You've got to pity the males, no? They (we) are well aware of the
foolishness of our songs and plumage......not to mention announcing
our precise location via song to every goddamned thing out there that
is hungry!
But, alas, the world needs more cardinals----so this foolish chap in
your tree sings his ditty. Perhaps, with some luck, some equally foolish
lady cardinal decides..... (after careful examination of said song and plumage-
she has no access to Google)......... 'what the hell?'.
My kids (I do have kids---so the system must have some utility)
always used to ask me what animals were thinking. My reply was usually
"not much"....or...at best, two things:
"Damn, I'm hungry" & "Hey,babe---check out this plumage!"
The enduring sadness of what brings us here is that this is what addiction
does to wonderful, creative, fun, thinking people. The basics of survival and
absolutely nothing more----and by survival, I mean the next hit of their DOC.
Intelligence comes at a cost. Eventually those damned clever apes
learned how to bypass that dopamine payoff system in their reptilian brain
core and get straight to the payola........skip the time required to read the
novel and just get to the last page. All icing, and no cake.
Yeah, that stupid bird in your tree doesn't know jack about how it's all
'gonna turn out. Maybe his song sucks or his plumage isn't bright enough.
Maybe it is, and he and his Sweety watch a late spring storm toss their nest
(and babies!) to the ground and oblivion. Or maybe his story never even gets to
start, as a hungry hawk locks on to his song and swoops in for breakfast (gulp!).
But at least the dumbass had the guts to sing.