SOURCE: The Princess and Curdie (1882) by George MacDonald

DESCRIPTION: "Presently he heard a sweet sound of singing somewhere, such as he had never heard before - a singing as of curious birds far off, which drew nearer and nearer.  At length he heard their wings, and, opening his eyes, saw a number of very large birds, as it seemed, alighting around him, still singing.  It was strange to hear song from the throats of such big birds. And still singing, with large and round but not the less birdlike voices, they began to weave a strange dance about him, moving their wings in time with their legs.  But the dance seemed somehow to be troubled and broken, and to return upon itself in an eddy, in place of sweeping smoothly on...But their song and their motions, nevertheless, and the waving of their wings, began at length to make him very sleepy.  All the time he had kept doubting whether they could really be birds, and the sleepier he got, the more he imagined them something else, but he suspected no harm. Suddenly, just as he was sinking beneath the waves of slumber, he awoke in fierce pain.  The birds were upon him - all over him - and had begun to tear him with beaks and claws.  He had but time, however, to feel that he could not move under their weight, when they set up a hideous screaming, and scattered like a cloud.  Lina was among them, snapping and striking with her paws, while her tail knocked them over and over.  But they flew up, gathered, and descended on her in a swarm, perching upon every part of her body, so that he could see only a huge misshapen mass, which seemed to go rolling away into the darkness.  He got up and tried to follow, but could see nothing, and after wandering about hither and thither for some time, found himself again beside the hawthorn." (The Princess and Curdie by George MacDonald)

NOTES: The Hypnotic Birds live in the wasteland of the heath, an area of dead grass and withered trees. Travelers who stop there often never are found again, while those who pass through quickly often survive. The reason is the insidious hypnotic spell of the birds. Their song and weird dance lull the traveler into a sleep before they pounce with sharp beaks to rend them. Only Lina's faithful actions save Curdie from this terrible fate.

HISTORY: I imagine Macdonald got the idea from the weird dances of vultures.