Ever wonder why displaying a disrespectful middle finger is called flipping the bird? Brian Palmer at Slate breaks down birds’ long association with taunting. Anyone who’s recently missed a target bird (perhaps a Black Rail) can relate!

Written by Mike
Mike is a leading authority in the field of standardized test preparation, but he's also a traveler who fully expects to see every bird in the world. Besides founding 10,000 Birds in 2003, Mike has also created a number of other entertaining but now extirpated nature blog resources, particularly the Nature Blog Network and I and the Bird.