Roger Tory Peterson

Birds are an ecological litmus paper.

— Roger Tory Peterson

More birds have adapted to a changing world than have failed. Very few have the narrow tolerance of the ivory-billed woodpecker or…

— Roger Tory Peterson

The philosophy that I have worked under most of my life is that the serious study of natural history is an activity…

— Roger Tory Peterson

Penguins are an indicator of the health of our watery planet, and if they are unable to survive, we had better take…

— Roger Tory Peterson

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

Butterflies are very interesting. Here these things are little grubs for a while. And then they go into a little coffin. There…

— Roger Tory Peterson

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

— Roger Tory Peterson

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

— Roger Tory Peterson

The more you look, the more you will see.

— Roger Tory Peterson

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

— Roger Tory Peterson

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

Birds ... are sensitive indicators of the environment, a sort of "ecological litmus paper," ... The observation and recording of bird populations…

— Roger Tory Peterson

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

— Roger Tory Peterson

The truth of the matter is, the birds could very well live without us, but many -- perhaps all -- of us…

— Roger Tory Peterson

Birds, it must be admitted, are the most exciting and most deserving of the vertebrates; they are perhaps the best entre into…

— Roger Tory Peterson

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

— Roger Tory Peterson

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

— Roger Tory Peterson

We don't have to go to wild places to find wildlife. A surprisingly wide range of species can be found in our…

— Roger Tory Peterson

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

— Roger Tory Peterson

The other creatures with which we share this world have their rights too, but not speaking our language, they have no voice,…

— Roger Tory Peterson

I consider myself to have been the bridge between the shotgun and the binoculars in bird watching. Before I came along, the…

— Roger Tory Peterson

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

— Roger Tory Peterson

My father said you can't make a living in birds, my relatives all went into business: bankers, stockbrokers. However, they eventually lost…

— Roger Tory Peterson