Formostofmylife,Ididn’tpayattentionto birds.

Now,whensomeoneasksmewhybirdsaresoimportanttome,allIcandoissigh.Ishakemyhead.It’sasifI’vebeenaskedtoexplainwhyIlovemybrothers.Andyetthequestionisafairone: 

Whydobirdsmatter?

Myanswermightstartwiththenumberofbirdsinthebirdkingdom.Ifyoucouldseeeverybirdintheworld,you’dseenearlyeverypartoftheworld.Thingswithfeatherscanbefoundineverycornerofeveryocean.They’refoundonlandsobleakthatnootheranimalslivethere.

GraygullsraisetheirchicksintheAtacamaDesertinChile.EmperorpenguinslaytheireggsinAntarcticainwinter.YoucanfindsparrowsinNewYorkCitytrafficlights.SwiftsliveinseacavesandvulturesonmountaincliffsinIndia.Theonlyformsoflifemorewidelydistributedaremicroscopic.