Nature’s Narcissist
<p>Atsome point over the long course of its evolution, the <a href="https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Prothonotary_Warbler/overview" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">Prothonotary Warbler</a> (<em>Protonotaria citrea</em>) developed the peculiar habit of staring at its reflected image in the still waters of the swamps that it calls home. This mirror gazing does nothing to advance either of the bird’s main aims in life, which are to eat and reproduce. We have to assume that the Prothonotary, like many of its human admirers, is subject to the vice of vanity. Like Narcissus in the ancient myth, this warbler is infatuated with its own reflection.</p>
<p>But how is it possible to fall in love with something so insubstantial? A reflection, after all, is nothing more than a visual echo. The myth itself confirms this definition, since the nymph Echo was the would-be lover of the impossibly handsome youth Narcissus. In a way, those two were made for each other, because they both embodied the notion of repetition. Just as a reflection is a visible echo, so is an echo an audible reflection. Repeat after me: What Narcissus’ reflection was to the eye, Echo’s voice is to the ear: a mere reminder of the real thing. Their failure to unite themselves in an act of love reflected their separate inabilities to transcend their physical limits.</p>
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