A bird in the bush is worth two in the hand

Roger Tory Peterson

Butterflies have much in common with birds; both are vivid expressions of life. And like birds, butterflies are sensitive indicators of the environment, sending out signals when things are out of kilter. Butterfly watching can be as addictive as bird watching except during the colder months when butterflies are conspicuously absent. These flamboyant insects crave warmth; most of them are sun worshipers, and when bird activity slacks down during the heat of the day butterflies are at their best.

Prior to the turn of the century, those few individuals who professed an interest in birds relied mainly on the shotgun. Audubon, who with Alexander Wilson started it all in America, once implied that it was not a really good day if he shot fewer than 100 birds. And yet it was the national society which bears Audubon’s name that was most responsible for the shift from the shotgun to the binocular. “A bird in the bush is worth two in the hand” became its motto.

Fonte: Pyle, R. M. 1992. Handbook for butterfly watchers. NY, Houghton