interesting thing is that each version of the bird is slightly different but every depiction is immediately identifiable as a Liver bird. It is truly a unique species - you'll never find a mention in any ornithology or birding books, or the birding lists of eBird or BirdTrack. But the legend lives on!!

As they say, you will never walk alone in Liverpool, the Liver bird always gives you company.