Formostofmylife,Ididn’tpayattentionto birds.

Now,whensomeoneasksmewhybirdsaresoimportanttome,allIcandoissighandshakemyhead,asifI’vebeenaskedtoexplainwhyIlovemybrothers.Andyetthequestionisafairone:

Whydobirdsmatter?

Myanswermightstartwiththescaleofthebirdkingdom.Ifyoucouldseeeverybirdintheworld,you’dseethewholeworld.Thingswithfeatherscanbefoundineverycornerofeveryocean.They’refoundonlandhabitatssobleakthatnootheranimalslivethere.

GraygullsraisetheirchicksinChile’sAtacamaDesert,oneofthedriestplacesonEarth.EmperorpenguinslaytheireggsinAntarcticainwinter.YoucanfindsparrowsinNewYorkCitytrafficlights;swiftsinseacaves;andvulturesonHimalayancliffs.Theonlyformsoflifemorewidelydistributedthanbirdsare microscopic.