learning the language of birds

Long before Ransom Riggs of Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children wrote the fifth novel in this collection, also titled The Conference of the Birds, there was another older and unrelated work created. 

Attar's work translated

The Conference of the Birds or Speech of the Birds (Persian: منطق الطیر‎, Manṭiq-uṭ-Ṭayr, also known as مقامات الطیور Maqāmāt-uṭ-Ṭuyūr; 1177) is a Persian poem by Sufi poet Farid ud-Din Attar, commonly known as Attar of Nishapur. 

The title is taken directly from the Qur’an, 27:16where Sulayman (Solomon) and Dāwūd (David) are said to have been taught the language or speech of the birds (manṭiq al-ṭayr). 

The hoopoe, center right, instructs the other birds on the Sufi path.

Legend has it that Attar met Rumi when the future great mystic poet was a child. Rumi’s family was traveling west to stay ahead of the Mongols. 

It is said that Attar held Rumi in his arms, bounced him on his lap, and predicted his greatness. Rumi went on to become a beloved Sufi poet with devoted fans and followers. 

Ottoman miniature, 1717

The Conference of the Birds consists of a total of 4,724 couplets, including the prologue and the epilogue. The story begins with the birds of the world gathering together to seek a sovereign. 

The wisest of them, the hoopoe, suggests they undertake a journey to the court of the great Simorgh, a mysterious bird who dwells in Mount Qaf, a mythical mountain that wraps around the world, where they can achieve enlightenment. 

"The Concourse of the Birds", Folio 11r from a Mantiq al-tair (Language of the Birds) MET Museum

The birds elect the hoopoe as their leader for the quest. At the start, each bird presents an elaborate excuse for not being able to make the journey, but the wise hoopoe addresses their many hesitations, complaints, fears, vanities, and questions. 

Oratorio - composed by Fahad Siadat with a libretto by Sholeh Wolpé, directed/choreographed by André Megerdichian.

Attar’s death and life are subject to speculation as few records remain. He is known to have lived and died a violent death in the massacre inflicted by Genghis Khan and the Mongol army on the city of Nishapur in 1221, when he was seventy years old. 

Drama - a play by Sholeh Wolpé, directed by Giulio Cesare Perrone