Pie Birds In The Dining Room

Are you familiar with pie birds? If not, you may want to jump in and read a bit about them! These pie vents are sure to add a bit of charm and whimsy to any shelf – and they also may help with the next pie that you cook

A pie bird, also known as a pie vent, is a kitchen tool that helps to release the steam from pies but I have chose to use them a bit differently, and I just added my “fall twist” to this area at the bottom of this blog post!

A few days ago, I decided to change out a few pieces around in my home. I took out a little cabinet that was here in the dining room (I put that cabinet here) and replaced it with a pine shelf that I had sitting in the garage. Once I got the shelves in place, I was quick to style them. Shelf styling is one of my favorite things to do after all!

I was excited to pile in lots of yellow ware and ironstone (two things that I am loving layering together right now), but I wanted to add in an unexpected moment of interest. With spring right around the corner, I decided to add in a handful of these charming pie birds.

What Is A Pie Bird

While these little ceramic birds are very cute and interesting to look at, they actually do serve a purpose. Pie birds, also known as pie funnels or pie vents, were used (and are sometimes still used today) to help steam escape from the center of pies. Anytime a pie has a top crust there is a need for that pie to be vented in order to prevent the pie filling from boiling over and leaking. Nobody wants to clean up a messy pie spill in their ovens! A pie bird would be added into the center of a pie to help prevent a spill over. The arches on the bottom of the ‘device’ would allow the steam to enter and then the steam would escape at the top. This was especially useful long ago when ovens would bake unevenly.

FUN FACT: I read that these pie birds were also called ‘crustholders’ on occasion, because they would help prevent the pie from sagging in the middle.

The Pie Bird Is Fancy

The term “pie bird” is used to identify “venting tools” that are in the shape of an actual bird. However, the earliest pie vents were usually just simple, basic squatty cylinder or hourglass shapes and were plain white or cream color. Many times, these “basic” pie vents would be stamped with company names and logos and used as “advertising” and I find those pie vents to be very sought after (aka: very expensive).

How It Got “The Name”

I read online that while pie vents have been around since Victorian times, it wasn’t until the 1930s or ’40s that the pie bird came to be. It is mentioned online too that the bird shape was probably inspired by the nursery rhyme, “Sing A Song of Sixpence.” In that little tune, there is a line that reads, “four and twenty blackbirds bake in a pie” and there is another line that reads, “the birds begin to sing,” which alludes to the vent!

While the pie bird was the first ‘ornate’ pie vent, many designs have been created since such as this bunny pie vent and this elephant pie vent.

Birds On Display

I know that these birdies have a traditional function in the kitchen, but I am choosing to display mine in a small grouping here in the dinging room. Can you blame me? They work perfectly with the other pieces that I have here already on the shelves and they also add a subtle nod to spring – and I love decorating seasonally! I just layered a white ironstone plate with a wood piece and placed the birds right on top. The wood riser helps to break up all of the white and helps to make the birds stand out a bit more!

My collection is a young one and I do not have very many. But that is okay, you gotta start somewhere. I enjoy the traditional white pie birds, but I also really like this more colorful one that I recently found at a local antique mall a few weeks back. You can see him sitting there in the background in the photo above! I am now on the lookout for more! I also want to add in a few older advertising pie funnels into my collection as well.

Pie Birds: Old and New

Below I am including a few options for you if you are interested in building your very own pie bird collection. I am also adding in some of my favorite plain pie vents too! Be careful though, I have found that the new pie birds (you can see them below) look very similar to some of the ones listed as ‘vintage.’ It can be so hard to tell sometimes because repops are so well done now. I advise you to look for age (especially on the bottom) if you want a true vintage one. Just be aware and use your best judgement and I always like to remind myself that if I really like the look of a piece it doesn’t matter if it is old or new! To browse the ones I listed below, just hover over each picture and click the image!

Old Pie Birds

New Pie Birds

Pie Vents

Wrap Up

I hope you enjoyed learning a bit about these pie birds and I hope that you might consider putting one or two on display this year! I think they are so cute, and I especially like the older ones! Thanks for taking a moment to swing by and check out these pie birds!

If you liked this post, you may also enjoy this post on butter molds and this post on old whisk brooms.

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Let’s Update The Flock Of Pie Birds For Fall ….

I wanted to share a quick and simple change that I am doing this fall in this cabinet. I am updating my pie bird flock and so far I am in love with my new flock. I decided to order a handful of black pie birds (I bought these birds online for under $7.00) – to me they look like a flock of crows – which reminds me of the fall season!

See, aren’t these perfect for fall! It looks like a little flock of black birds!

Which do you like better? The black, the white, or a mix of both? After the fall season I think I will put together a little mix of both! Thanks again for coming along with me on these crazy home decor journeys!

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