Why Study Birds?

Every wide-awake person should be interested in birds. Their interesting 

ways, delightful colors, and charming songs make them loved by all. 

Besides these inducements for bird study, sufficient as they are, many 

other are held out to the enthusiastic bird student. 

A very important reward for the bird observer is the training in 

observation and keen vision. One who is interested in birds and used to 

their ways will often see birds th.t are unnoticed by one who has never 

cultivated this ability, recognizing by a flash of color, a peculiarity in 

flight, a momentary glimpse of a darting form, a rustle in the grass, or 

a note from the hidden depths of a thicket, the presence of a feathered 

friend that to others is non-existant. 

One who studies birds will also receive splendid training in patience, 

for hasty and bungling actions will very effectively prevent successful bird 

study. To see birds at their best one must chcose, in the early morning 

or the cool of the evening a spot frequented by birds and then quietly 

wait for them to show themselves. Birds are full of curiosity, so that 

if one flies into a thicket it will be almost sure to reappear if the 

observer can restrain its impatience and remain still. We must allow the 

birds to present themselves to us rather than try to force ourselves upon 

them. 

Aesthetics aside, birds have an undeniable economic value for every nation on earth during the 

growing season of crops, because of the injurious insects that they de- 

stroyed. When we realize injurious insects take at least ten per- 

cent of each agricultural crop, the importance of birds is plain. China 

has at present large number of birds to protect its crops against the 

swarms of insects that would destroy them. The protection of its avian 

resources should be at the forefront of any “developed” country’s agenda.

Let all who are interested in outdoor life, then, take up the study 

of birds. Not only will it add to the economic resources of the country, 

but it will bring joy to the bird lover.