“Now the men did diligently observe whether any thing would come from him, and did hastily catch it: and they said, Thy brother Benhadad. Then he said, Go ye, bring him. Then Benhadad came forth to him; and he caused him to come up into the chariot. (1 Kings 20:33 KJV)
Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis) ©Flickr Andy Morffew
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“Lift up thine eyes round about, and see: all they gather themselves together, they come to thee: thy sons shall come from far, and thy daughters shall be nursed at thy side.” Isaiah 60:4
Campbell Teal (Anas nesiotis) ©WikiC
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“And as the ark of the Lord came into the city of David, Michal Saul’s daughter looked through a window, and saw king David leaping and dancing before the Lord; and she despised him in her heart. (2nd Samuel 6:16)
Plumed Whistling Duck (Dendrocygna eytoni) Zoo Miami by Lee
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Dunlin (Calidris alpina) shorebirds, in winter snow!
For He saith to the snow: ‘Be thou on the earth’; likewise unto the small rain, and unto the great rain of His strength. JOB 37:6
She is not afraid of the snow for her household; for all her household are clothed with scarlet. PROVERBS 31:21
“D” is for Dunlin and Dark-eyed Junco, as well as for Doves, Dippers, and Ducks (some being dabblers, some being divers) — plus other birds with names that begin with the letter D, such as Dickcissel, Darter, Dotterel, Doradito, Dollarbird, Dacnis, Drongo, Dunnock, Dapple-throat, and even Dodo! Regarding the earlier article on “D” birds, in this ongoing series, focusing mostly on Duck (both Dabblers and Divers), see “D” is for Ducks, Dabblers and Divers: “D” Birds, Part 1. But this review will focus only on two, the Dunlin (Calidris alpina) and the Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis). And, as is noted below, there is a “snow” connection to both — (1) because the brown-and-grey Dunlin is a circumpolar migrant, breeding in the snow-blessed arctic and subarctic regions — and (2) because the migratory Dark-eyed Junco was formerly called (by Audubon and others) the “snowbird”.
Dunlin (Calidris alpina) adult
As noted elsewhere on Leesbird.com , the Dunlin is part of the short shorebird waders, called “Scolopacidae” (a subset of the “Charadriiformes”), that includes a mix of wading sandpipers, snipes, phalaropes, plovers, curlews, and the like. Part of an original sandpiper-like ancestral kind, Dunlins are reported to hybridize with North America’s White-rumped Sandpiper (Calidris fuscicollis) and Europe’s Purple Sandpiper (Calidris maritima).
Dunlin (Calidris alpina) juvenile ©WikiC
These skinny-legged, starling-sized waders make a living, to a large degree, by probing and picking mudflat shorelines (including muddy estuaries, saltmarshes, sandy beaches, coastal lagoons, swampy coastlands, and sometimes rocky coastlines), for edible invertebrates — mostly insects (especially insect larvae) and worms (both polychaetes and oligochaetes), plus small crustaceans (like shrimp and amphipods) and molluscs (like snails, slugs, and small bivalves), and even some small fish — captured along seacoasts and/or at freshwater streambanks. The characteristic eating behavior of the thin-billed Dunlin has been likened to the rapid-feed pecking motion of an energetic sewing machine, as its slightly decurved bill jabs rapidly and repeatedly into mudflats, to pick at (and ingest) small animals captured on or under the shoreline surface. Dunlins sometimes dip their heads under water, as they wade belly-deep in coastal tidewaters. [For a short video clip of Dunlin feeding in shallow shorewaters,]
Dunlin (Calidris alpina) adult, wintering at a New Jersey beach ©WikiC
The Dunlin, like other sandpipers, is a gregarious migrant, as is illustrated by this photograph (taken in AD2015) of Dunlins in Sweden. Although the various Dunlin subspecies (which number 8 or 9, depending on taxonomic “lumping” and “splitting” preferences) are known to overlap (i.e., intermingle in) their ranges, especially in migratory passages and in wintering territories, they mostly breed within their respective subspecies populations. Dunlin breeding begins at one year of age; an entire Dunlin lifespan may reach 20 years.
