Apdu

Apd(w), ȝpd, The Bird, is an ancient Egyptian constellation. There are at least 21 spelling variants throughout the millennia in hierglyphs, and it is probably not any specific one.

Concordance, Etymology, History

Origin of Constellation

schema of a Ramesside Star Clock (Fonctionnement d'une horloge ramesside.) from Karl Richard Lepsius - Denkmäler aus Ägypten und Äthiopien: Nach den Zeichnungen der von Seiner Majestät dem Könige von Preussen Friedrich Wilhelm IV nach diesen Ländern gesendeten und in den Jahren 1842-1845 ausgeführten wissenschaftlichen Expedition.

The constellation is mentioned in the Ramesside Star Clocks and identified by right ascension.

Spelling Variants

• Apedu

• Apdu
• Apd(w)

Identifications

The area of The Bird must cover a region in Triangulum and close to Algol. Belmonte and Lull (2011) proposed the following identifications:

• (a) Banat net Apdu (the Peak of the Bird) - α Tri
• (b) Tep en Apdu (the Head of the Bird) - β Tri
• (c) Hetyt net Apdu (The Throat of the Bird) - a star close to Algol
• (d) Iret net Apdu (the Eye of the Bird) - γ Tri

Sources, Transfer and Transformation of the Constellation

Here we give a list of all sources where the name is attested.

Source	Identification

Religion/ Mythology

mnemonic tales and cultural significance

IAU Working Group on Star Names

Irtentapdu (for the eye of the bird, γ Tri) was proposed as a star name in 2023/5 in WGSN. Egyptian language does not spell all letters; in Irt-nt-Apd(w) some vowels can be added for easier pronounciation.

References

• References (general)