The Psychology of the Naturalist

Probably primitive man recognised the value of birds as food well before his mind became capable of understanding his jealousy of their powers of flight. That humans have long considered flying to be desirable is shown by early artists portraying angels, as spiritual super-humans, with functional wings; also, Peoples such as the Assyrians carved bulls complete with wings, thus representing both strength and Mobility. As well as hunting birds and mammals for f?od, early man must have looked for birds' nests. Clutches of eggs, in season, would have been prized as Palatable food and in some tribal areas mystic significance may have been attributed to the markings and colours of the shells. Obviously, birds have always fascinated man. The Old Testament has many references to birds and so has early literature in general, 'n more recent times, Shakespeare's characters mentioned birds as omens, and included them in metaPhoric and descriptive passages. This is not surprising as Shakespeare wrote in a community which lived close to nature, when even the largest towns, small by Modern standards, were surrounded by woods, farms and open heaths. Now that natural habitats, together with bird and Mammal poDulations, have shrunk alarmingly it is to he expected that the increasing numbers of humans should demand some association with wild life. Man's complex brain has evolved for so long in close contact With nature that abrupt separation can lead to psycho'?9ical disturbance. Hence, the modern interest in the study of birds and the multiplication of natural history societies could have been anticipated. To achieve a balance the energy of the human psyche, 0r in a conscious state, the ego, requires some interaction with the life of the moor, the forest and the ?stuary. Perhaps in the majority of cases such contact need only be superficial, but deeper involvement is required in other personality types. Today's ego needs the egg; the problem is to conserve the egg and to allow outlets for the necessary psychic drives. The ego 'tself is too destructive. Fundamentally man is selfish and unless the super-ego, the conscience, can instil Understanding of the necessity of protecting the regaining natural environment, the countryside could disappear in its present form. The development of man's higher cerebral functions has permitted aesthetic appreciation as well as curios'ty. Thus, it is possible to admire the tones of the blue Pigment of a male chalk-hill blue butterfly Lysandra coridon without studying the dead specimen in the laboratory. Again, the delicate form and shading of the flower of sheepsbit Jasione montana, can best be er>joyed in its setting on downs or coastal waste, but ^an also has the capability of dissecting the plant and jaking pleasure in enquiring into the chemistry of its "fe. As another example, humans can appreciate the camouflage effect of the olive-green and buff mottlings ?f the egg of a sedge warbler Acrocephalus schoenobaenus, lying deep in its nest of dried grasses low in marsh vegetation; also, man can ask how the pigments became laid down in the shell of the egg and why