Scared Birds of Lebanon

I went on my first trip from Lebanon to Europe when I was 12. I was really fascinated that you could sit down at a restaurant outdoors, and little songbirds would come hopping over begging for crumbs right at your feet! You could extend a hand and they'd eat bread crumbs right out of it! You'd also see them cleaning up leftovers on a nearby empty table. Here in Arizona, you'll see them hopping among people waiting at the bus stop or eating crumbs on your patio.

In Lebanon? Songbirds (those that are left) are something you only hear most of the time. You might get a glimpse of them making a dash between trees, hoping to make it in one piece. While I don't have scientific proof, I really believe the population of songbirds in Lebanon has been genetically modified by Lebanon's vicious bird shooters. In other words, the birds with genes that made them unafraid of humans were shot out of the trees decades ago, leaving the shy ones.

It's truly a shame that kids growing up in Lebanon don't get to see a living songbird up-close and perhaps get a chance to feed it a few bread crumbs. The body-count "hunters" have stolen that experience from them. If kids see a bird close-up, it's likely dead and dangling from the belt of a shooter or fried on a skewer.

(Note that in most countries, songbirds are NOT considered to be game birds suitable for hunting.)

Feeding the birds in London's Kew Gardens, 1972