Bird watching is a popular hobby for nature lovers around the world. There’s something magical about spotting a rare species in the wild or watching songbirds flutter around your backyard feeder. Birds have inspired artists, poets, and philosophers for centuries. Their beauty, grace, and freedom captivate the human spirit.
For bird lovers, quotes about our feathered friends can capture the joy of birdwatching or observing avian behavior. Uplifting sayings remind us to appreciate the simple pleasures in life that birds represent. Humorous bird quotes give us a chuckle. Poignant lines reflect on the symbolism and spiritual meaning behind these winged creatures.
This article compiles over 100 of the best inspirational, funny, and thoughtful quotes for bird lovers. From literary masters like Shakespeare and Thoreau to modern naturalists like Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s Arthur A. Allen, these bird sayings will resonate with any avid birdwatcher or nature enthusiast.
Quotes About Bird Watching & Birding
Let’s begin with inspirational sayings about the activity of birdwatching itself. These birding quotes capture the excitement of spotting birds, the patience involved, and the appeal of observing avian behavior in the wild:
“Bird watching is an exercise in balance.” – Simon Barnes
“The birds are not just birds. For I have lived so close to them that I have come to see myself the way a bird sees me, as a larger living breathing creature to share the natural world with.” – Joyce Hansen
“I realized that if I had to choose, I would rather have birds than airplanes.” – Charles Lindbergh
“Birdwatching is an exercise in managing failure.” – Phoebe Smith
“Bird watching is grand meditation.” – Tom Robbins
“To observe attentively is to open another’s soul.” – Alexandra Horowitz
“Let a joy keep you. Reach out your hands and take it when it runs by.” – Carl Sandburg
“I perhaps owe having become a painter to flowers.” – Claude Monet
“Birds are the eyes of the sky.” – Suzy Kassem
Quotes on Birds & Happiness
Birds can bring us so much joy. Their singing, bright colors, and lively attitudes serve as daily reminders to smile. Here are uplifting quotes about how birds uplift our spirits:
“Birds sing after a storm; why shouldn’t people feel as free to delight in whatever remains to them?” – Rose Kennedy
“I realized it for the first time in my life: there is nothing but mystery in the world, how it hides behind the fabric of our poor, browbeat days, shining brightly, and we don’t even know it.” – Sue Monk Kidd
“When the world wearies and society fails to satisfy, there is always the garden.” – Minnie Aumonier
“Gratitude is riches. Complaint is poverty.” – Doris Day
“The bird a nest, the spider a web, man friendship.” – William Blake
“Birds are a miracle because they prove to us there is a finer, simpler state of being which we may strive to attain.” – Douglas Coupland
“The sound of birds chirping in the morning makes me happy.” – Auliq Ice
“Birds sing after a storm; why shouldn’t people feel as free to delight in whatever sunlight remains to them?” – Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy
“Use those talents you have. You will make it. You will give joy to the world. Take this tip from nature: The woods would be a very silent place if no birds sang except those who sang best.” – Bernard Meltzer
Funny Bird Quotes
Our feathered friends also inspire humor and amusement. Here are some funny and tongue-in-cheek quotes about our avian neighbors:
“Never trust a bird that can’t fly. Never trust a man who owns an owl.” – Kamand Kojouri
“Hummingbirds hum because they don’t know the words.” – Author Unknown
“Never be afraid of the birds. When the birds are afraid, then you should be afraid.” – Kamand Kojouri
“No bird soars too high if he soars with his own wings.” – William Blake
“Birds are the only group of animals with feathers. Tell a friend today that you love them as much as a bird loves flying.” – Jarod Kintz
“I’m as proud of what we don’t do as I am of what we do.” – Steve Jobs
“Angry birds have very little concept of afterlife.” – Mokokoma Mokhonoana
“Eat like a bird, poop like an elephant.” – Anthony T. Hincks
“When the world wearies and society fails to satisfy, there is always the garden.” – Minnie Aumonier
“Birds born in a cage think flying is an illness.” – Alejandro Jodorowsky
Quotes About Birds & Freedom
One of the greatest appeals of birds is their freedom of flight. Birds represent liberty, independence, and transcendence. Here are some of the most inspirational quotes about the symbolism of birds and freedom:
“They say a bird in hand is worth two in a bush. But if you’ve got one bird in hand and go into the bush looking for two more, chances are you won’t find any.” – Mokokoma Mokhonoana
“Each bird loves to hear himself sing.” – Proverb
