•4' AmericanBirds, hismost popular books, The anyersshare scientists the daydream andbird- Imperative Call, Skutch • ofslipping the leash of civi- writes: "Two voices summon -• • • lization,vanishing into the menwith a callso imperative • • ' wildernessto studyand enjoy thatfew who hear clearly can • "- •... naturewithout restraintor resist.One is the voice ofrdi- • interruption.The great escape gion,which bids us abandon isstill possible, but it requires allmundane pursuits and seek holiness,God, and life ever- Nature lured AlexanderSkutch lasting.The other is the voice to thetropics and , giving the of nature, which invites us to fill ourspirits with its beauty worlda•rich, important voice for birds. and wonder and challenges us a single-mindednessthatbor- to disclosesome of itsclosdy derson passion.One must hiddensecrets. Obeying either hear the call. ofthese voices, we may neglect Alexander E Skutch heard nearlyeverything that pru- it while a youngsterin the dent men esteem and strenu- Piedmonthills of . ouslyseek: wealth, security, The siren lured him to the solid comfort, and socialsta- '•tropics,and he has spent most tus.We mayeven abandon of the last five decadeswatch- family,friends, and homeland ingbirds in a remotevalley in to follow the call into a wilder- south-centralCosta Rica. From nesswhere perils lurk." there,Skutch has launcheil a Because of his books, seriesof booksand papers, ind_udingA Bird Watcher5 charmingand important, that Adventuresin 3opicalAmer- placehim high in thepan- ica and A Naturalist in Costa theonof tropicalnaturalistsl Riea,the story of howa shy, ' ByChris Wille In the foreword to one of introspectiveboy from the Volume 47, Number I ß25 Marylandsuburbs became the shy, introspective that I hadrecently earned, I mighthave leadingauthority on the birds of Mesoamericais relinquishedit without protest." well known. The intoxicatedyoung botanist underwent a At the ageof 16, in 1920,young Alec was transformation on that banana farm. His spendinga lot of timealone in thehardwoods missionwas to investigatethe anatomy of banana behindhis home, reading. plants,and he passed dutiful hours peering through "Afterreading Shelley's poetry and essays, I a microscopeat green tissue. But his attention was couldnot continue to eatthe flesh of slaughtered diverted by a Rufous-tailedHummingbird that animals,a refusal that brought me into conflict beganbuilding a nestoutside the laboratory win- withmy father and the family doctor, my uncle, dow.Skutch carefully recorded every stage as the whopredicted, falsely, that my health would suf- nesttook shape, eggs appeared, and tiny chicks fer,"remembers Skutch. pippedtheir way into his world. He wascaptivat- This was well be- edand vowed to devotehis life to probingthe forevegetarianism was secretlives of tropicalbirds. • • in the least fashion- Skutchwandered the wild, skinny,bird-rich able.Skutch now sup- isthmusof CentralAmerica, living out of a knap- posesthat "it put me sack,sleeping on floors. To survive,he collected aparta bit (fromsoci- andsold plant specimens. He alsobegan sending ety),which probably articlesnorth. In 1934,Bird-Lore magazine, the • madeit easierfor me precursortoAudubon, published "Familiar Birds tospend all those years in TheirWinter Homes," by Alexander Skutch. alone." The refusal to The naturalisttrekked through Costa Rica, willingly causethe , and Mexico. In 1940, deathor injury of a fel- whenthe United States Department ofAgriculture low creature also be- wantedto investigatethe possibility of rubber cul- camea centralplank tivationin SouthAmerica, Skutch joined the ex- on which Skutch has peditionas chief botanist and explored the western builta fascinatingand Amazonaboard a Peruvian gunboat. controversialpersonal Usuallyhe had no agenda except the one set by philosophy. the bird in his view at the moment. Much of what S kutch went to Skutchrecorded in hisdetailed journals was new A Speclded JohnHopkins University in pursuitof a degreein to science. The birds of Mesoamerica were little Tanager at the Skutch fatal in botany.A graduateschool field trip took him to knownat thetime. There were no fieldguides Costa Rica. .It was his first time in thetropics. He was otherthan Bertha Bement Sturgis' Field Book of hooked.Before long, he was on a UnitedFruit Birdsof the Panama Canal Zone (1928) and James Companysteamer bound for Panama with a fel- Bond'sBirds of the West Indies, which was pub- lowshipto study the banana plant. lishedeight years later. Uponarrival in PanamaCity, Skutch drank in In orderto identifybirds, Skutch took impec- thesensory vapors of thefecund land. Later he cablenotes, and then--sometimes years later in a wrote:"As I lookback across the years, I thinkit museumor library--he combed the literature and was here that I first succumbed to the fascination sortedstuffed specimens to puta nameto the of LatinAmerica, its romantic scenery, its tragic wordpictures he had drawn. Even in thelargest history,its vast variety of animaland vegetable libraries, references to tropical birds were scant. life;I believeit was here that I beganto fallunder Skutch'sbest ally at thetime was Robert Ridgway's thatCirce's spell which at various difficult periods encyclopedicbut pictureless The Birds of North in thefollowing years I tried in vainto exorcise." andMiddle America (1901-1919). He stayedin a companycamp beside the Therewas an easierway, of course;Skutch ChanguinolaLagoon on Panama'sCaribbean couldhave simply shot his anonymous quarry and Coast.The plant life attacked both his senses and sent the skins to a museum for identification. But hisconfidence. He recalls:"An overwhdming pro- hisevolving philosophy, which relates to ahimsa, fusionof strange plants and animals, for which I "an ancient Indian ethic of universal harmless- lackedfield guides, induced a stateof pleasant ness,"prevented him from resorting to birdshot. excitementnot unmixed with despair. Had any- The rewardfor thispatience was an intimate onechallenged my right to holdthe doctorate in familiaritywith the birds. AmericanBirds, Spring 1993 romthe beginning, Skutch hasbeen able to winteringhabits)." Greenberg, director of the makehis observations in a literarystyle that is SmithsonianMigratory Bird Center,studies bothuseful to thescientist and popular with a ncotropicalmigrants in Mexico. broadspectrum ofreaders. On thatPeruvian gun- Thoughthe trendhas been to studylarge boat,he wrote: "The gem of all the leathered crea- groupsor populations,Greenberg says, "Skutch's turesthat I met herewas a Yellow-billedJacamar, observations--sometimes of an individual bird or a slender,long-tailed, alert bird, about the size of family--havethe ring of truth;some have been an oriole,with a long,sharp beak. All hisupper fundamental." plumagewas the most intense metallic green, with Skutchplaces his exploits midway on thecon- reflectionsof violetand gold. Below, he was a tinuumbetween the great pioneering naturalists deep,rich chestnut, and his outer tail feathers suchas Audubon, Wilson, and ThomasBelt ( The were cinnamon. Doubtlesshis nest, like that of Naturalistin Nicaragua,1888) and today's special- otherjacamars, was hidden away in a burrowin ized,conference-going scientists. While he came somesteep bank, or in a hard,black termitary." wellafter the pioneers, he chose a terraincognita, With thesedescriptive powers and his now leg- tropicalAmerica, where the trailswere poorly endaryobservational skills, Skutch eventually markedand the wildlife virtually unknown. He compiledthe three-volume œ/• Histories ofCentral remainedindependent and unbcholdcn.And AmericanBirds, published by the Cooper Skutch conductedhis studieswithout mist nets,

OrnithologicalSociety, from 1954 to 1969. legbands, radio telemetry, teams of assistantsor Costa I•cun coun- These life histories are the bedrock of Meso- tryside near the computerizeddata bases. Even his binoculars were home of Alexander americanornithology, but some biologists under- of thelow-end variety normally seen slung around Skutch and his the necksof fans at stock-carraces. wife Pamela. Much valuethem because they are written with flair, an land has been con- absenceof jargon,no fear ofanthropomorphism, Skutchis tall and thin, with a faintlyaristocratic vetted from forest andan obvious personal attachment tothe subjects. bearing. Almost 90, he still walks the trails look- to fan land. Now,with migratory songbirds in decline, sci- ingfor birds, graciously receives unexpected visi- entistsare racing to understandtheir ecological tors, and seems to be increasing hiswriting output. needs,especially in the tropics. One of thosesci- Havingjust published