There is much in nature that I love, but nothing exceeds my love for the birds.

That's for the birds! Give them their due.
They deserve recognition by human beings.
Call them by their names.
Be it a person or a bird his name is the watermark above which the tide can never rise.
It is a strange identity to live on Planet Earth and to go nameless.
Always something within man and bird declares that "Somebody knows my name."
Sometimes when a bird sings out,
I hold still and listen a long time.
My world turns and goes back to the place
Where, in ancient history,
The bird and the wind
Were like me; we were brothers.
Then my soul turns into a bird,
And asks me my name. What shall I reply?
Here are the names of "birds of my eye and heart." They are the apple of my eye and joybells ringing in my heart. My bird roll begins with the Blue Jay. "UJ" was the first name that I can remember my parents and syblings calling me. About the same time they told me that a certain bird that graced our cherry tree was a "blue jay." Whenever UJ was mentioned I heard Blue Jay. And I was pleased because, I reasoned, that it meant they would love me just as much as they love the blue jay that made their hearts merry.
This is why I choose to put the blue jay at the top of my "birds of my eye and heart" list.
***Blue Jay ("Cyanocitta cristata"). The blue jay has a beautiful blue back, white patches on blue wings and tail, light gray underparts, and a large blue crest. Its call notes, a loud "jay, jay."
***Northern Cardinal ("Cardinalis cardinalis").
The cardinal is a permanent resident throughout the central and eastern United States. The male is a brilliant red all over with a cone-shaped reddish bill, a large red crest, and a black face. The female is olive brown with red on the crest, wings, and tail. The typical song of the cardinal that has more than twenty different songs in its repertoire is a clear "cheer, cheer, cheer" or "prety, prety, prety,"
***Ruby-Throated Hummingbird ("Archilochus colubris")
The ruby-throated hummingbird is widly distributed across the eastern two-thirds of the United States between April and September. The tiny bird is a bright metallic green above with whitish underparts. The male is adorned with a brilliant red throat or gorget; the female lacks the red gorget. Their song is a twittering sound frequently uttered in flight, the buzzing of the rapidly beating wings, a zooming sound, and a sharp "chip" while perched, buzz-buzz, zoom- zoom."
***Yellow-Billed Cuckoo ("Coccyzus americanus).
The yellow-billed cuckoo is grayish brown above and white below, with a long tail that fans out in flight, and a yellow bill. It has a unique, staccato call, "kuk-kuk-kuk-kuk-kuk," ending in a delayed "koulp, koulp, koulp."
***Red-Billed Woodpecker ("Melanerpes carolinus")
The red-billed woodpecker's belly is only slightly red on the lower underparts. It has a bautiful black and white barred back with white upper tail feathers. The female has a red nape only, while the male sports a brilliant red crown and nape. The sides of the face and the underparts are gray. The call of the red-billed woodpecker is a loud "chur-r-r-r-r-r-r."
***Northern Flicker ("Colaptes auratus")
The northern flicker is a large woodpecker with a brown barred back and a large white rump. There is a black patch acorss the chest and a red crescent on the nape; males have a black mustache. The underparts are spotted with black dots. The song is a rapid "wik-wik-wik-wik-wik" and "wicker, wicker" or 'flick-a, flick-a."
***Northern Bobwhite ("Colinus virginianus")
The northern bobwhite is a chubby, chickenlike bird with a short tail, blotchy reddish brown. The male has a white throat and eye stripe that are buffy in the female. More frequently heard than seen, the voice is clear "bob-white" or "bob-bob-white."
***Eastern Kingbird (Tyranus tyranus")
The kingbird has a black head, slate gray back with white underparts, and a white terminal band on the tail. The bill is long and thick. The bird is noizy and makes the frequent high-pitched call, "tzi, tzee, tzi, tzee."
***Carolina Chickadee ("Parus carolinensis")
The Carolina chickadee is a dull gray all over and has a black cap and throat. The call note is "chick-a-dee-dee-dee-dee."
***White-Breasted Nuthatch ("Sitta carolinensis")
The white-breaasted nuthatch has a blue gray back, white breast, and black cap; the flanks are tawny. The call is "yank-yank-yank."
***Carolina Wren ("Thryothorus ludovicinus")
The Carolina wren is the largest of thre five species of wrens that may be encountered throughout the year in much of the United States. It is rusty brown above and buff below, with a white throat and a white eye stripe. This master vocalist's loud, clear song that may be heard any time of the day and year has been described as "tea-kettle, tea-kettle" or "cherry, cherry , cherry."
