Ugly Birds Need Feeding Too

I'm a bit alarmed, even upset for our flying feathered friends. No, I'm not proposing a scary scenario like an Alfred Hitchcock horror movie a la The Birds. My distress isn't for those lovely songbirds lavished with attention, and highly prized for beauty. I'm bummed over the common, even ugly birds chirping about - ones who are forgotten, or even outright ignored. Scotts Miracle-Gro Company make a line of bird feed called Scotts Songbird Selections. This tasty grub supposedly attracts wild finches and other pretty songbirds. What about the ugly birds?

Are plain, homely, or even arguably ugly birds not worthy of special tasting bird feed or yummy treats? Is it always the case that a 'pretty' bird pleases our ears as a good singer - a highly flying, feathered Frank Sinatra or enchanting Enya perching and purring melodically on the branches of our trees? Ugly birds need feeding too!

I'm no bird expert, no obsessed ornithological fanboy armed with binoculars and bird fact book, but I've seen nondescript birds, who while not true lookers, offer pleasure for other reasons. Some of them fly so swiftly they can barely be followed by the naked eye. Others have such a quirky, quizzical look about them. They're simply fun to see flying about in the yard, or park. Just because these average avians don't charm the majority of bird brained aficionados, they don't rate enough to have their own special bird feed? Sadly, this preferential feeding treatment could see only the beautiful birds flourish, while less attractive ones go hungry. Doesn't seem fair, or very ecologically sound or logical to me. If only the beautiful people of our human world flourished, it may make for a physically flawless world, but it would definitely be a lot more boring, or even risky for our species.

Like the classic Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale teaches us as children and well into our adulthood - often the ugly duckling can become transformed into a beautiful swan - a personage high in demand because of real value. If we valued the living creatures around us more for their abilities or other real intrinsic value - not just for fleeting cosmetic beauty or musical charms - then perhaps all those other ugly ducklings would get bird feed marketed for them too.

http://www.amazon.com/Scotts-Songbird-Selections-Finch-Blend/dp/B001H1LPBE