or·ni·thol·o·gy
noun \ˌȯr-nə-ˈthä-lə-jē\
: a branch of science that deals with the study of birds
My Grandpa was an ornithologist! Well, sort of. My Grandpa loved all kinds of birds. I never asked him, but I am guessing since he grew up in the country backwoods of Missouri, I am guessing he began liking them as a young boy.
Even though technically he did not have a degree in the science he still liked to study them, look at them, enjoy them, and see what new ones he could find. Most people would call this "birding" today.
My Grandparents always had small bird statues in their home. I think most people thought that the statues belonged to Grandma but the truth was, those belonged to Grandpa. He would like to take them down off the shelf and talk about what each one was. He knew!
My Mother had started giving him those bird statues years ago and he loved everyone, even up until the time of his death. It was sad to see them go to someone else.
I am grateful though to have had a chance to learn a little from him and enjoy his birds while I still could.
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Check out the song I found out about the science. This is for Grandpa.
3 comments:
When the children were small, we use to do a lot of bird watching as they came by to feed just outside the dining room window. I had the kids look up birds they did not recognize in a book we have and that was both fun & educational for them. Grandparents offer so much, don't they? Nice post!
We weren't much into bird watching or different kinds, but my gramma had a parakeet she called Tommy and she taught him how to talk believe it or not and he would call my grandpa who's name was Tom, and gramma would go Tommy, Tommy, Tommy's a pretty boy. Then the bird would go Tommy, Pretty Boy, Pretty Boy and then whistle. hehehe Haven't thought of that in years.
I was always amazed that my grandma could tell what kind of bird was around by the sound. Not just easy ones -- but the more difficult ones too. She used to love to sit in her living room with the big picture window and watch the birds come to the feeder. I have one in front of my big window too.
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