outdoors travel

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.