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Why do we watch birds? Birds are everywhere, and everywhere, different. Birds are mysterious, beautiful, and sometimes wonderfully elusive. Many people watch birds.
Why do we watch birds? In his preface to the Firefly Encyclopedia of Birds (Firefly Books, 2003), Christopher Perrins notes that of all the animal groups, birds attract the most interest. He points out that humans share a couple of important things with birds: "a dependence on color vision and sound as [the] two main senses." Perrins suggests that this may give us the illusion that humans and birds perceive the world in a similar way. Perhaps we watch birds because we think we know them.
He may be partly right, but one has only to look into the eye of a bald eagle to know that its reality is utterly impenetrable to us - and the bald eagle does not reciprocate our fascination with an interest in humans. Have you ever looked a grackle in the eye? It can be humbling - you are left with a prickly feeling that it knows something important that you don't. I suspect, therefore, that part of the allure of birds is not a sense of kinship, but rather one of mystery.
Maybe we watch birds because they are accessible: wherever we go, birds are there, usually active while we are active, sleeping while we sleep. In our own backyards, we lure them with birdfeeders and birdhouses, and by placing shrubs, water, and appropriate plants in the landscape. More than any creature except perhaps insects, birds visibly share our outdoor space, and if we have to travel miles and sit quietly for patient hours in order to see a rare or elusive bird, that's a treasure hunt.
We love treasure hunts and we love novelty. Birds provide both. While many birds have very wide ranges, the birds of one country tend to differ from the birds of another; even if you find the birds at home rather ordinary, you will be thrilled by unfamiliar birds when you travel. You will see MacDonald's in both Toronto and Stockholm, but the birds will be different.
Finally, birds are beautiful, their brilliant hues a companion to their colour vision. Birds flash past in every shade from emerald to vermillion, beautiful as showy flower blossoms but usually more surprising. An endless variety of patterns, shapes, and sizes delight us. Even the common crow has a lovely sheen and a certain elegance. Yes, birds are an awesome part of life - how could we not watch birds?
The copyright of the article Why Do We Watch Birds? in Birds is owned by Rosemary Drisdelle. Permission to republish Why Do We Watch Birds? in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
Comments
Apr 26, 2006 3:40 PM
Joy Butler
:
Welcome Rosemary. What an enjoyable first article! I agree that the
allure of birds is probably mystery. I have feeders and love to sit and
watch them as they flit and flutter and go about their little daily lives.
Here in south Texas the most common birds at my feeders are sparrows,
cardinals, and several kinds of doves. And sometimes if I sit still long
enough, a grackle will walk within a few feet of me and I get a close up
look at those shiny black feathers and gold eyes.
I look
forward to more of your topic.
http://dogs.suite101.com/
Joy
P.S. I see that we have both been lab techs since the
70's. :) I always enjoyed Hematology. What was your specialty?
Apr 27, 2006 7:06 AM
Rosemary Drisdelle
:
Thanks for the welcome, and the kind words. As I write, I'm keeping one eye
on a pine siskin enjoying the niger seed in my feeder. This is a first for
me: I've never seen one of these birds at the feeder before. Apparently
they tend to flock with goldfinches, so maybe my spring flock of
goldfinches is near. Do you have mourning doves?
Rosemary
P.S. I spent my entire lab career in microbiology, eventually
specializing in parasitology -fascinating creatures, but not as classically
beautiful as birds...
Apr 27, 2006 5:06 PM
Joy Butler
:
I'm not sure what a pine siskin is but yes, I have loads of mourning doves
and I love to listen to them coo. I also have the big whitewings and the
tiny Inca doves. Earlier today I saw a beautiful bluejay feeding a young
one on a limb above my patio.
In lab, I haven't worked a lot
in parasitology but I remember thinking the little trichomonads were
"cute" and that the ascarids were horrible. lol I love
Hematology but the automation now is so different from earlier days when we
made our own dilutions and spun our hematocrits.
http://dogs.suite101.com/
Joy
Apr 30, 2006 1:39 PM
Rosemary Drisdelle
:
Hi Joy,
Pine siskins only occur in Texas in winter and then only
rarely, so I'm not surprised you don't know them! A pine siskin is about
the size of a goldfinch but lacks the bright yellow. This bird is brown
with a streaky breast, yellow edging on the wings and tail (easier to see
when it's flying), and a rather long, sharp beak. There's a picture here:
http://www.birdersworld.com/default.aspx?c=ga&id=6&aid=661&arch
y=&archm=. They occur year round in mountainous areas of the US, and in
a band across Canada just north of the Canada - US border.
Rosemary
4 Comments
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Apr 26, 2006
