We just learned about the Christian symbol of the Peacock.
Another symbol is the Pelican.
There are legends about pelicans being such loving mothers than if their children were starving they would use their beak to poke themselves so that the babies could survive from their own blood.
Because Jesus died on the cross and and had the nails poke through his hands, the pelican is like a way to think of Jesus suffering for his children in the same way.
(from: wikipedia - Christian Symbolism)
Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Paul's Second Letter to the Corinthians
