Some attitudes describe the positioning of birds and
bats. The eagle is so often found
displayed in early heraldry that this position came to be presumed of the eagle unless some other attitude is specified in the blazon. The same applies to bats. The terms
expanded and
elevated or
abaissé and
inverted are similar terms often used interchangeably in heraldry but have specific meanings. There is also sometimes confusion between a
rising bird with
displayed wings and a
displayed bird. The difference is that
rising birds face either to the
dexter or
in trian aspect and have their feet on the ground.
Displayed birds face the viewer, have their legs splayed out, and the tail is completely visible. Several terms refer to the particular position of the wings, rather than the attitude of the bird itself. A bird in nearly any attitude, except
overt, may have its wings
displayed or
addorsed. •
Wings displayed means the bird's right wing is extended forward and its left wing extended rearward, turned so that the undersides of both wings are fully shown. •
displayed and expanded or
espanie /
épandre ("expanded") are spread with the wing tips pointing upward. •
displayed and lowered or
abaissé ("lowered") are spread with the wing tips pointing downward. •
Wings addorsed means the wings are raised and spread behind it back-to-back as if about to take flight, so that only the top of the bird's right wing shows behind the fully displayed left wing. •
addorsed and elevated are raised with the wing tips pointing upward. •
addorsed and inverted are raised with the wing tips pointing downward.
issuant, wings displayed and elevated, coming from her nest of fire
Displayed A bird
displayed is shown
affronté with its head turned to dexter and wings spread to the sides to fill the area of the field. This position is presumed of the eagle, and the symbolic use of eagles in this position was well established even before the development of heraldry, going back to
Charlemagne.
Overt A bird
overt ("open") or
disclosed has wings open and pointing downward.
Close Close ("closed"), the bird's equivalent of
statant, is shown in profile and at rest with its feet flat on the ground and its wings folded at its sides.
Trussed is the term used for domestic or game birds, implying the bird is tied up or caught in a net respectively, and is not applied to predator birds like the eagle and hawk.
Perched is
close while sitting atop a charge. If a bird's attitude is not blazoned, it is assumed to be
close; the exception is the eagle, whose default attitude is
displayed.
Issuant Used to describe a
phoenix, though potentially other flying creatures as well, when depicted arising from, for example, a line of flames, a coronet, an amphora, etc.
Rising A bird
rising,
rizant or
rousant faces dexter with its head upturned, wings raised, and standing on the tips of its feet as if about to take flight. A bird rising may have its wings described as either
displayed or
addorsed, and the wings may be further described as
elevated or
inverted.
Striking An attitude similar to
rising is the
striking position. When striking, the wings are spread in flight with head lowered to look at prey below, legs outstretched, and talons / claws opened to grasp the prey as the bird passed the target. While this may be more common in a
bird of prey, it can be used with other birds such as a
corvid.
Volant A bird
volant faces the
dexter with its wings spread in flight (usually shown
addorsed and
elevated) and its legs tucked under its body.
Volant en arrière is when the bird is shown from a top-down perspective with the head facing straight ahead, its back to the viewer, and the wings spread in flight (usually shown
displayed and
inverted). A bird
volant is considered
in bend ("diagonal") as it is flying from the lower
sinister to the upper
dexter of the field.
Recursant An eagle or hawk shown
recursant has its back towards the viewer, e.g., "an eagle volant recursant descendant in pale" is an eagle flying perpendicularly downward with its back towards the viewer. (See also
tergiant below.)
Vigilant A
crane standing on one leg (usually with a stone held in the other foot) may be called
vigilant or
in its vigilance (e.g.
Waverley Borough Council's "crane in its vigilance"). A stone is usually shown held in the claw of the raised leg. This is as per the bestiary myth that cranes stayed awake by doing so. If it dozed, the crane would supposedly drop the rock, waking itself up. In heraldry, this does not, however, preclude the depiction of the crane asleep, such as in the arms of
Clan Cranstoun, in which case the crane is still termed as being "in its vigilance".
Vulning / in her piety One peculiar attitude, reserved only to the pelican, is the
pelican in her piety. The heraldic pelican, one of the few female beasts in heraldry, is shown with a sharp stork-like beak, which it uses to
vuln (pierce or wound) her own breast. This is per the bestiary myth that a female pelican wounded herself thus to feed her chicks. This symbol of sacrifice carries a particular religious meaning (usually a reference to
Christ's sacrifice), and became so popular in heraldry that pelicans rarely exist in heraldry in any other position. A distinction is sometimes observed, however, between a pelican vulning herself (alone, piercing her breast) versus "her piety" (surrounded by and feeding her chicks). == Attitudes of fish ==