Birds in Arts and Literature

Joe Meche is vice president of the North Cascades Audubon Society and is in his ninth year as editor of the chapter newsletter. Joe is also a member of the board of directors of the Washington Brant Foundation. He has been photographing birds and landscapes for over 30 years and has been watching birds for more than 50 years.

It doesn’t take much effort to fully appreciate the rising popularity of birdwatching. We live in an age of statistics and polls so most of us are aware of the fact that birdwatching, bird feeding and other activities involving birds are at an all-time high. Not too long ago, the primary wildlife-viewing opportunities we knew about were the stereotypical big game safaris in East Africa. These safaris always involved an array of travel logistics that were either too expensive or too burdensome for most people. Today, the primary focus seems to be on birds, and numerous birdwatchers travel throughout the country and even the world in search of new birds to add to their life lists.

Closer to home, improved modes of transportation, affordable optics and the emergence of ecotourism have combined with the establishment of more sanctuaries and better facilities to foster this pursuit. Birdwatching, in many places, has even become a competitive activity, much to the chagrin of many purists. More than ever before, communities are beginning to embrace the concept of linking habitat conservation and restoration with birding economics. In all, it’s been a good deal for the birds.

Long before they became the subject of big days, life lists, in-depth study and systematic classification, birds were appreciated primarily for their beauty, their beautiful songs and their behavior, especially during their spectacular migrations. It’s no surprise that birds provided the inspiration for numerous portrayals in the arts and literature. While the interest in observing specific birds is higher than ever, birds in general have captivated humans for as long as the two have inhabited the planet.

Humans have paid homage to birds in a variety of ways. Birds were portrayed on the walls of their first dwellings and on any other suitable surface. Ancient Egyptians worshipped the sacred ibises and adorned their temples and sarcophagi with their images. Bird artists from Mark Catesby and John James Audubon to Roger Tory Peterson brought birds to the attention of everyone. The artwork of Peterson will live in his popular field guides, which have been emulated by many other artists.

Birds were integral parts of the lore of early civilizations and writings about birds fill an incomprehensible number of volumes. Writers expressed their awe and wonder, as well as their appreciation of birds in a lyrical style, in prose and poetry. Wordsmiths were especially moved by what they observed and left us with a wealth of memorable passages.

When Coleridge’s albatross meets its untimely fate in “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner,” the author might have inadvertently accomplished a bit of conservation work—well before it became the popular thing to do. Near the end of this epic poem, after relating his tale of killing an albatross and the ensuing bad luck brought upon his ship, Coleridge’s mariner leaves us with a message to live by:

He prayeth well, who loveth well
Both man and bird and beast.
He prayeth best, who loveth best
All things great and small;
For the dear God who loveth us,
He made and loveth all.

Shelley wrote of “amorous birds perched on the young, green spray,” and “the melodies of birds.” Shakespeare wrote more about birds than any other poet, and his works include references to a variety of species ranging from cormorants and falcons to swallows and thrushes. Numerous contemporary writers such as Mary Oliver, Pablo Neruda and Pattiann Rogers are just a few of the names who celebrate the wonder of birds in their work.

Literary classics about birds include the “Ode to a Nightingale,” by John Keats; “The Eagle,” by Alfred Lord Tennyson; “The Owl and the Pussycat,” by Edward Lear; and a work that ranks among the immortals, “The Raven,” by Edgar Alan Poe. Very few among us can admit to having never heard the line, “Quoth the raven, ‘Nevermore.’ ”

Perhaps Edgar Alan Poe’s best-known work, “The Raven” was always the staple of teachers of English literature, and served to open doors to other poetry. Regardless of Poe’s intentions and truth be known, English teachers used the epic poem to demonstrate Poe’s use of vocabulary, and literary devices such as alliteration and internal rhyme.

Classical composers were inspired by birdsong and used it as the basis for many of their works. Instruments, such as the violin, were often used to evoke the songs of specific birds, as in Ralph Vaughn Williams’ “The Lark Ascending” and Ottorino Respighi’s “The Birds.” Gustav Mahler mimicked the two notes of the common European cuckoo in his popular “First Symphony.”

In Beethoven’s “Pastorale,” the attentive listener takes a stroll through the forest and encounters the wonders of nature and a few of the resident birds, including cuckoos and nightingales. One of the most beloved of all ballets is Tchaikovsky’s “Swan Lake.” A more contemporary composer, Olivier Messiaen observed birds in their natural habitats and recorded their songs in musical notation. He later composed solo pieces and orchestral works based on the themes he derived from birdsong.

Popular music tells us all about the “Red, Red Robin” and its cousin, “Rockin’ Robin,” a bird that “rocks in the treetops all the day long, rockin’ and boppin’ and singin’ his song.” The birds in this number even live on “Jay Bird Street!” And while you’re trying to think of other birds in song, be sure to keep an eye out for that “Yellow Bird, up high in banana tree.”

Showing perhaps a propensity for blackbirds and spanning the disciplines of music and poetry, Ray Henderson and Mort Dixon wrote “Bye Bye Blackbird” in 1926; Marcus Argentarius, a Greco-Roman poet of the first century BC, wrote “To a Blackbird Singing,” and almost 2,000 years later, Paul McCartney wrote “Blackbird,” during the turmoil of the American Civil Rights movement. This song was, and still is, relevant to any situation in need of hope and faith.

Blackbird singing in the dead of night,
Take these broken wings and learn to fly.
All your life,
You were only waiting for this moment to arise.
Blackbird singing in the dead of night,
Take these sunken eyes and learn to see
All your life,
You were only waiting for this moment to be free.
Blackbird fly….into the light of the dark black night.

Birds have always been a part of the natural landscape and are living metaphors for freedom and the celebration of life. Humans will always observe their movements with a sense of wonder and continue to offer interpretations of birds through art and literature, and even find new ways to describe these avian wonders. With that in mind, we must all do our part to ensure that birds are always a fundamental part of our lives. §