How many local birds can you name?

That was a question posed to the audience recently at the Lehigh County Historical Society’s Heritage Museum, an institution of lifelong learning in Allentown.

Barbara Malt, a member of the executive committee of the Lehigh Valley Audubon Society and a coauthor of “Birds of the Lehigh Valley and Vicinity,” presented a slide program on local birds and their history in this region.

She said she began bird watching as a child in Massachusetts and later moved to California where she saw different birds. That intrigued her.

Malt has been with the local Audubon chapter for 20 plus years, where she serves on the education committee and speaks at schools, clubs and organizations in the area.

Attendees were surprised to learn that 371 different birds have been documented in the Lehigh Valley, and 270 of them occur regularly.

Common birds seen by audience members include the robin, cardinal, blue jay, crow, chickadee, catbird, Carolina wren, song sparrow and downy woodpecker, to name just a few.

According to Malt, there are 10,000 bird species in the world, and more than 900 of them are in the continental United States and Canada.

Different birds need different habitats, Malt noted. Some like to be near water, such as the herons, ducks, quail and egrets.

Owls and Baltimore orioles prefer woodlands.

Osprey, ducks and snow geese are found near lakes and rivers.

The American kestrel and meadowlark gravitate to meadows.

At ponds and streams we might see a kingfisher, sparrow or wood duck.

Pennsylvania’s state bird, the ruffed grouse, likes woodland and forest, Malt said.

Migration varies by species. Some migrants pass through the Lehigh Valley when they are heading north or south. Some breed here in spring and summer and then leave.

Breeding season also varies by species, according to Malt. For example, the American goldfinch breeds late, in July and August. That works because their favorite natural food is the seed head from flowers that begin waning by then, such as coneflowers, sunflowers and black-eyed Susans.

Birds bring more than beauty, mystery, anticipation and majesty to our lives, Malt explained. They provide pest control, pollination and regeneration of forests.

Birds also are viable indicators of environmental quality. Bird populations are in decline, Malt noted, for a variety of reasons.

She mentioned development (paving paradise); forest fragmentation; loss of woodlots, fields and wetlands; toxins (chemicals in environment); domestic predators (roaming cats); and window strikes as reasons for the bird decline.

To see more birds, Malt suggested checking range maps in field guides or online. The bar graphs will tell bird watchers which birds appear in particular areas at certain times.

She also suggested visiting different habitats in different seasons of the year.

Becoming familiar with bird songs can also help bird enthusiasts find the feathered singers. She played several bird songs and asked the audience to identify the bird.

Malt said bird songs have a purpose: to defend territory, attract mates, signal danger or signal contact with others of their species. Of course, these songs delight human listeners, as well.

To attract and protect birds, Malt recommended creating habitat and food sources with native plants, shrubs and trees; working to preserve large-scale habitats; avoiding chemicals on our lawns and plants; using decals to make windows safe; keeping cats indoors; and letting elected officials know that we care about the environment and habitat for the wild creatures that share our earth — through communication and through our votes.

Malt referenced Emily Dickinson’s beautiful poem, “Hope is the thing with feathers,” written around 1861. The National Audubon Society uses Dickinson’s famous poem as inspiration for its mission, which is “protecting birds and the places they need, today and tomorrow,” according to Malt.

Evoking the spiritual connection between birds and humans, since both species persevere despite challenges, Malt concluded, “We are what hope looks like to a bird.”