Origins of Nature} Beauty, entists,Russell Greenberg, says, "For a whole he is nowcorrecting the galley-proofsof A rangeof birds,Skutch is still all we have (on their Naturalistin CostaRica•in Spanish.He didthe Volume 47, Number translationof his 1971 classic years ago and finally Sfinchezsays of theman he considers a mentor. foundan eager publisher. "Skutchis unique, a classicnaturalist in themod- ernera. He isan Audubon for this region." Whiletraipsing around the tropics and prob- !beenhile hiselucidated opinions inare writing,strongly Skutch held andventures have ingthe lives of birds,Skutch began asking classic themquietly in conversation--aretiring evange- surveyquestions. For example, seasonal changes in list. He knows that some are controversial and colorationare rare among the resident birds of thathis presentation of data, which blends techni- tropicalAmerica; does this mean that equatorial cal and aestheticinformation, is unorthodox. malesare more likely to participatein household ","hecomplains gently, "has fallen choresthan their temperate-zone counterparts? underthe spell of mathematics.You can't get a The answer,he discovered,is no. paperpublished these days unless it isladen with Do mosttropical birds, even those living in the tablesand graphs." coolhighlands, lay smaller sets of eggsthan closely Still, Skutch seemsto believethat scienceis in relatedspecies at higherlatitudes? Yes. The ques- goodhands. "If we cannotourselves carry the tions continued. torchthat symbolizes our aspirations to the final Skutchbelieves that one of hismost profound goal,"he wrote in Lij•Ascending,"we may, to contributionsto ornithologywas documenting paraphrasea verse of Lucretius,pass it stillburn- "cooperativebreeding" among some kinds of

lulio S•nchez, a ing brightlyto others,like runnersin a torch birds.In 1935,he described thecomplex lifestyles Costa Rican onlithologist,visits race."When asked who is qualified to acceptthe ofBrown Jays, Banded-backed Wrens and Bushtits, and birds with torch,Skutch quickly offers names: Gary Stiles, at whereyoung birds stay with their parents forup Nexander Skutch at his homestead. a universityin Bogota,Colombia; Julio Sfinchez, a to fiveyears, helping defend the territory and feed CostaRican ornithologist. Pulling books from his laterbroods. shelves,Skutch points to authors,such as David AccordingtoSkutch, "This isthe most closely Snow. He finds no lack of torchbearers. knitfamily life of any animal except humans." Sfinchez,the curator of birds at Costa Rica's Aftera pausehe adds, "And these days I'm not nationalmuseum, is embarrassed bythe sugges- sure how competitive wewould be." tionthat he is an heir to the Skutch legacy. Skutchhas written extensively onaltruism in "I couldn'tever compare to whathe's done," birds,asubject thatfits with his belief that all crea- 2•' AmericanBirds, Spring 1993 turesgreat and small should be striving theperfect realization of this ideal is incom- towardharmony. He arguesthat birds patiblewith the preservation of life by ani- showmore "promising developments" mals whose needs are as large and varied as towardthis end than other groups of ani- ours;but I wasconvinced that, by trying mals.Birds demonstrate "active coopera- hard, I could come much nearerits fulfill- tionamong pairs or larger groups, acomplex mentthan peoplecommonly do. And socialstructure, a capacity for strong per- whilemaking this effort, I desiredto do sonal attachments and at least the first somethingeven more difficult; to pene- glimmeringsofaesthetic appreciation." trate,as far as possible, to the secret springs "Now that he is lessactive in the field, of thismultiplex phenomenon called life, Skutchis concentrating on synthesizing to understand itssignificance in the whole whathe haslearned over the years," says vast drama of cosmic evolution. Here I JulioSfinchez. hoped to have leisureto Sfinchezrecently visited Skutch, driving maturemy thoughts on these fromSan Jos& the capital city of Costa bafflingproblems." Rica,on the Panamerican Highway through The experimenthas been the Talamancancordillera, a mountain largelyasuccess. The Skutches rangewith peaks to 12,000feet. Although offer an attractive model of it is the mostfamous farm in CostaRica, thelow-impact lifestyle. They LosCusingos•named forthe Fiery-billed growmuch of their