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BIRD EFFIGY These exquisite drawings show several of the Mound City effigy pipes that were published in 1848 in Squire and Davis's "Ancient Monuments of the Mississippi Valley." Birds seem to have been the most important subject for the Hopewell craftsmen. Squire and Davis wrote that, "The sculptures of birds are much more numerous than those of animals, and comprise between thirty and forty different kinds, and not far from one hundred different specimens." The different kinds of birds represented in the cache are eagle, hawk, heron, owl, buzzard, raven, swallow, parakeet, ducks and grouse. Note that the three birds in the bottom row are shown eating or pecking some type of food. The heron in the center is obviously in the process of eating a fish. These types of action figures in Hopewell pipes are much more rare than most figures that are in a simple pose. Also note that at least two of the birds in this picture seem to have their beaks sewn shut. The buzzard in the center is the easiest to see.
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