Penguins are an indicator of the health of our watery planet, and if they are unable to survive, we had better take notice or we might find our own survival threatened.

The truth of the matter is, the birds could very well live without us, but many -- perhaps all -- of us would find life incomplete, indeed almost intolerable without the birds.

Birds are an ecological litmus paper.

Birds are, perhaps, the most eloquent expression of reality.

Birding, after all, is just a game. Going beyond that is what is important.

We don't have to go to wild places to find wildlife. A surprisingly wide range of species can be found in our sities and towns, from familiar animals like the raccoon to more exotic ones like the mountain lion.

Vultures are homely, but they clean up all the garbage and that's good. And they're elegant in the sky.