Savacou is an aluminium sculpture of a stylised bird by the Jamaican sculptor Ronald Moody.
[4] Moody was unaware of any surviving statues of the god Savacou and initially had planned to depict the god in the form of a heron with a similar pointy-headed look to other ritual bird depictions that had survived;[5] but, having considered the proposed site, the design was changed to that of a larger abstract parrot-shape with alterations to the legs and base.
[6][3] At the time of the commission Moody had been interested in his West Indian background and was working in concrete, but subsequent to producing Savacou he changed medium.
The cast sculpture was first exhibited in August and September 1964 on the lawn of the Commonwealth Institute, generating radio, television and filmed coverage.
[3] The sculpture depicts the bird incarnation of Savacou (from the Carib word Sawaku meaning heron),[10] the god of storms and thunder who 'blows the lightning through a great reed'.