Murphy’s Laws of Birding

“Whatever can go wrong, will go wrong.” Murphy’s Law

Captain Edward Aloysius Murphy, a decorated US Air Force World War 2 pilot, after the war served as an engineer in the Research and Development section of the Air Force. In 1949, at the Edwards Air Force base in California, Murphy was conducting experiments on the impact of G forces on humans. Key sensors in a highly complex rocket sled test were incorrectly wired and the whole experiment went haywire. When Murphy discovered the foul-up he grumbled something along the lines of: “If there are two ways to do something, and one of those ways will result in disaster, it will be done that way.”Colonel John Paul Stapp, the test pilot of the rocket sled, recognised the universality of what Murphy had said and in a press conference mentioned that their good safety record was due to their awareness of Murphy’s law. He told the press that it meant: “Whatever can go wrong, will go wrong.”That was all it took – Murphy’s Law appeared in aerospace publications and since then Murphy has been universally quoted.

Eleven months of constantly birding throughout Africa has taught me that Murphy’s Law is a reality in the birding environment. Below I have formulated…

Murphy's Law

Murphy’s Laws of Birding – by the Vagrant Twitcher

1. Birds have wings, will fly.

2. Birds don’t read the guidebook.

3. Birds prefer to perch against bad light.

4. Birds favour the far side of a tree.

5. The definitive feature that determines identification will be hidden.

6. A birder’s eyes will inevitably follow a falling leaf.

7. The brain will strive to turn a current sighting into a target bird.

8. Ticking birds off a list is a diminishing return and an increasing expense.

9. The rarer the bird, the more expensive the tick.

10. The perfect photo opportunity only arises when your hands are otherwise occupied.

11. A camera battery will only die when a rare bird is posing in perfect light.

12. The target bird will show when you are taking a leak.

13. The consolation for dipping on a target bird is a stiff neck, sore feet, aching back, sunburn and mosquito bites.

14. Bird guides sometimes get it wrong.

15. Birding is a terminal condition.