Dunlin (Calidris alpina) group, congregating in shoreline tidewaters ©WikiC
The overall range of the Dunlin is impressive – its migratory habits includes breeding (during the warmer months) within many of the coastlines of Alaska, Canada, Greenland, Iceland, the British Isles, Scandinavia, and Siberian Russia – as well as wintering in coastlands of Mexico, America’s Southeast, Europe’s western coasts, some of the coastlands of northwestern Africa, and some southern coastlands of Asia (including eastern China, Japan, some of the Indian subcontinent, and the coastlines of southwestern Asia). According to the Australian government’s statistics, the Chinese East Coast-trekking Dunlin (which is not routinely found in Australia) is the second-most common shorebird traveling the East Asian—Australasian Flyway. [Source: Australian Government, Dep’t of the Environment, posted at http://www.environment.gov.au/cgi-bin/sprat/public/publicspecies.pl?taxon_id=853 – under the heading “Global Distribution”. ]
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Now for another “D” bird, the DARK-EYED JUNCO.
Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis), f/k/a “Snow Bird” ©Drawing Audubon
Regarding my personal encounters with Dark-eyed Junco migrants, who habitually wintered in my backyard (in southern Denton County, Texas), see “Here’s Seed for Thought” [posted at https://leesbird.com/2015/07/04/heres-seed-for-thought/ ] – and also see my defense of trusting juncos and English sparrows, from a bullying Blue Jay, in “Bird Brains, Amazing Evidence of God’s Genius (Sometimes the Logic of Bird Brains Puts Humans to Shame)” [posted at https://leesbird.com/?s=bird+brains ].
Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis) ©Kim Smith
The Dark-eyed Junco adult has a distinctively pink bill (which aptly consumes a lot of bugs and seeds, including seeds at bird-feeders!), the color of which contrasts with its black-to-dark-grey back feathers, and its snow-like (almost-white) under-plumage. Regarding the wee bird’s wintering habits in Texas, ornithologist Stan Tekiela writes: “Spends the winter in the [Texas] foothills and plains after snowmelt. Nests in a wide variety of wooded habitats in April and May. Adheres to a rigid social hierarchy, with dominant birds chasing less dominant birds. Look for its white outer feathers flashing while in flight. Most comfortable on the ground [which is often a good place to forage for insects and seeds], juncos ‘double-scratch’ with both feet to expose seeds and insects. Eats many weed seeds. Usually seen on the ground in small flocks. Doesn’t nest [i.e., raise hatchlings] in Texas.” [Quoting Stan Tekiela, BIRDS OF TEXAS FIELD GUIDE (Adventure Publications, 2004), page 253.]
The migratory behavior of the Dark-eyed Junco, as its earlier nickname “Snow Bird” suggests, is appreciated by those who observe it during winter. The ornithologist couple Donald and Lillian Stokes say: “Every fall we await the arrival of the ‘snow birds’ from the north where they breed. The name comes from the junco’s plumage, which has been described as ‘leaden skies above, snow below.’ This name more aptly describes the slate-colored form of junco. Ornithologists used to think there were four separate species of juncos, white-winged, slate-colored, Oregon, and gray-headed. Now they are all considered one species [that’s genetics for you!], the dark-eyed junco. We tend to think of them as ‘snow birds’ because we see them most when the snow is here. Juncos are a favorite at winter bird-feeding stations [such as my former home in southern Denton County, Texas – noted above] throughout the United States and lower Canada. Much of the study of juncos has been of their winter flock behavior. There is still a lot to be learned about their courtship and breeding behavior [which occurs farther north]. Juncos tend to winter at the same spot each year and stay in fixed flocks with a stable dominance hierarchy. …. At night juncos often roost in the same place. It is fun to follow the flock from your feeder to see where they will roost. Usually it will be in some dense conifer where they will be protected from cold and predators.” [Quoting Donald Stokes & Lillian Stokes, A GUIDE TO BIRD BEHAVIOR, VOLUME III (Little, Brown & Company, 1989), pages 327-328.]
Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis), perching, as if posing for the camera!
God willing, the next contribution to this alphabetic series will be at least a couple of the “E“ birds – such as eiders, eagles, eagle-owls, egrets, emus, euphonias, elaenias, eremomelas, elepaios, earthcreepers, and/or emerald hummingbirds! Meanwhile, please stay tuned to Leesbird.com ! ><> JJSJ
Fair Use Credit For Photos Used in Article (Click Links For Credits)
Dunlin (Calidris alpina) shorebirds, in winter snow! — New Jersey Audubon
Dunlin (Calidris alpina) adult — ©Wikipedia
Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis), f/k/a “Snow Bird” — ©National Audubon Society
Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis) ©Kim Smith
Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis), perching, as if posing for the camera! — ©Vicki J. Anderson / arkive.org
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“For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Jude 1:4 KJV)
South Island Takahe (Porphyrio hochstetteri) ©BBC_Com
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“And the king appointed them a daily provision of the king’s meat, and of the wine which he drank: so nourishing them three years, that at the end thereof they might stand before the king.” (Daniel 1:5 KJV)
Kingfisher Feeding Young by Phil Kwong
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“Surely the serpent will bite without enchantment; and a babbler is no better.” (Ecclesiastes 10:11 KJV)
Guineas and Snake ©Workshopaddict
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“Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.” (Daniel 2:35 KJV)
Trumpeter Swan (Cygnus buccinator) ©USFWS
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Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) by Ray Barlow
“And he shall pass through Judah; he shall overflow and go over, he shall reach even to the neck; and the stretching out of his wings shall fill the breadth of thy land, O Immanuel.” (Isaiah 8:8 KJV)
Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) by Ray Barlow
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If Dogs Could Fly: More than Wings are Needed for Flying High!
