Faculty of Agrology and Agribusiness Agribusiness and investment activities
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Presentation on the subject of
English
Introduction
Why are we so fascinated with birds? From the earliest cave paintings and ceramic effigies of prehistoric humans to the present, we find close links between birds and ourselves. Those links are related to several things that draw us together:
(1) our fascination with and envy of the ability of birds to fly;(2) the meat and eggs they provide us; (3) their colorful plumage that we admire and often use to decorate our own attire; (4) their down feathers that we use for insulation, and other feathers that we've used as writing instruments, to fletch arrows, to fan royalty, and to dust our homes; (5) their beautiful voices; (6) their hollow bones which we have at times used to produce tools and even flutes with which to emulate their songs; (7) their ritualistic courtship behavior; (8) their attentive parental care; (9) the vigor of their territorial defense; (10) their seasonal migrations; and (11) their diversity.
Cultural significance of birds
We, like most birds, are most active in the light of day—a time when the light-sensitive cone cells of our respective eyes allow our brains to interpret the world in color. Color has a common basic value to primitive humans and to birds. It allows both to identify ripe fruit from that which is not ripe, poisonous fruits from those that are edible. With the ability to see color come a number of giftslagniappe, something a little extra.
From the human perspective we might think of them as aesthetic, but from the birds' perspective they seem utilitarian as well. The diversity of patterns and colors in the plumages of birds facilitate recognition of members of their own species, just as colors of uniforms allow us to recognize players for the home team.
We use color we find pleasing as decoration for ourselves and our surroundings—to please ourselves and those we wish to please. Birds do the same thing. The bowerbirds of Australia have drab plumage, but decorate their courtship bowers with objects of specific hues. Natural selection has favored the development of colors and patterns that help fulfill needs among birds for the attraction of a mate and defense of a territory, and camouflage for protection from enemies. In many ways we share such needs and such benefits of color. We differ from most mammals in being able to see color, a trait we share with most birds. The beauty we recognize in the colors of birds might be looked upon as a celebration of our uniqueness.
