Birds are marvelous little alien creatures. Who hasn't looked at a swallow or a hawk and dreamed of soaring, or smiled fondly at a little sparrow hopping about after crumbs, or marveled at the iridescence of a hummingbird? They may be evolutionarily distant from us, but somehow they remain emotionally compelling, at least for me. I may not have feathers, wings, a beak, or an appetite for worms, but I feel I can put myself in a bird's 3-toed shoes with easier empathy than I can muster for many mammals with whom I share a closer evolutionary bond. (And of course for "empathize", you should feel free to read "anthropomorphize".)