***American Robin (Turdus migratiorius")
The American robin has a grayish brown back, brick red underparts, and a white lower belly. The dark head is almost black in some individuals, the white chin is streaked with black. The American robin's well-known caroling has been described as "cheer-up, cheer, cheer, cheer-up."
***Red-Eyed Viereo ("Vireo olivaceus")
The red-eyed vireo is a small, greenish, nonscript brid with a dark olive back and white underparts and a yellowish wash on the sides. It has a blue gray crown and a white eyebrow bordered above and below with black. The song has been described as "here-I-am, where-are-you?" or "you -see-it, you-know-it, do you-hear-me?"
***Eastern Meadowlark ("Sturnella magna")
The eastern meadowlark is streaked brown above with yellow underparts and a black V-shaped breast band. There is considerable variations in the intensity of the colors of the eastern meadowlark. Their song is a clear whitstled series of notes variously interpreted as "see-you, see-yeer" or "tee-you, tee-air."
***Summer Tanager ("Piranga rubra")
The summer tanager male is a bright rose red all over while the female is a light olive above and orange yellow below. The male scarlet tanager is bright red with black wings; the female is olive green and also has black wings. The call of the summer tanager is a staccato "chicky-tucky-tuck," with the three phrases being repeated over and over.
***Killdeer ("Charadrius vociferus"). The killdeer has double black chest bands displayed over the otherwise white underparts, a reddish rump, and a long bill. The call of this species which is repeated time after time at the slightest alarm is "kill-deeah," which is repeated along with a "dee-dee-dee."
***Wood Duck ("Aix sponsa")
The male wood duck's neck and breast are a rich burgundy spotted with white, golden flanks, and a dark green slicked-back crest and head with a scarlet red eye, white throat and bill patterned in red, yellow, black and white. The female is brown with a white teardrop eyespot on a gray brown crested head. The wood ducks' call note, "hoo-eek" or "oo-eek."
***Canada Goose ("Branta canadensis").
The Canada goose is the common wild goose. It has a black head and black neck that is marked with a white chin strap. Its honking call note has been variously described as "ah-honk" or "ka-ronk."
***Belted Kingfisher ("Megaceryle alcyon")
The belted kingfisher is a stocky bird with short legs, a large head that has a ragged crest and an oversized bill. It is blue gray above with white neck and white underparts. The female has a rust belly band and flanks. The kingfisher utters a loud "rickety, crick, crick, crick."
***Laughing Gull (Larus atricilla")
The laughing gull, also known as the black-headed gull, has a red bill, black hood, and dark slate gray upper surfaces. The neck and underparts are white. The laughing gull is identified by its laughing note, "ha, ha, ha, ha, haah, haah, haah."
When these twenty species of birds sing at the same time, although not in close proximity, they are a symphony expressing in a rhapsody the lyrics and music below that their Maker created for them and empowered them, through music, to make glad angels and humans. Music from Heaven's repertoire: "jay, jay,"/ "cheer, cheer, cheer" (or) "prety, prety, prety,"/ "buzz-buzz, zoom-zoom,"/ "kuk-kuk-kuk-kuk-kuk," (ending in a delayed) "koulp, koulp, koulp."/ chur-r-r-r-r-r-r"/ "wik-wik-wik-wik-wik-wik" (and) "wicker, wicker' (or) "flick-a, flick-a,"/ "bob-white" (or) "bob-bob white,"/ "tzi, tzee, tzi, tzee,"/ "chick-a-dee-dee-dee-dee,"/ "yank-yank-yank-yank,"/ "tea-kettle, tea-kettle" (or) "cherry, cherry, cherry,"/ "cheer-up, cheer, cheer, cheer-up."/ "here-I-am, where-are-you?" (or) "you-see-it, you-know-it, do-you-hear-me?"/ "see-you, see yeer" (or) "tee-you, tee-air,"/ "chicky-tucky-tuck,"/ "kill-deeath, kill-deeath, dee-dee-dee,"/ "hoo-eek," or "oo-eek."/ "ah-honk" (or) "ka-ronk,"/ "rickety, crick, crick, crick,"/ "ha, ha, ha, ha, haah, haah, haah." (Birds repeat their songs.)
A bird speaks. It's a Blue Jay. It says to me, "UJ, you know my name; call me by my name. May we sing my song?" I thought, how blessed I am to be asked by a Blue Jay to sing with him its song "jay-jay, jay-jay, jay-jay, jay-jay, jay-jay... ."

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Acknowledgments
I am indebted to two Englishmen, John Lawson (d. 1711) and Mark Catesby (1682-1749), who documented the ornithology of eighteenth-century Colonial America, American orinthological writer Alan Feduccia who expanded the documentation of ornithology in twentieth-century America, and those who shared their bird stories with me.
"In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight." (Proverbs 3:6). Amen!


Uriah J. Fields is an author and composer.

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Uriah J. Fields
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Copyright 2004 by Uriah J. Fields