Errant Wing

On the way home from the market today, I came across this torn-off wing on the sidewalk.  Pigeon, by the looks of it, so that means now there is a pigeon somewhere out there that's flying around on just one wing, with the avian equivalent of a limp.

Lame humor aside, I am reminded of the legend of the one-winged bird, bi-ik-jo (kr. 비익조).  The males and females are hatched with just one eye and one wing on opposite sides, so that in order to fly they must pair up as one body and forever depend on each other.  It is often used as a metaphor for a couple deeply, inseparably, in love.

Here are a few illustrations I found:

Related Posts:  Dead Bird;  Errant Snowman