How we cite our quotes: All quotations are from The Birds.
Quote #4
MITCH: I think we're in real trouble. I don't know how or why this started, but I know it's here and we'd be crazy to ignore it ... The bird war, the bird attack, plague—call it what you like. They're amassing out there someplace, and they'll be back. You can count on that. Unless we do something right now, unless we get Bodega Bay on the move, they ... Mrs. Bundy said something about Santa Cruz, about seagulls getting lost in a fog and then flying in towards the lights ... Make our own fog ... we can use smoke pots the way the Army uses 'em.
Mitch plots to fight the birds using science and logic. What's interesting is they never actually put this plan into effect. The full-scale human vs. nature smackdown never happens; the humans just leave. Adding to the inexplicable nature of the attacks is that the birds let them leave without attacking them—a couple of pecks, but that's it.
Quote #5
CATHY: Mitch, can I bring the lovebirds in here?
LYDIA: No!
CATHY: But Mom, they're in a cage.
LYDIA: They're birds, aren't they?
Guilt by association. Lydia draws the battle lines; nature over there, people over here. The lovebirds, caged pets, occupy an intermediate space between people and nature. They stay relatively calm throughout Bird-ageddon, never trying to bust out of their cage or attack anyone. Little Cathy is able to move past the bird phobia to bring the lovebirds with them when they flee. They seem to represent a shred of normal life in the face of all the chaos. Of course, maybe the lovebirds make their move in the fleeing car, and nobody makes it alive to San Francisco. We'll never know.