Birds reproduce by laying eggs and digest very rapidly so that food is not stored internally for long periods. Birds have extremely keen vision. Hawks, eagles, and vultures are able to see their food at great distances. Birds are symbols of the spirit, thought, imagination, and the swiftness of spiritual processes and relationships. Every winged being is symbolic of spiritualization.
Hindu tradition has birds representing the higher states of being.
The ancients believed that after death, the soul leaves the body in the form of a bird.