“I am still in a newbie stage, often wrong, often surprised, often puzzled. I know too little to know what's ordinary. But I have heard experienced birders call the Lesser Goldfinch a "trash bird" because it is so common and numerous. I heard others call a House Sparrow a "junk: bird, an invasive, like the European Starling. I understand the antipathy. Invasive birds usurp habitat and resources. But I can't help but feel discomfort. The rhetoric is often the same as the racist ones I hear about Chinese people. I am still new to birding, and so every bird is a good bird to see, even the ones I see all the time.”
―
Amy Tan,
The Backyard Bird Chronicles
