That is so damned great I can't believe it. I'm making two of those hats for our two cats (one of which, incidentally, is actually named 'bird').
I was raised Unitarian, so I have little idea about catholic mythology (I was often confused by religious references when I was a kid- I know more about Buddhism and Islam then I do about Christianity), but that bit about 'plucking them from the air like berries from a burning bush' is right on!