“I dreamed of flying. I followed the flock from tree to tree. My arms were wings. I flew freely and fast, never worrying about what I left behind.” ― Yann Martel, Beatrice and Virgil
“Birds are the eyes of the sky.” – Suzy Kassem
“They say a bird in hand is worth two in a bush. But if you’ve got one bird in hand and go into the bush looking for two more, chances are you won’t find any.” – Mokokoma Mokhonoana
“Act the way you’d like to be and soon you’ll be the way you act.” – Leonard Cohen
“Birds teach us something very important: No matter where you are, you can create something beautiful.” ― Mehmet Murat ildan
“When birds fall from the sky, we call that the end of the world. When humans fall from the sky, we call that progress.” ― Mokokoma Mokhonoana
“My friend, hope for the best, but work for the worst. A closed mouth does not get fed, freedom is not free, and the earth is not flat as my dear old aunt used to insist. There are no birds who talk like people, no kings among men, and buried gold stays buried until dug up.” ― Scott Lynch, The Lies of Locke Lamora
“Birds born in a cage think flying is an illness.” – Alejandro Jodorowsky
Quotes About Birds & Nature
Birds connect us to nature and remind us of the beauty of the outdoors. These quotes link birds to the rhythms of the seasons and natural cycles.
“I realized that if I had to choose, I would rather have birds than airplanes.” – Charles Lindbergh
“Use those talents you have. You will make it. You will give joy to the world. Take this tip from nature: The woods would be a very silent place if no birds sang except those who sang best.”― Bernard Meltzer
“When the sun came up, the mist on the water evaporated into a sparkling sea of gemlike air. Every bird in the forest awoke and sang a song of greeting and thanks for the new day. The flowers turned to face the light and the souls of the forest were fed by the sight.” ― Anthon St. Maarten, Divine Living: The Essential Guide To Your True Destiny
“The bird is an inspiring symbol of freedom and spiritual aspiration to all cultures and ages.” – Jack Angel
“Gratitude turns what we have into enough.” – Melody Beattie
“Birds are indicating signs of the weather’s shifting, so their migratory habits are part of nature’s calendar.” – Aleksandra Stanisavljevic
“I realized that if I had to choose, I would rather have birds than airplanes.” – Charles Lindbergh
“My friend, hope for the best, but work for the worst. A closed mouth does not get fed, freedom is not free, and the earth is not flat as my dear old aunt used to insist. There are no birds who talk like people, no kings among men, and buried gold stays buried until dug up.” ― Scott Lynch, The Lies of Locke Lamora
“Birds will take seed out of your hand once they know it’s food. But they won’t come to your hand until they associate it with food.” ― Donna Lynn Hope
Bird Quotes From Literature & Pop Culture
Let’s highlight some of the most famous bird quotes from movies, songs, poems, and books. These popular references capture our long fascination with avians.
“A bird doesn’t sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song.”
― Maya Angelou
“Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul – and sings the tunes without the words – and never stops at all.” ― Emily Dickinson
“When words become unclear, I shall focus with photographs. When images become inadequate, I shall be content with silence.” ― Ansel Adams
“All I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by.” ― John Masefield, Sea Fever
“What a curious thing!” said Humpty Dumpty. “I don’t know what it means.” “Of course you don’t know what it means,” said Alice. “Until I tell you.” Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking Glass
“I dreamed of flying. I followed the flock from tree to tree. My arms were wings. I flew freely and fast, never worrying about what I left behind.” ― Yann Martel, Beatrice and Virgil
“To shoot a bird flying away means to turn one’s back on freedom.” ― Milan Kundera, The Unbearable Lightness of Being
“He was free, free in every way, free to behave like a fool or a machine, free to accept, free to refuse, free to equivocate; to marry, to give up the game, to drag this death weight about with him for years to come. He could do what he liked, no one had the right to advise him, there would be for him no Good or Evil unless he thought them into being.” ― Jean-Paul Sartre, The Age of Reason
To bird lovers, our avian neighbors are a source of joy, inspiration, and perspective. These meaningful quotes give words to the uplifting effect birds have on our lives.
Whether you’re an experienced birder, casual birdwatcher, or simply enjoy the sights and sounds of feathery creatures, these bird quotes will rekindle your connection to nature. They remind us to slow down and appreciate the overhead wonders that birds provide each day.
