Oil lamps in the form of birds – most usually peacocks, doves and eagles – were clearly made in substantial numbers, and many survive to this day in the great museums of the world, in London, New York, Washington D.C., Toronto, and elsewhere. They were probably derived from Greek and Etruscan terracotta askoi, bird-shaped vessels used to contain oil, although the choice of the birds shown in the bronzes, especially the doves and peacocks, reflects Christian usage. The bronze bird lamps could either be seated on a tripod stand or suspended from a chain.

Bird lamps of this type were probably made in several different centres around the Eastern Mediterranean, including Egypt and Asia Minor. Most of the evidence points to Egypt as the principal place of production before the middle of the seventh century, but several of the pieces – both birds and lampstands – have a Syrian provenance so could either have been produced in the Levant or exported there from Egyptian workshops.