Why do birds appeal to us ? Most people enjoy the sight of
birds, even people who have never been active birdwatchers.
Although birds are less like us in appearance and habits than
our fellow mammals, birds undeniably hold a special place in our
hearts.
One reason that birds capture our imaginations is that they
can fly, while we remain trapped here on earth. What child
hasn't watched a bird fly overhead and dreamt of being up there
in the sky flying alongside ? What adults have not, at one time
or another, wished that they could take wing and fly away from
all of their everyday troubles and cares ? Birds are natural
symbols of freedom and escape. After all, what could better
encapsulate our vision of pure freedom than the ability to fly
off into the sunset ?
Birds can soar overhead and they can also cover great
distances. They are privy to a "bird's eye view" of a single
building or a park, or an entire city or landscape, making them
a perfect metaphor for obtaining a fresh perspective on a
situation, or for taking a larger view of an issue.
Birds often symbolize other things, as well, such as human
character traits and qualities. There's the proud peacock, the
noble eagle, the thieving magpie, squabbling crows, and billing
and cooing love birds. Gliding swans are the perfect picture of
grace and elegance in motion. The hawk is a symbol of war, the
dove a symbol of peace.
What else attracts us to birds ? Birds have feathers, soft to
the touch and a joy to look at. Plumage seems to come in an
infinite variety of lovely colors and patterns, from the subtle,
earthy tones of the common house sparrow to the outrageous,
iridescent regalia of the showy peacock. Birds are beautiful
works of art, signed by nature. Their plumage adds color and
spectacle to a humdrum world. Their colors may also suggest many
different locales and associations to us.
For example, those small, round, brown sparrows are homey,
comforting and familiar to those of us who live in temperate
climates. They are our backyard friends and neighbors. American
cardinals and blue jays are highly colored, cheerful sights to
behold on gray days, from the tips of their tail feathers to the
fanciful crests on their heads. They are a bit more exotic, yet
they are still familiar backyard friends. Then there are those
birds who live in far off exotic places, such as African pink
flamingos and tropical parrots, who sport wonderful tropical
colors. We love them, not only for their magnificent colors, but
also for their association with far-flung lands and exotic
adventures.
Birds also come in a great variety of shapes and sizes, which
further adds to their appeal. We can relate to them, in so far
as they, and we, have two eyes, one mouth and bilateral
symmetry. Yet, they are also very unlike us. They have
protruding beaks, from the sparrow's tiny jabbing beak to the
toucan's enormous appendage. They have wings, more unlike human
arms than those of other mammals, or even of reptiles. In fact,
when their wings are folded against their sides, birds appear to
have no arms at all. They also have thin, bare legs and they
have claws. Their heads and necks flow smoothly into their
bodies. Their forms create graceful outlines, whether round like
a chubby European robin, long like an African parrot, or sleek
like a regal swan.
Yes, birds are beautiful to look at, but the beauty of birds
is not confined to the visual aspects of shape and color alone,
because birds also fill the air with music. They seem to offer
us their song simply to entertain us, and they ask for nothing
in return. Like a garden bursting with colorful flowers, the
fantastic colors and songs of birds seem frivolous and out of
place in a world full of harsh realities. It seems as though
they were put on earth expressly to make life more beautiful.
They were not, of course. Their color and song serve biological
ends in the process of natural selection, but that does not
prevent us from enjoying such sights and sounds. We can listen
in on their free concerts and derive pleasure and serenity from
the experience. We can also be amused when a few species of
birds even mimic our own speech.
Another characteristic of birds that we humans respond to is
the fact that they build nests. They seem so industrious and we
watch with wonder as each type of bird builds its own
species-specific nest, ranging from a simple assemblage of twigs
to an intricately woven masterpiece of craftmanship. "Nest" is
such a cozy word. Birds build their cozy nests, care for their
young, and raise their families, all in the course of a single
spring or summer. We admire their patience and devotion and
attentive care to their offspring. We observe and marvel at a
parent bird's countless trips to and from the nest to diligently
feed the helpless chicks. Birds provide us with fine role models
for parenting.
Yes, birds are homebodies during the nesting season, but they
also migrate. Birds are free to come and go and many cover vast
distances each year, as they travel between their summer and
their winter homes. They are social creatures, moving in flocks
and creating great spectacles as they fly. A glimpse of a
V-shaped flock of geese passing overhead thrills us and stirs
something in us. We admire their strength and endurance in
carrying out such grueling journeys year after year. We envy
them, too, for they are free to go beyond mere political
boundaries and to cross entire continents. We up north are sorry
to see them part each autumn and we are heartened to see them
return each spring. The return of such birds as the swallows
signals the return of spring, with its promise of birth and
renewal.
Each spring we are able to welcome them back into our midsts,
for nearly everywhere that humans live, birds live also. Birds
cover the earth. There is such a diversity of bird species to
fill each ecological niche on earth and to contribute to its
balance by doing such things as eating insects and dispersing
plant seeds. There are the ducks and moorhens of rural ponds.
There are birds who live in the forests. There are birds in the
mountains and birds in the deserts. The forbidding oceans have
their hardy puffins and pelicans. Even frozen, icy places have
their own birds, the lovable penguins.
Birds adapt to so many different habitats and situations,
including human environments. The often ignored pigeon is a
beautiful bird. (I have cared for and been grateful to have
known many individual pigeons over the years.) As a species,
they have managed to adapt to modern cityscapes, substituting
cliff-like building ledges and bridge girders for their
ancestral cliffs of rock. Other bird species may be less
tolerant of such disturbances and avoid the prying eyes of
humans.
Wherever they choose to live, birds remain symbols of untamed
nature, surviving despite man's interference with their
habitats. They remain proud and free to the present day. They
are also a living link to the mysterious and fascinating history
of life on our planet, as birds are the surviving heirs to the
dinosaurs. One look at unfeathered baby birds, with their
oversized beaks and feet, and it is easy to see the dinosaur in
them.
Each of us may have our own reason, or combination of
reasons, for loving birds, but their appeal is indisputable and
universal. Birds represent the perfect blend of beauty,
strength, grace and endurance, from the cuteness of a tiny
sparrow to the majesty of an imposing raptor. Birds fill both
the eye and the ear with beauty. We enjoy them. We admire them.
Sometimes we envy them. They add appreciably to the quality of
our lives and to the diversity of life on earth and the world
would be a smaller, sadder, emptier place without them.
