Bird charges play a large and important role in heraldy. Almost every species known has been emblazoned in some form or another. Species in use range from doves and owls to peacocks and swans. Over all, the charge most frequently seen is that of the eagle, followed closely by that of the falcon.

As important as the species' of birds themselves are their postures, shown below by the different eagle charges.

cock	crane	dove	eagle	falcon
heron	martlet	martlet volant	moorcock	ostrich

owl	peacock	pelican-in-her-piety	phoenix
popinjay	raven	stork	swan

Postures of Birds as Exemplified by the Eagle

eagle close	eagle rising, wings elevated & addorsed	eagle rising, wings addorsed & inverted	eagle rising, wings elevated & displayed
eagle rising, wings displayed & inverted	eagle displayed	eagle displayed with wings inverted

Ocasionally specific birds will have variations of posture unique to themselves. For the eagle these include:

double-headed eagle displayed

Napoleonic eagle