own food, I Araqari--isarduous to reach,difficult to grinding corn into meal. find.Sfinchez pauses atthe unmarked forks Their vegetarianismallows in thegravel road that passes through pas- them to eat eggsbut now, turesand coffee and sugar cane fields to the Skutch tells Sfinchez, the patchof rainforest that hides Los Cusingos. chickens are gone, victims of The houseis not visiblefrom the road, a tayra,a fierce,weasel-like andthere is no signor driveway,just a animal.They have no phone, smallopening inthe screen oftrees. Sfinchez no car, no electricity. findsSkutch and his wife Pamela sitting on The Skutches communi- theback porch watching birds take nips of cate with the outside world fruitfrom a platformfeeder. Many birders throughthe post office in a havelengthened their life lists at Skutch's nearbytown. SanIsidro has grown so Turquoise-browed Motmot lives ou famousfeeder. Recently, a group of visitors much,Skutch says, that "there is no place the north Pacific thatincluded George Hall, anAmerican to parka horse,"so, occasionally, they take coast of Costa Rica. Skutch calls Birdsregional reporter, held their collective the bus into the village. They are isolated, the motmot family breathas a Red-headedBarber and Speckled but not out of touch. "or.ate eno.gh to Tanagertraded places at thefeeder. A Gray- Thereis nothing accidental about this satisfythe most exactingeye." neckedWood-Rail and wild pigeons were lifestyle;it hasbeen considered and direct- onthe ground. A GreenHoneycreeper and ed.Skutch writes: "Sometimes a person is PalmTanager made forays to thefruit. calledunsocial because hespends litde time Skutch watched each new arrival as withother people, but, if youinvestigate eagerlyas his visitors, even though he has his socialcircle, you may find that it probablypassed more time looking at these includesa substantial segment of thenatur- speciesthan any other living soul. alworld or, perhaps, minds that lived long The Skutches have about 250 acres of ago...He seeksa society much wider than forest,recovering forest, and garden plots that of mankind." of bananasand corn. W•nen he was shop- AlthoughSkutch lived some years alone pingaround for a placeto settle,the ideal- on thefarm, surviving Costa Rica's brief isticyoung naturalist chose this rugged and revolution in 1948, he has had Pamela's then-isolatedvalley as a provingground for companyfor mostof his time at Los hisdream of livingharmoniously with all Cusingos.The British-bornPamela is the things.Later he wrote: "I yearnedintensely daughter of C.H. Lankester,a well-known todwell at peace with all creatures, destroy- naturalist with a particularfondness for ingno living thing. I wasfully aware that orchids.Lankester had a coffeeplantation

Volume 47, Number andorchid garden in CostaRica that attracted vidingfor theiradopted son, Edwin, a roving rovingbotanists, including young Alec Skutch. countrymusician. (See Overview, page 16.) Pamelais vivaciously charming, with English Accordingto Sfinchez,Los Cusingos isboth an mannersuntarnished by yearson thefrontier. She ornithologicalshrine and an important island of seemsto harborno regrets about trading London's habitat. Like most of Central America, the area (orSan Jos•'s) social whirl for a lifeof contemplat-around the Skutch place has been converted from ingtropical nature, although she allows to Julio forestto agriculture:beans, corn, coffee, cattle, S•chez, "If wedidn't have visitors, we might go sugar--allenvironmentally degrading and all, around the bend." withthe exception ofexport crops such as bananas, strikinglyinefficient. The clearingbegan before Skutchsalvaged his piece of rainforestand contin- •hedark wilderness frontier: thattourismSkutch is Costachose Rica'sisno longer second a uestoday--although thelogging isnow just mop- largestindustry. Of upoperations, erasing the few surviving woodlots. the 500,000 visitors Thesound of every falling tree echoed painful- arriving this year, ly throughSkutch: "At intervals throughout the manywill belured by mornings,I would hear the dying groan of some the country'sfabled greattree as it beganto strainthe shrinking band biodiversity,which of woodbetween the axe cuts on oppositesides. ' includesmore species Then camethe billowyswish of myriadleaves ' ofbirds (830) than can rushingmadly downward through the air