Символика птиц у калмыков

The article describes the symbolic meaning of the image of some bird species existing in the Kalmyk traditional perception. As a rule, different species of birds in the culture of a nation have their own symbolic meaning that can have both positive and negative connotation. The article analyzes the role of messengers referred to different species of birds. The article points out the link of the bird symbolism with totemism and in particular with the selection of this or other species of birds for totems of different ethnic groups. There was a comparative analysis of the bird symbolism among different nations. The study is of great importance as there is a need for revealing the main characteristics of bird image symbols which are as ancient as any other symbols existing in the life of people. The article analyzes the ornithonyms of the Kalmyk language from the ethno-linguistic point of view. Ornithonyms are widely represented in the folklore of Kalmyks and other Mongolian nations: in the fairy tales, proverbs, sayings and other folklore genres.