Human uses of birds with effective mimicry of birds. The play's chorus consists of characters playing many identifiable species, including the kingfisher, turtledove, and sparrowhawk; birds feature as messengers and dancers, and several Athenians are compared to specific birds. In film, birds can feature as the major driving force in a story, as in Alfred Hitchcock's acclaimed 1963 "The Birds". Loosely based on Daphne du Maurier's story of the same name, it tells the tale of sudden attacks on people by violent flocks of birds. A bird plays the role of an outlet for a person's feelings in Ken Loach's much admired 1969 "Kes".
The Birds (story) that "The Apple Tree" was reprinted as "The Birds and Other Stories". In 2009, Irish playwright Conor McPherson adapted the story for the stage at Dublin's Gate Theatre. The author saw a man ploughing a field while seagulls were wheeling and diving above him and composed a story of these birds growing hostile and attacking. Inspired by her quiet, rural home town in Cornwall, the story is thought to be an allegory for the air attacks on London during World War II, in particular The Blitz. The story has been dramatised for radio and TV on several occasions, including: In