Thanks to the wobble in the earth's axis, at times the north celestial pole is near Vega. In those periods the trio of Vega, Deneb and Altair are visible from northern latitudes all year long.
Vega, Deneb and Altair are Latinized versions of Arabic names. Deneb is dhanab aldajajah, "the tail of the hen."
They were better astronomers than ornithologists--most people can tell a chicken apart from a swan.