A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.

This is a long‑standing English proverb expressing practical caution in matters of gain and risk. It belongs to a wider European tradition of proverbial wisdom about preferring a certain, present advantage to a larger but uncertain future one. The saying is commonly traced in English to late medieval/early modern collections of proverbs and appears in print by the 16th century, in a culture where hunting and falconry imagery made “a bird in the hand” a vivid emblem of secure possession. Over time it became a staple of everyday counsel in commerce, courtship, and decision‑making, often invoked to discourage gambling on speculative prospects when a sure option is available.

The proverb advises valuing certainty over possibility: what you already have (the bird in hand) is more valuable than what you might obtain (two in the bush) because the latter is not guaranteed. Its force lies in highlighting opportunity cost and risk—pursuing a bigger payoff can cause you to lose the smaller, secure benefit. The saying can be read as endorsing prudence and contentment, but it can also be critiqued as overly conservative when calculated risk is necessary for growth. In practice it functions as a rule of thumb for weighing present security against future speculation.

• “Better a bird in the hand than two in the bush.”
• “A bird in the hand is better than two in the bush.”
• “One bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.”