If you love something, you have to love it fully! If you only love half, how fair would it be to the opposite party? Sometimes falling in love takes time and we first need to overcome a lot of things and other times it’s as easy as 1, 2, 3.
Birds can easily feel like this never-ending species list and what’s on top of that you might ask? They don’t sit still! It can drive you mad with frustration if you’re trying to identify a bird and it decides to fly to the next tree. They are small, which means spotting them can very difficult. Sometimes falling in love takes time because it can feel daunting and you feel vulnerable.
Some people just need a little time to fall in love. They need to get past the overwhelming factors first. Then you get the “love at first sight” kind of people. They will just fall into the bird-world with ease. I personally needed a little time to fall in love with birds.
It took me a while to move past all these factors. To me this was a very intimidating situation. I had no idea where to start. Have you ever seen someone complicate their own life? Well this was me.
When meeting someone for the first time you get an overall impression of them. Birds are the same. When you meet one for the first time you get an overall impression and when time was limiting because the bird decided to fly away it is still easy to get the overall impression. You need to get a general size impression and shape. As you get to know the different species the general shape will steer you in the right direction.
When you meet someone new, talking is quite important. How will you get to know them without talking to them? Learning bird calls are tricky but definitely doable! Sometime when you don’t get to see each other, calling just so you know they are there is more than enough.
A Birds bill is very important to their diet. Their bills are adapted to what and how they eat. Some birds will need to kill a scorpion where others will eat fruit. Then you get the show off that will catch their prey in-flight. There is also the “big boys” that will scavenge and eat from carcasses. These birds have a very important role to play in our ecosystems, since they do the clean up.
Birds are classified by their feet structure. Their feet structure will determine if they can climb a tree or if they should walk on the ground. If you have wondered how a bird is able to hold onto a branch, it’s because of their feet structure. Some birds have 3 toes facing forward where others have 3 toes facing forward and another toe face backwards. Then you get the Swimmers that have webbing between their toes.
The colour of some birds are all over the place whereas others are quite dull. Something to note is that a male is usually more vibrant than the female. Sexual dimorphism is quite abundant in the bird community. You will start loving the individual species for all their little quarks.
Just like people, birds need their own personal space. Just like we have a preference as to where we live, birds have the same preference. A Bird that eats fruit will live where there is an abundant of fruit. Birds that eat fish will live near or even on top of water. Some birds like the ground so much they will even lay their eggs on the ground. Every species has their own liking.
How a bird flies will also help with this whole process. To give you a tip , if you think the bird cannot fly and should probably have some flying lessons , it’s a Bateleur.
If you have come this far you probably have a lot of questions! This is a good thing! Go and find answers to every question and the love will grow as mine did. Falling in love with birds is a lot easier than you think. You are probably already intrigued and wanting more from this relationship!
Blog by current student Megan Smith
