Website design By BotEap.comIt is for the birds. Where did that phrase come from? Why is it something we consider worthless to birds? According to the almighty internet, birds generally eat seeds that aren’t worth much, so we think that something that isn’t worth much is considered “bird-friendly.”

Website design By BotEap.comHave you ever called someone a bird brain? A bird brain is a person who is considered stupid or has a short attention span. The birds flutter here and there and there and there and there. Whether birds are stupid is up for debate. Anatomically, a bird has a relatively large brain compared to the size of its head. How well that brain works, I’m not so sure.

Website design By BotEap.comShe eats like a bird. Have they ever told you that? The meaning of that statement is that she doesn’t eat much and just picks at her food. The birds peck a lot, but according to my observation, they eat a lot. If the bird poop on my property is any indication, she’s doing just fine in the feeding and digestion departments. I have read that birds actually eat quite a lot for their body size.

Website design By BotEap.comHow do I know that? A little bird told me. We use that saying when a secret source tells us something about another person. The origin of that phrase could have come from a Bible verse in Ecclesiastes about watching your words because a bird in the sky might carry your words to the king or something. Some say a little bird told me that it refers to carrier pigeons that were used to deliver messages in the past.

Website design By BotEap.comIt’s interesting that we don’t think much about the idioms we use. We just accept them, just like we accept the birds and our fantasy with them. Certainly many of us have wished to be free as a bird. And we’ve all, at one time or another, been naked as a jay.

Website design By BotEap.comWhy a jay? Bluejays are born with very little down so that could be a guess. Most birds are born equal, as naked as a bird works like that. Blue Jays when mature are quite charming and do not appear nude. I’m not sure what a naked bird looks like though. None of the birds in my garden wear clothes.

Website design By BotEap.comWhat about the blue bird of happiness? A song written in 1934 has given us that icon, but bluebirds have been revered for years before that. Native American legends refer to the bluebird as a spirit associated with the rising sun. “Bluebirds fly over rainbows, why oh why can’t I?” Dorothy sings in Wizard of Oz.

Website design By BotEap.comBirds of a feather flock together. We understand that species stick together and say that people who have similar characters or similar interests often choose to spend time together. Bird lovers, for example.

Website design By BotEap.comWe all know that the early bird gets the worm. We call early risers early risers and those who like to stay up late are considered night owls. The birds are up at dawn, pecking at insects, seeds, and maybe that famous worm. We woke up to the tweets and songs of the birds.

Website design By BotEap.comYou may be wondering why I don’t explain how to flip the bird. You can search for that yourself. I started today with the plan of simply writing about my fascination with the birds in my garden, and how I observe them from my solarium, almost from a bird’s eye view.

Website design By BotEap.comI got distracted by these idioms and wanted to share them with you. Now my column space is full. Maybe you could say that I just killed two birds with one stone.