Birds, like many other animals, bring great benefits to people. The most ancient methods of direct use of birds include collecting eggs, catching ducks and geese, flightless chicks and other forms of hunting. The shells of large bird eggs were used as dishes, and people used feathers to decorate their hair and clothes.

Primitive man received from birds the information he needed about the changes taking place in the surrounding nature.

Birds have always been one of the favorite components of the reality surrounding humans. Evidence of this are images of birds in rock paintings, ornaments and household items. In the epic epic, positive characters are compared with birds.

Nowadays birds often appear on television screens, and bird voices are recorded on disks and cassettes. Of course, this is only a new form that confirms the truth: birds are an important aesthetic component of the environment.

By studying the structure of the body of birds, scientists transfer some principles to technical designs. Thus, the idea of ​​​​creating an aircraft with flapping wings - an ornithopter - was borrowed from birds.

Everyone knows that birds spread seeds. This method of seed dispersal even received its scientific name - endozoochory.

Domestication of birds brought many benefits. In the first place, of course, are chickens, ducks, geese and turkeys, which provide humans with meat and eggs. Keeping pigeons is for sporting and aesthetic reasons. These birds were used for communication. During wars, pigeons brought news from besieged cities, and the enemy, in turn, used hawks and falcons to intercept them.

Other forms of voluntary or involuntary participation of birds in hostilities are also known. And this is not only the legendary rescue of besieged Rome by geese.

Throughout Russian history, keeping birds in houses was a common occurrence. In Rus' there was a custom to buy and release birds on the feast of the Annunciation. In the XVIII-XIX centuries. in cities it was considered very fashionable to have some kind of songbird in a cage, usually these were buntings, bullfinches, robins, siskins and nightingales. Canaries were brought to Russia, which quickly gained popularity among bird lovers and became very fashionable. Of course, this list does not exhaust the importance of birds. For example, birds, along with other animals, perform in the circus.

It would be wrong to consider birds only as positive. Pigeons, firmly established in cities, are pleasing to the eye, but at the same time they damage sculptures and monuments, and sometimes serve as sources of the spread of infectious diseases. Sparrows damage grain crops. Poultry farms are often besieged by feathered predators who are not averse to profiting from available prey. The increase in aircraft speeds has made collisions with birds very dangerous; such accidents, if they do not end in disaster, then lead to very serious damage.

Birds often appear in heraldry, generally expressing the idea of ​​an active life. Here is a list of the most common birds.

• The eagle is a symbol of power and dominance, generosity and insight.
• The peacock is a symbol of vanity.
• Pelican is a symbol of parental love.
• Raven is a symbol of longevity.
• The crane (with a stone in one paw) is a symbol of vigilance.
• Falcon - often found in heraldry; He was also depicted with hunting attributes - a leather cap with a bell and straps with prey, a bunch of arrows in his claws.
• Swan - sometimes depicted with a crown on the neck (more precisely, on the throat).
• Owl is a symbol of wisdom.

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