The Mysterious Life of Birds Who Never Come Down
10/10 — An article that inspires readers to view Common Swifts as more than just specks in the sky, but as complex, beautiful creatures that we can learn from. This seemingly nature essay is imperceptibly braided with personal memoir as Macdonald brings you into her mind as a child before going to sleep. I’m transported back in time to a house full of warmth, from both the heat of the stove from dinner and the humans that reside within it. Macdonald shares fascinating details about the lives of Common Swifts, including research showing that on their nightly 'vesper flights,' these birds climb high above the clouds to read the weather and confer with one another before deciding where to fly next, finding in this small, strange ritual a perfect relation to our human lives. I believe we could live fuller lives if we, too, climbed high enough every so often to see the storms coming, and called out to each other before it's too late.
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