Crows And A Condor

"Overhead winged nest-bound crows and darting swallows, runes changeably scrawled on a sky gone purple in the east, cold green in the west. The evening star trembled into sight."
-"Star of the Sea," 10, p. 554.

I meant to close the quote after the crows but "runes" and "evening star" are also significant.

"A condor hovered aloft."
-"The Year of the Ransom," 15 April 1610, p. 655.

These birds are becoming ubiquitous. See A Condor Wheeled.