Naming the birds is part of the fun. The general greyish-brownish colorings become more specific when you have to figure what kind of sparrow you're watching. And I still am struck with the bright colors of blue jays, orioles, goldfinches and some of the woodpeckers around here. I even saw a beautiful olive-breasted female robin this summer, breaking my stereotypical perception of this common bird. Actually looking at what these birds are made of, their size and features and colors, and watching how they fly or perch or walk, evokes a wonder in me.
Birds seem so delicate, yet they survive cold winters, fly incredible distances.
Or maybe its the variety of a species that excites me. It could be the way all birdsongs seem to pierce through whatever background noise there is. Or maybe I somehow connect flying birds with a more transcendant point of view. I really don't know. But I generally find it calming, feel myself becoming more a part of the environment I'm watching, than the usual urban alien.