Roger Tory Peterson Quotes

• The truth of the matter is, the birds could very well live without us, but many -- perhaps all -- of us would find life incomplete, indeed almost intolerable without the birds.

  Roger Tory Peterson

  Bird, Matter, Incomplete

  58 Copy quote

• Birds are indicators of the environment. If they are in trouble, we know we'll soon be in trouble.

  Roger Tory Peterson

  Compassion, Bird, Environmental

  32 Copy quote

• The more you look, the more you will see.

  Roger Tory Peterson

  Nature, Looks, Zen Motorcycle Maintenance

  Sarah Landry, Roger Tory Peterson (1998). “Peterson First Guide to Urban Wildlife”, p.3, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

  17 Copy quote

• Birds are, perhaps, the most eloquent expression of reality.

  Roger Tory Peterson

  Reality, Expression, Bird

  13 Copy quote

• The other creatures with which we share this world have their rights too, but not speaking our language, they have no voice, no vote; it is our moral duty to take care of them.

  Roger Tory Peterson

  Voice, Rights, World

  Roger Tory Peterson (2007). “All Things Reconsidered: My Birding Adventures”, p.271, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

  15 Copy quote

• Of all the various out-door recreations I have tried, when it comes to genuine, exciting sport, give me hunting with a camera.

  Roger Tory Peterson

  Sports, Hunting, Doors

  14 Copy quote

• Birds ... are sensitive indicators of the environment, a sort of "ecological litmus paper," ... The observation and recording of bird populations over time lead inevitably to environmental awareness and can signal impending changes.

  Roger Tory Peterson

  Change, Science, Bird

  Roger Tory Peterson (2012). “Peterson Field Guide to Birds of Pennsylvania”, p.12, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

  14 Copy quote

• Birds have wings; they're free; they can fly where they want when they want. They have the kind of mobility many people envy.

  Roger Tory Peterson

  Nature, Birds Wings, People

  18 Copy quote

• Birds, it must be admitted, are the most exciting and most deserving of the vertebrates; they are perhaps the best entre into the study of natural history, and a very good wedge into conservation awareness.

  Roger Tory Peterson

  Bird, Study, Awareness

  14 Copy quote

• Vultures are homely, but they clean up all the garbage and that's good. And they're elegant in the sky.

  Roger Tory Peterson

  Sky, Bird, Garbage

  "In The Studio With Roger Tory Peterson; Reluctant Earthling" by Lisa W. Foderaro, www.nytimes.com. August 26, 1993.

  24 Copy quote

• The philosophy that I have worked under most of my life is that the serious study of natural history is an activity which has far-reaching effects in every aspect of a person's life. It ultimately makes people protective of the environment in a very committed way. It is my opinion that the study of natural history should be the primary avenue for creating environmentalists.

  Roger Tory Peterson

  Philosophy, Hard Work, Science

  11 Copy quote

• Butterflies are very interesting. Here these things are little grubs for a while. And then they go into a little coffin. There they are in a sarcophagus, and then they come out and dance with the angels.

  Roger Tory Peterson

  Butterfly, Angel, Interesting

  9 Copy quote

• Not all is doom and gloom. We are beginning to understand the natural world and are gaining a reverence for life - all life.

  Roger Tory Peterson

  Life, Science, Doom And Gloom

  9 Copy quote

• We don't have to go to wild places to find wildlife. A surprisingly wide range of species can be found in our sities and towns, from familiar animals like the raccoon to more exotic ones like the mountain lion.

  Roger Tory Peterson

  Nature, Animal, Wild Places

  Sarah Landry, Roger Tory Peterson (1998). “Peterson First Guide to Urban Wildlife”, p.3, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

  29 Copy quote

• Conservation is not just an ideal that we read about; it works.

  Roger Tory Peterson

  Environment, Conservation, Ideals

  7 Copy quote

• Birding, after all, is just a game. Going beyond that is what is important.

  Roger Tory Peterson

  Games, Important

  7 Copy quote

• Birds are an ecological litmus paper.

  Roger Tory Peterson

  Bird, Paper, Ecological

  4 Copy quote

• My father said you can't make a living in birds, my relatives all went into business: bankers, stockbrokers. However, they eventually lost it all and died in wheelchairs. Sometimes you have to be a little aberrant.

  Roger Tory Peterson

  Father, Bird, Bankers

  7 Copy quote

• I consider myself to have been the bridge between the shotgun and the binoculars in bird watching. Before I came along, the primary way to observe birds was to shoot them and stuff them.

  Roger Tory Peterson

  Bridges, Bird, Environmental

  65 Copy quote

• Butterflies may be better indicators of the health of our environment than birds.

  Roger Tory Peterson

  Health, Butterfly, Science

  George H. Harrison, Roger Tory Peterson (1976). “Roger Tory Peterson's Dozen Birding Hot Spots”, Simon & Schuster

  8 Copy quote

• Penguins are an indicator of the health of our watery planet, and if they are unable to survive, we had better take notice or we might find our own survival threatened.

  Roger Tory Peterson

  Health, Science, Water

  "Penguins". Book by Martin Rees (p. 160), March 1, 2009.

  10 Copy quote

• I can recognize the calls of practically every bird in North America. There are some in Africa I don't know, though

  Roger Tory Peterson

  America, Bird, Knows

  6 Copy quote

• More birds have adapted to a changing world than have failed. Very few have the narrow tolerance of the ivory-billed woodpecker or the Bachman's warbler.

  Roger Tory Peterson

  Ivory, Bird, Tolerance

  12 Copy quote

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