"Swallows do not bury themselves in swamps to hibernate for the winter as Aristotle contended, and birds do not migrate to the moon in 60 days as published in 1703. It wasn't until the 1700's that scientific information about birds was gathered in earnest, with an organizational system not completed until the late 1800's. Today we are heir to an accessible body of reliable informational material compiled over a period of 300 years by generations of naturalists, including pioneers such as Gatesby, Linnaeus, and Audubon.

But science will never be the entire story about birds. These mighty little beings engage our senses, stir our feelings, and inspire our imaginations. In speaking of bird songs, Isaac Newton queried," Lord, what music hast Thou provided for the Saints in Heaven, when Thou affordest bad men such music on earth?" As science begins to assure us that birds are truly the descendants of dinosaurs, I find myself wondering what glorious sounds might bave been heard at dawn and dusk millions of years ago."