Birds

Birds are an unusual class of animals descended from dinosaurs, but far less intimidating when encountered outside a supermarket.

They are perhaps the most untrusted and, to some extent, despised class of animals due to a animosity towards them by humans since the early 19th century.

Experts in anthro-ornitho relations term this the Avian Antipathy.

The origins of this misornithropy has multiple explanations from mistrust — “what are those birds actually doing all day?” — to jealousy (i.e they can fly and we cannot). The jealously element was originally thought to fade out naturally once humans discovered the power of flight. However, it did not.

Etymology

The word “bird” comes from an ancient Greek term “birythmos” which means “flighty” or “unpredictable”. This term was used to describe the quick, unpredictable movements of birds in the air. As time went on, the term was shortened to “bir” and eventually evolved into the English word “bird”. This etymology suggests that the word “bird” has its origins in ancient Greek, and implies that birds have always been associated with flightiness and unpredictability.