and a be found in all of thunderous,earth-quivering thud that reverberat- North America. The ed faracross the valley as the huge tree crashed birderscome carrying downupon its final resting place." TheBirds of Costa Rica, Onecan't view the exhausted tropical farm- ' co-authoredbySkutch lands without agreeing with this quotefrom andGary Stiles. Some Skutch,found pinned over the desk of a Costa -. travelerscan para- Ricanagronomist: "It isa fallacyproductive of phraseor evenquote muchunhappy maladjustment to supposethat passagesfrom Skutch's every able-bodied man will makegood as an inde- books.Recently, a gag- pendentfarmer...The state will not allow a manto gleof Frenchtourists practicemedicine, pharmacy, or law,or evento Pamela and successfullysought out Skutchusing only the drivean automobile, until he has demonstrated by Alexander Skutch cluesfound in his literature. often watch birds passingadequate tests that heknows what he is f•om the porchof Sfinchezmade this visit to askif hecan bring a about.But it doespermit any incompetent agri- their home, Los Cusingos. largegroup of CostaRican daytrippers for a visit culturalbungler to dojust as he pleases with the laterin themonth. Since Los Cusingos isincommu- soil, a substanceascomplex and delicately bal- nicado,most visitors arrive unannounced. Skutch ancedas any of theliving organisms it supports, doesn'tmind. He writes:"I canshare my knowl- easilyruined but slow and difficult to regenerate, edgeand insights with countless others without andthe ultimate foundation of thenation's pros- diminishingmy store of them,and I canenjoy perityand continued existence." beautyyet leave it undiminishedfor the delecta- Asthe human population doubled again and tionof others. The economy of thespiritual world again,Skutch watched the animals disappear from isexempt from the harsh limitations that cramp hisfarm. The big mammals went first, the cats theSinchez material is world." concerned about the health and wel- andtapirs and deer. Then the birds began to wink out.He missesthe "great flocks of macaws"that fareof the Skutches,but findsthat their only wouldgo screeching over the house. This year he molestiais a plagueof pettythieves. They can't foundno SummerTanager, no Yellow-bellied walk from one end of the house to the other with- Flycatcher.Even though he is not in a flyway,he outlocking doors behind them. The delinquents regularly recorded 18 or 19species of migrants. haveeven lifted the binoculars given to Skutchas Thisyear, he found only the Olive-sided Flycatcher, partof Audubon magazine's Hal Borlandaward Northern Oriole, and Tennessee,Chestnut-sided, for excellence in communications. Sfinchez also and Black-and-white warblers. wantsto helpthe Skutches find a wayto give per- Althoughhe is only half Skutch's age, Sfinchez, manentprotection to theirsanctuary while pro- too,has seen enough bird habitat razed. Like his all' AmericanBirds, Spring 1993 mentor, Sfinchez finds more in nature than awardinga golden apple to theEarth's most gor- researchsubjects and is pained by its needless geousfamily, I would not trust any of theseto win destruction. Sfinchez is both a student and a devo- thebeauty prize. With greater confidence, I would teeof nature.Like Skutch, Sfinchez has spurned supportsome of ourexquisite miniatures, our securityand promotions in orderto spendmore multihuedwood warblers, our little gemlike tan- time in the woods. He seesSkutch as a model of agers,or ourscintillating hummingbirds, in the dedication,organization, and lifestyle. beliefthat they alone could bring the trophy to Oneof Skutch'smost important contributions, our own hemisphere." saysSfinchez, ishaving made so much informa- The hummingbird,he writes, is "a fairylike tionaccessible to so many people. "He cancap- bird,with a tinybody of slendergrace, that hov- turewhat he sees in writing." ers,miraculously suspended between two broad If youcould run your hand over the topogra- sectorsof mistylight, like the separate halves of a phyof Skutch'sprose, it mightfeel like a renais- halo,giving forth now and then a brightglint of sancesculpture--classically smooth curves, greenfrom its back..." nothingsharp or unseem13t Styleaside, Skutch is a greatcommunicator "Hisstyle is elegant and almost formal; some becausehe has something to say,some of it con- havecalled it Edwardian,"says author Frank troversial.On a trail near the house,Skutch and Graham,himself an elegant stylist, who wrote a Sfinchezsee a dampscattering offeathers. Sfinchez

