Two birds in the forest are not worth a bird in the hand "means: two birds in the forest are not caught, it is better to have a bird in the hand." To make a metaphor, no matter how far away things are, they are not as good as the ones that have been obtained. It is also a metaphor that pursuing two unreliable goals is not as safe as a reliable goal.
This is a famous saying of the great philosopher Socrates. "A bird in the hand" refers to what is in your hand. "Two birds in the forest" means two birds flying freely in the forest. Although two birds are more than one bird in number, they may fly away at any time in the forest. At any time, as long as the bird is in your hand, you still have at least one share, which is better than nothing.
"Two birds in the bush are worth a bird in the hand" tells us to cherish what we have now, not to take risks to do something that looks better but is risky, and not to give up what we have now. It also warns us that we should be practical in thinking, not aim too high, and what we have is real.
"Two birds in the bush are worth a bird in the hand" is still a very famous dividend policy theory. The theory holds that: for shareholders and investors, the retained dividends of listed companies are uncertain, and shareholders and investors pay more attention to the real cash dividends because shareholders prefer certainty.