2 
WHY WE SHOULD STUDY BIRDS 
of their structure and life which go to make up the science of ornithol- 
ogy. The claims of birds to our attention may then be formally sum- 
marized as follows: 
First, because, as the natural enemies of harmful insects and rodents, 
as destroyers of weed seeds and as scavengers, birds are of inestimable 
value in the economics of nature. 
Second , because birds are sensitively organized creatures, and 
respond so readily to the influences of their surroundings that in their 
structure, distribution, migration and habits they furnish naturalists 
with numerous and important clews to the workings of natural laws. 
Third, because birds, more effectively than any other forms of 
life, arouse our inborn interest in animals, not only through their 
abundance and familiarity, but because their form, color and power 
of flight stimulate our love of beauty and of grace; because their 
songs appeal to us as the most eloquent of nature’s voices; because 
their migrations excite our wonder and continually renew our interest 
in the bird-life of the same locality, and because the human-like traits 
displayed during their nesting season emphasize our kinship with them. 
Hence it follows that birds, more than any other animals, may serve 
as bonds between man and nature. 