profileof Skutchfor Audubon magazine in 1979. isimmediately intrigued. What happened here? Rufous-tailed Hummingbird,at Skutchis consistent, sofor a fairsample of his Skutchbarely pauses. He knowsthat another of nest. It was this prose,one can let thebook fall open at random. hisbeloved wild pigeons has fallen to a predator, speciesthat cap- tured Skutch's Here,he praises small birds: "We have in thewest- andhe disapproves. This iswhere Skutch parts attention as a ernworld no family of largeor middle-sizedbirds, companyfrom most of hisfar-flung colleagues: young botanist in particularlyour own, that rivals in splendorof He thinkspredation is "a great evil that a wiseor Panama. plumagethe birds of paradise and the pheasants of benevolent creator would have avoided." theEastern Hemisphere. Our orioles,our mot- "Earthhas no more distressing spectacle than mots,and our jacamars seem ornate enough to thatof a predatorsuddenly striking down some satisfythe most exacting eye; but should some defenselesscreature innocently singing or attend- bird-lovingParis be assigned the difficult task of ingits young, no sight more pitifully repulsive Volume 47, Number 1 ß3! thanthe hideously mangled remains of what,a the Earth would have become "the abode of a vast fewhours before, was a beautifulanimal enjoying diversityof creaturesdwelling in concord(instead its life." of) a placeof mixedcharacter, where beauty and Skutchtells Sfinchez that the only raptor he ugliness,peace and fear, happiness and horror, reallyappreciates isthe Laughing Falcon--a pair mingletogether in themost perplexing contrasts." of which nest near his house because this bird What attitude, Skutch asks,should we have dineslargely on snakes. It is entirely fair for people toward evolution? "That evolution has accom- tobe judgmental ofnature, Skutch claims, because plished much that is splendid and admirable, it weare a partof it. Buthe is well aware that this is wouldbe ungrateful to deny.That the means it nota universalattitude among naturalists. hasemployed have often been ruthlessly harsh is a "I can'timagine how nature would work with- propositionto which every compassionate person outpredation," Sfinchez says, weighing his words will attest." carefullyso that none hit a noteof disrespect. In a newbook, Origins of Nature• Beauty, Skutchcan imagine such a world,and he has Skutchnotes that in manycases evolution seems begunto describe it in recentbooks. Predators, he to beon the right track. Through a rudimentary maintains,are not necessary forpopulation con- senseof aestheticsand preferential mating, espe- trolor to strengthenthe gene pool, at leastamong ciallyamong birds, some animals are making birds.Birds use territorial systems and deferred themselvesprogressively more beautiful, far

One of Skutch's breedingto limitpopulation growth. Skutch has beyondutilitarian needs such as camouflage. And most imlxwtant contributions has beenarguing since 1947 that tropical birds do not hecan't help but wonder why the fruit-eating been his writing, alwaysopt for maximumproduction--and that birds,the birds ofparadise, honeycreepers, cotin- which speaksto both scientist and thedrive for fecundity, like predation, isevidence gas, manakins, trogons and fruit doves--those general public.He ofevolution gone awry. harmlesscreatures that live in happysymbiosis continues his work "Theevolutionary impulsion toincrease fecun- withplants•are themost beautiful. Birdsof pre)• dity,technically known as fitness, at whatever cost withtheir bloody talons, are rarely colorful. isresponsible formost of theugliness, strife, and Thepower of preferentialmating has produced sufferingthat afflict the living community on the muchthat is praiseworthy: "Melodious song, like fairestplanet illuminated by the Sun." beautifulplumage, appears to bea productof If evolutionhad been guided, Skutch imagines, intersexual selection, often supplemented bythe AmericanBirds, Spring 1993 malebirds' efforts to improvetheir repertoires. "Ourgreatest claim to dignity,our most god- Femalebirds, often so quiet and self-effacing, have likeattribute, is our ability to appreciateand care