The ways people think, feel, speak about, and act in and with environments are inextricably intertwined with the well-being of other living things, including birds. We report on the kinds of messages contained in 598 examples of locally-defined signs from 498 bird taxa from 169 sources and 123 ethnolinguistic groups. Using Peirce's three sign forms: symbolic, iconic, and indexical, we analyze one aspect of human–bird interactions: that of reading bird sign for ecological and social interpretations. Understanding ecological semiotic nuance is important for translating between local, regional, and global science, and for respecting autonomous processes of local people attributing value or lack thereof to birds and their habitats. Over one-third of the signs in our sample (216; 36%) were specifically described as omens of some kind, commonly of death, illness, or something “bad”. Three modes of message delivery account for the majority of the data: predicting (60%), bringing (15%; including news, rain, luck), and indicating (15%; including seasonal change, fruit ripening, animals). Reading birds to predict weather (especially rain) was common, as was listening to and interpreting birds' alarm calls warning of snakes or predators, and knowing that a certain bird indicates the presence of certain other animals, or of a water source. We collected 51 examples of warblish, the imitation or translation of bird sounds into non-onomatopoeic words. We argue for the amplification of ecocultural conservation (attending to histories of human–nonhuman relationships in place) to channel resources and land control to local and Indigenous managers who are immersed in relevant bird–people information networks. We discuss the importance of (1) reduction of uncertainty in local and hyper-local environments, (2) biocultural provocations in which birds fulfill important roles in human society, and (3) informational connectivity and locally-defined interspecies ethical relationships as key elements for inclusive and effective ecocultural bird conservation. LAY SUMMARY The ways people think, feel, speak about, and act in and with their environments are inextricably intertwined with the well-being of other living things, including birds. We report on the kinds of messages in 598 examples of culturally-defined signs from 498 bird taxa from 169 sources and 123 ethnolinguistic groups. We used Peirce's 3 sign forms: (1) symbolic, (2) iconic, and (3) indexical, to analyze human–bird interactions. In our sample 216 of the signs (36%) were specifically described as omens of some kind, most commonly of death, illness, or something “bad”. Reading birds to predict weather, especially rain, was common, as was listening to and interpreting birds' alarm calls warning of snakes or predators, or indicating food or water. We collected 51 examples of warblish, the imitation or translation of bird sounds into non-onomatopoeic words. Some key ecocultural interactions include (1) reduction of uncertainty; (2) biocultural provocations in which birds fulfill important roles in human society; (3) connectivity as key for inclusive and realistic ecocultural bird conservation. Las formas en que las personas piensan, sienten, hablan y actúan en y con los entornos son inextricablemente entrelazadas con el bienestar de otros seres vivos, incluyendo las aves. Informamos sobre los tipos de mensajes contenidos en 598 ejemplos de signos definidos localmente de 498 taxones de aves de 169 fuentes y 123 grupos etnolingüísticos. Usando las tres formas de signos de Peirce: simbólica, icónica e indexical, analizamos un aspecto de las interacciones entre humanos y aves: la lectura de signos de aves para interpretaciones ecológicas y sociales. Comprender los matices semióticos ecológicos es importante para traducir entre la ciencia local, regional y global, y para respetar los procesos autónomos de las personas locales que atribuyen valor o falta del mismo a las aves y sus hábitats. Más de un tercio de los signos de nuestra muestra (216; 36%) se describieron específicamente como presagios de algún tipo, comúnmente de muerte, enfermedad o algo “malo”. Tres modos de entrega de los mensajes representan la mayoría de los datos: predecir (60%), traer (15%; incluye noticias, lluvia, suerte) e indicar (15%; incluye cambio estacional, maduración de frutas, animales). Leer las aves para predecir el clima (especialmente la lluvia) fue común, al igual que escuchar e interpretar los llamados de alarma de las aves advirtiendo sobre serpientes o depredadores, y saber que cierta ave indica la presencia de ciertos otros animales o de una fuente de agua. Recolectamos 51 ejemplos de “warblish”, la imitación o traducción de sonidos de aves en palabras no onomatopéyicas. Abogamos por la amplificación de la conservación ecocultural (atendiendo a las historias de las relaciones entre humanos y no humanos en el lugar) para canalizar los recursos y el control de la tierra hacia los administradores locales e indígenas que están inmersos en las redes de información relevantes entre personas y aves. Discutimos la importancia de (1) la reducción de la incertidumbre en los ambientes locales e hiper-locales, (2) las provocaciones bioculturales en las que las aves cumplen funciones importantes en la sociedad humana, y (3) la conectividad informativa y las relaciones éticas entre especies definidas localmente como elementos clave para la conservación ecocultural inclusiva y efectiva.