~ by James J. S. Johnson
And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven. (Genesis 1:20)
God made wings for animals – like birds, insects, and bats – to fly. (In the case of penguins, they fly underwater!) But it takes more that wings to fly high: ask a Bar-headed Goose (Anser indicus), who migrates over the Himalayas!
Bar-headed Goose (Anser indicus)
But what about dogs – and humans?
If dogs were meant to fly—apart from aircraft—they would have bodies designed for heavier-than-air flying. Also, for dogs to fly at altitudes so high that oxygen is a problem, they need bodies designed for breathing at thin-air elevations. These facts are illustrated by an amazing German shepherd, Antis, who flew combat missions, during 1940-1945, at altitudes up to 16,000 feet.(1)
But who was Antis, and how did he survive flying in oxygen-starved altitudes?
Antis was an Alsatian German shepherd, rescued as a starved-almost-to-death newborn puppy, by a Czechoslovakian pilot named Václav “Robert” Bozdĕch. Robert flew during World War II, first for France, and later for England—as part of the Royal Air Force’s 311 (Czechoslovack) Squadron. (In fact, how Robert smuggled Antis from France through Gibraltar into England is itself an amazing adventure.)
British Air Ministry regulations prohibited dogs flying on combat missions, of course, but Antis hated to be “grounded” if that meant being separated from Robert. During June 1941 Antis took matters into his own paws, quietly disappearing when Robert readied for a bombing mission over Bremen, a German port city (known for its strategic military activities). Antis quietly hid inside the Vickers Wellington bomber where Robert served as turret gunner.
Wellington bombers flew at altitudes as high as 16,000 feet, so air crews wore oxygen masks, to compensate for the oxygen-thin air at that high altitude. But no one had equipped Antis for such oxygen-thin conditions! Robert concerned himself with the crew’s mission, bombing Bremen’s oil refinery, till his attention was distracted by someone nudging his elbow: Antis!
Antis must have somehow crept aboard the aircraft and stowed away, being careful to remain hidden until [Robert’s airplane] was almost over her target. Recovering from the shock, Robert tried to take in all that he was seeing. His dog’s flanks were heaving, his lungs desperate for breath, which was very likely why he’d alerted Robert to his presence. They were climbing to 16,000 feet and Antis was having increasing trouble breathing in the thin, oxygen-starved atmosphere. (1)
How could Robert save Antis?
WWII pilot Václav “Robert” Bozdĕch — and his faithful dog, Antis
Antis needed to inhale concentrated oxygen, immediately, but so did Robert, at least until the plane descended to a lower elevation.
Taking a massive gasp himself, Robert unstrapped the oxygen mask from his face, bent, and pressed it firmly over his dog’s muzzle. He watched anxiously as the dog took a few deep breaths of life-giving oxygen, before eventually his breathing seemed to settle down to something normal.(1)
Meanwhile Robert busied himself with his duties as turret gunner, wearing the spare radio headset, since his oxygen mask strappings contained his usual headset.
The mask contained [Robert’s] main radio pickup, and he could only imagine that he and his dog were going to have to share oxygen for the remainder of the flight. A few moments later he heard a squelch of static in his earpiece, signifying that someone was coming up on the air [intercom]. “Robert, have you gone to sleep down there?” Capka, their pilot, queried. “No. Why?” Robert replied. “Sounds like you’re snoring your head off. What’s going on if you’re not snoozing?”(1)
It was Antis’ canine breathing that was being broadcast through the airplane’s intercom, due to the microphone attached to the oxygen mask. Meanwhile, the flight became more hazardous.
