In Philippine mythology, the tigmamanukan was believed by the Tagalog people to be an omen bird. Although the behaviors of numerous birds and lizards were said to be omens, particular attention was paid to the tigmamanukan.
The roots of the word tigmamanukan can be traced to the word "manuk" or "manok." Today, this word means "Chicken", but in Pre-colonial Philippines (as documented by early explorers in the 1600s) it meant, more generally, any bird, lizard or snake that crossed one's path as an omen. Such encounters were called salubong.
According to San Buenaventura's 1613 Dictionary of the Tagalog Language, one of the few primary written sources for Philippine precolonial culture, the Tagalogs believed that the direction of a tigmamanukan flying across one's path at the beginning a journey indicated whether that journey would be successful or not. If it flew from right to left, the expedition would be a success. This sign was called "labay." (In some Filipino languages, "labay" today still means "proceed".) If the bird flew from left to right, the travelers would surely never return. It was also said that if a hunter caught a tigmamanukan in a trap, they would cut its beak and release it, saying "Kita ay iwawala, kun akoy mey kakawnan, lalabay ka." ("You are free, so when I set forth, sing on the right.").