A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. This common saying relates to one of the concepts in modern risk theory. But the proverb itself is anything but modern. English-language versions go back at least to the 15th century and a Latin version dates from around 1200. What about the many pubs and hotels with a similar name? Where is the oldest Bird in Hand inn?

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In my book Cool Risk I use the bird-in-hand proverb to illustrate a point about risk perception. I started wondering about all those pubs called The Bird in Hand and suchlike. Are they named after the proverb? It's certainly old enough. Some sources say that the name refers to falconry, and many pub signs do show a hand holding a bird of prey. But wouldn't that be a bird ON hand? If you know, please contact me.

It would be interesting to see what is the oldest Bird in Hand inn that we can find. Do you own a pub or hotel of that name? Or maybe you are a customer? How old is the building? How long has it been called by its bird-in-hand name? Please send me an email or alternatively use the special form.

The UKPubFinder.com database contains some 49,000 entries, including 77 bird-in-hand names. The Beer In The Evening website lists some 32,000 UK establishments, of which 46 have bird-in-hand names. That's about 15 out of every 10,000. Doesn't sound many, but that's because there are just so many pub names. Even the most common name, The Red Lion, appears on the sign of only 135 in every 10,000 establishments.

The Cool Risk Pub Crawl

Book signing in a pub! Why not? The more I think about it, the more I like the idea! What better way to promote a popular book about risk? A book tour visiting all the Bird in Hand pubs and hotels sounds like fun.

And it's not restricted to the UK, of course! The oldest establishment is probably going to be in the UK but the bird-in-hand theme has spread round the world. There's even a village in Pennsylvania called Bird-in-Hand. In Australia, as well as quite a few inns bearing the name, there is a winemaking business called Bird in Hand. Wherever you are, if you have an interesting bird-in-hand story, please tell me about it.