Every culture turned birds into omens independently. The reason isn't symbolism. It's what birds actually are, and what they actually witness.
Birds as Omens: The Dark folklore
Yuki-onna: The Snow Woman Who Knows What Hypothermia Feels Like
When winter kills, it kills kindly. Yuki-onna, Japan's snow woman, is more than folklore, she may be the most accurate portrait of hypothermia ever told.