powerfullyinfluenced the course ofavian evolu- foreverything fair or goodthat Earth contains. tionand contributed vastly to thebeauty of birds, "Toawake to our privilege and responsibility to makingthem attractive not only to otherindivid- makethis exceptional planet an ever more adequate ualsof their species, but to ourselves, who appeared expression ofeverything excellent that the creative onEarth long ages after birds arose." processcan bring forth would give human life fresh zest,new dignity, and immeasurably heightened ll thishas led Skutch tomull whether "man significance." canadvance out of hislong predatory stage." The humanspecies is"to Earth what Earth is He believes that evolution has dealt us some ace to thesolar system: the major expression of what cams:"Aesthetic ddight, wonder, scientific curios- evolutionhas so far achieved on this planet." ity,sympathy, compassion, grateful appreciation Not surprisingly, of theboon of lifeon a beautifulplanet--while Alexander Skutch, the perhapsnot absolutelylacking, these psychic deanof tropicalorn- attributesappear to havebeen, at best,in a rudi- ithology,holds that we mentarystate before man arose; even today they canbest accomplish O arepoorly developed in muchof mankind.To our noblecalling by bringforth and perfect them was the difficult observingbirds. task,costly in timeand pain, that awaited evolu- "Certainly,for our tionafter it hadcovered the planet with life in an survival, we need to endlessvariety of beautifulor bizarreforms, as it know about many hadalready done many millions of years ago. things that are dry, "To createbeings able to understandand unpleasant,or revolt- appreciate,capable of gratitudeas well as enjoy- ing.But so many bril- ment,appears to bethe end and goal of theworld liantminds, supported ---'• process...A Universe with no single being to enjoy bywealthy institu- '•-• existencein it, celebrateits beauty, or wonderat tions,are dedicated to its immensitywould be a barrenUniverse. The theseinvestigations, cosmos achieves value and a reason for existence thatit cando no great exactlyto themeasure that it containsbeings who harm ira few 'world enjoy,appreciate, and understand it." losers and world forsakers' devote themselves to Skutch wonders whyfruit-eating In recentyears, the world's ecological crisis has thepursuit of thebeautiful truths that enrich us birds, like this beensketched in apocalypticstrokes by even con- spirituallyeven if theycontribute nothing to our ViolaceousTrogon, scrvativcscientists. Many observers have conclud- survivalin a competitiveworld. Yet the study of are amongthe edthat the public will notmove beyond debates birdlife must be regaMed as more than an inno- arian species, overpaper versus plastic shopping bags unless centhobby; by contributinggenerously to our while birds of prey are rarely colorful. environmentalism becomes a cross-cultural and understandingof basic biological problems, it can religiouscrusade. Skutch has begun to describe helpmake our lives saner and more secure." themetaphysical underpinnings ofsuch a crusade. Toanswer the imperative call of eitherreligion "Unless a substantial fraction of mankind or nature,Skutch says, is to discoverthat the voices comesto regardnature with an attitude essentially have much in common. "Both entreat us to culti- religious,including gratitude, love, compassion, vate something vaster and more enduring than generosity,humility, and reverence, and become men and their creations;to caremore about what frugalin theuse of itsbounty, all thedevoted wedo andexperience than what we possess. efforts of a handful of earnestconservationists are Perhaps,if we could hear aright, we would recog- doomed to fail. nizethat the two voices are in factone, calling us "Manis theonly creature capable of contem- in differenttones to releaseour spirit from worka- platingthe superb spectacle of this planet...yet daypettiness and permit it toexpand widely into howfew feel responsible for preserving it...And realmsof mysteryand wonder." even for the bestof us, how rare and brief are the intervalswhen we are fully alive to thesplendor --ChrisWille is director ofthe Conservation Media aroundus, when we think clearly about the mean- Centerj•r theRainj•rest Alliance. He lives in San ingof our presence here! Josg,Costa Rica.

Volume 47, Number 1 ß33