Birds
If I could be any animal in the world, I would like to be a bird. There is no particular bird that I would most enjoy being. I could be the smallest blue jay, or the most dangerous hawk, neither is more intriguing to me. There are two reasons why I would like to be a bird, and only one reason I would not. I believe the bird is a beautiful creature, and I also believe that the bird is the luckiest creature to ever live. But, then there are the few downsides to being a bird.
The downsides are few, but significant. Let’s take the penguin for example. What terrible thing could a bird have done to be a wingless, legless bird stuck in the middle of the South Pole!
The poor things must be miserable! I know that if I were a bird, I would prefer to have wings and legs! Another downside would be captivation. Now, I am human and all, but if I were looking at life from a bird’s point of view, I would have to say captivation isn’t exactly what I would be striving for. Part of the fun about being a bird would have to be the freedom that comes along with it.
The freedom of a bird is one of the major reasons I choose this creature. A bird has the freedom to live wherever he/she pleases. A nest can be built almost anywhere! Birds also have the incredible ability to see the world from a point of view completely different from our own. They can fly! They can see things, smell things, and touch things that are so far beyond our reach in so many ways. This is why I believe that the bird is the luckiest creature to ever live. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to not have any material belongings? To be able to move to Florida on
a whim? Think about it, I could fly there without even buying a ticket, and have the opportunity to live wherever my little heart desired!
The bird is also a beautiful animal in many ways. It can sing beautiful music like no other animal can.
In “A Caged Bird”, it is made clear that this bird has never experienced the freedom of flying with the other species or perching atop the highest building. All it has ever known is the cage in which is has been kept and fed plentifully, yet not punctually, and nurtured with the love of an owner and proper care.
Dunbar finishes off the poem with powerful lines: “But a prayer that he sends from his heart’s deep core, But a plea that upward heaven he flings— I know why the caged bird sings!” The caged bird is depicted as battered, bruised, and beaten from his violent rebellion— praying as his last chance of freedom. The bird’s belief in its virtuous rebellion justifies the revolt, as we see the bird’s constant persistency, even as the mutiny is demoted to
The female reproductive system in birds is reduced in most species to a left ovary and oviduct. This unilateral reduction of the female reproductive system is thought to bear two benefits: it reduces the female’s body and it prevent the potential problem of simultaneously carrying two large fragile eggs within the abdominal cavity. It also balances the body with the liver on the right side adjacent to the left ovary.
John Audubon is arguably the greatest American artist-naturalist that has lived. (Pg.17 of source #4) He was intrigued by the natural world and at the same time enjoyed the elegant feeling painting brought him. Although he is not the first artist to attempt to paint and describe all the birds of America, “he was the young countries dominant wildlife artist for over half a century. Audubon used his artistic skills to portray American birds in their natural habitat. His knowledge on birds, the environment and artistic practices made his work extremely different from others. Through his art he dismays an intense affection for birds by using a scientific and objective approach. His passion for exploring the beauty of birds and the nature that surrounded them lead him to create paintings that are well known today. The natural world and scenes from everyday life are common themes that are portrayed throughout his works.
The poem provides insight into the direct relationship of using choice to transcend (“free bird”) and excel to unlimited possibilities (“the sky”) versus using a choice which mentally stagnates (cages the mind) and results in mental strain (“his tune is heard on the distant hill…sings of freedom”). The outstanding aspect of “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” is the exceptional use of personification. The author’s personification of a bird (wild/free vs captivity) to compare and contrast to the cognitive operation of the human mind is provocative, compelling me to reflect, daily, on my life
The wild turkey has between 5,000 and 6,000 feathers that cover almost the entire body of an adult turkey in patterns called feather tracts. These feathers provide a variety of survival functions for the wild turkey such as insulation, flight, and advertisement for reproduction. The amount of feathers and the different type of feathers allow it to stay dry and warm while also allowing it to fly. Unlike its domesticated counterpart, who is to large and heavy to fly, wild turkeys can fly up to 55 mph according to NWTF.org (3). Not only can they fly, but they hav...
represent in real life. Birds are a part of a class of animals that have the ability to roam
Marzluff, J., Angell, T. & Elliot, B. (2013, May. - Jun.). Birds: Brains over brawn. Audubon, 115(3), 40-41.
The birds show symbolism in more than one way throughout the text. As the soldiers are travelling from all over the world to fight for their countries in the war, the birds are similarly migrating for the change of seasons. The birds however, will all be returning, and many of the soldiers will never return home again. This is a very powerful message, which helps the reader to understand the loss and sorrow that is experienced through war.
Thousands of different types of birds roam the Earth as we know it today, so let’s begin consider the origin of these beings. How had these creatures come to be? What was their original form? The evolution of birds has only recently begun to explode with new information within the last decade (Savile, 1957, p. 212). Birds are unique creatures and inhabit a wide variety of locations, but constant among them is the fact that they came from Archaeopteryx. Over time, three key changes have developed with the bird’s anatomy that makes it a paradigm of evolution.
The eagle has always been considered a bird that is fierce in nature and is above all.
The birds signify the “system of relationship by which women become the prey of men” (Rubin 66). The text suggests that the birds are a reflection of all the women that the Erl-King has managed to lure in and imprison in cages. His actions reflect a kind of superiority and ownership over the female body. The female character is given several warnings to stay away from the Erl-King, such as from a bird at the beginning of the story that gives a call, “as desolate as it came from the throat of the last bird left alive” (Carter 85). The birds dying and melancholy tone is meant to keep people away from the woods and warn them of the dangers that lie beyond, yet she continues on ahead. Later on in the text, she even states how she “knew from the first moment [she] saw him how Erl-King would do [her] grievous harm” (Carter 90). The fact that she is aware from the start of the dangers of this stranger in the wood and still lets herself be sexually used by him demonstrates the passivity and feminine traits present in her character. Her femininity allows for the Erl-King to influence how the female body is displayed in the story, where it becomes something that revolves around beauty, appearance and sexual satisfaction. The story implies that because women are supposed to be dependent and accepting, men have the power to decide their faith. In which case, the Erl-King is already in the process of “weaving for [her]” (Carter 90) a cage, where she is meant to
Neck and beak – *The neck is long and felixble as a result bird is able to rotate its head for reaching food and can see all around. *The jaws are teethless and are produced into beak which are variously modified to pick up food, making nests and preening etc. Skin – *The skin of bird is loose which allows movement of the flight muscles. Limbs –*Forelimbs are modified into wings and are attached closer to center of gravity and farther from head than in other animals. *The wings act as propelling organs for flight. *Hand bones are small, fused, flattened and specialized to manipulate the flight
Birds have direct and indirect economic and cultural values for people. Birds are important for a lot of reasons. Birds provide us food, medicine, fertilizers and also bring about pollinations. They are important because they are a part of the food chain. Birds are also important because they help spread seeds around and thus help with the planting process. Birds also perform vital ecological role, besides their economical role. They are critical links within the fast food chains and webs that exist in the ecosystem. The economic importance of birds can be studied into two parts – A) Beneficial effect B) Harmful effect.