Chickcharney

The Chickcharney (also spelled Chickcharnie) is a creature of Bahamian folklore from Andros, the largest island in the chain. Islanders describe an owl-like being about three feet tall, covered in fine feathers, with piercing red eyes, three toes and fingers, a prehensile tail and a head that can turn almost all the way round. Some tellings make it a feathered elf or bird-like person who only resembles an owl.

It is said to nest in the tops of pine trees, tied together to make a home, and to live in the island’s pine forests. Folklore treats it as a trickster: travellers who treat it kindly are rewarded with good luck, while those who laugh at it or damage its trees suffer bad fortune, and it may twist their necks around. People once carried bright flowers or pieces of cloth to charm it.

One famous story links it to politics: the claim is that Neville Chamberlain, then a young man, helped manage a family sisal plantation on Andros that failed after he cleared trees. The plantation’s failure is said to be blamed on the chickcharnies, who later cursed his career. A 1947 Time article, “Chickcharneys at Munich”, joked about the supposed curse and the Munich Agreement. The tale is better regarded as humorous folklore than documented history.

Biologists have suggested a natural origin. Forester Bruce Marcot proposed in 1995 that the legend came from the extinct barn owl Tyto pollens, a large, long-legged owl whose fossils are known from the Bahamas and which overlapped with people. Paleontologist Lisa Buckley later called this likely, citing geographic and temporal overlap.

About three feet tall, with fine fur-like feathers, large red eyes, three fingers and toes, a prehensile tail and a head that turns almost fully around.

The pine forests (“pineyards”) of Andros Island, where it nests between tied pine tops.

The Chickcharney is a beloved symbol of Andros and Bahamian folklore. The story is told across the Bahamas and in collections of Bahamian folk tales.