Why Charles Darwin study the birds?

Answer 1

Originally, Darwin trained as a doctor, but he found the operations too unpleasant (there was no anasthetic in those days). He then switched to the Church (there was a tradition that priests were "failed" doctors). Whilst at university he developed an interest in collecting beetles.

He was at something of a loose end when the opportunity arose to travel on the Beagle. He was originally offered a place on the voyage to be a companion to the captain of the captain's own class; Darwin came from a wealthy background - his uncle was Josiah Wedgewood, the founder of Wedgewood pottery.

Later, he replaced the ship's naturalist. He was also greatly influenced by Lyle's Principles of Geology - this book made him see that many small changes over enough time would lead to big differences; he witnessed an earthquake that raised the level of the land by a few feet, what he realised was that after thousands of earthquakes, you end up with a mountain. He gained evidence that this had happened when he discovered fossil seashells in the Andes.

The Galapados islands were key to Darwin's development of the theory of natural selection; he noted that across the island, there were closely related species - for example, there were giant tortoises on all the islands, but each island had its own species. He realised the islands were relatively newly formed and he imagined when the islands were first formed and animals and birds arrived - on vegetation rafts from the amazon that there would have been a single species of tortoise but that several species had developed from that single species - although it was back in England that he worked out the details of natural selection.

As to why he did the work; Darwin was a modest man and wasn't particularly driven to publish his work - he did so because another scientist (Wallace) developed an almost identical theory. I believe he enjoyed thinking about the ideas and gathering the evidence.

Answer 2

Darwin was obsessed with the natural world, collecting samples and recording facts; his hobby as a youth was collecting beetles. He also enjoyed corrosponding with other scientists about the natural world. In a sense, becoming a scientist was simply a way of being paid to do what he would have actually done for nothing.

Answer 3

Because he thought that nature was one sexy animal ;)

Answer 4

because the birds where different from island to island. some had big beaks, some had little beaks. they where based to fit what the island had for food

Answer 5

Because there wasn't yet a workable explanation for the diversity of life and the fossil record, and we really wanted one.

Answer 6

becuase as a child he wanted to become a scientist becuause im a child and dont know a fliping thing about him