They began their bombing run at 15,000 feet, an altitude where the dog needed the oxygen. Robert had no option but to continue operating without it, for he couldn’t keep switching the mask with his dog. He needed his hands free to operate the guns. At first he seemed to cope just fine, but then his heart started to race and beads of sweat were breaking out on his forehead.(1)
Antiaircraft fire exploded nearby, bombs dropped from Robert’s plane, and Messerschmitt fighters tried to shoot the British Wellington fighter-bomber out of the night sky. But, eventually (at the successful close of the mission, thanks to God’s providence), Robert and his air crew mates – and Antis — successfully returned to their home base. Of course, Antis’ stowaway antics were by then no secret. Wing Commander Josef Ocelka, 311 Squadron’s commanding officer, liked Antis—but sharing an oxygen mask during future bombing raids was unacceptable. The solution? A doggie oxygen mask, specially tailored for Antis.
[Antis’ oxygen mask] consisted of a standard pilot’s mask, cut and modified to suit a German shepherd’s long and slender snout, as opposed to the flatter, boxier face of a human. The mask attached to his head with a special set of straps that ran around the back of his thick and powerful neck, with extra fastenings latching on to his collar. Antis didn’t particularly like the thing, but he proved happy enough to wear it so long as Robert was wearing his.(1)
Antis continued to have many death-defying adventures, during the war, as Robert’s loyal dog. But, thanks to his canine oxygen mask, at high elevations Antis no longer needed to share an oxygen mask with Robert.
Obviously, Antis was not born with the capacity to survive oxygen-starved altitudes without the help of an oxygen mask—and it requires purposeful design and clever engineering to equip dogs like Antis for such high-altitude conditions.
And so we can (and should) marvel at the creative genius and technical problem-solving that achieved a solution to Antis’ need for high-altitude oxygen. But what about animals—like many high-flying birds—that have no such oxygen mask? How can they survive elevations like 15,000 (or higher) without an oxygen mask?
Bar-headed Goose
What kind of birds, soaring or migrating, fly at such oxygen-scarce altitudes?
High fliers include Bar-headed Geese, which cross the Himalayas at heights up to 29,500 feet [9,000 m] as they travel between the mountain lakes of central Asia and their winter homes along the Indus [River] valley, India. A flock of 30 Whooper Swans en route from Iceland to western Europe was logged by a pilot at 27,000 feet [8,230 m]. Mallards have reached 21,000 feet [6,400 m], Bar-tailed Godwits 19,865 feet [6,000 m] and White Storks 15,750 feet [4,800 m] on migration.(2)
Some birds, amazingly, can even soar at 36,000 feet (~11,000 meters)!
How can we know that?
A combination of empirical science (i.e., direct observation) and forensic science (physical remains that show causality events).
Rupell’s Griffon ©Telegraph
Specifically, a griffon-vulture, called the Rüpell’s Griffon, collided with an airplane, at that altitude, over Côte d’Ivoire, Africa.
On November 1973, an aircraft collided with a bird at a good 11000 m [meters] above the Ivory Coast in Africa. The bird wrecked one of the aircraft’s engines, though the plane managed to land without further mishap. Feather remains in the wrecked engine showed that the bird was a Rüppel’s Vulture.(3)
And other high-flying migrants are known to fly the friendly skies as well:
The impact of even a single goose on a jet airliner can be disastrous … [so] observers south of Canada’s Winnipeg airport monitor the northward progress of Lesser Snow Geese and warn air-traffic controllers of their approach. If necessary, the airport can be closed down for hours, or occasionally days, during the peak of [their] migration.(4)
But what difference does it make, to us, when the atmosphere is oxygen-scarce? How are air-breathing humans and animals affected when the oxygen is “thin”?
The highest-lying permanent settlements, in the Andes and in Tibet, are situated at just above 5000 m. [16,400 feet]. Not even people belonging to these mountain communities would be able to survive more than a few hours in the oxygen-deficient air above 8000 m. [26,200 feet]. The oxygen content of the air is about 21%, independent of altitude, in the troposphere; the oxygen pressure consequently decreases in parallel with the decreasing air pressure at increasing altitude. At 6000 m [20,000 feet] the oxygen pressure is only half what it is at sea-surface level; at 8000 m [26,200 feet] it is a third of that[,] and at 10,000 m [32,800 feet] only a quarter. The ability of birds to stay alive at high altitudes is explained by the [comprehensive] fact that they have a more efficient respiratory system than mammals.(5)
But how are birds able to breathe in such oxygen-starved conditions?
Bar-headed Goose (Anser indicus) by Lee LPZ
What they have—thanks to their Creator—is much more efficient that Antis’ custom-made oxygen mask!
A bird’s lungs function according to the through-flow principle: the inspired [inhaled] air collects in the bird’s posterior air-sacs and flows through the lungs to the anterior air-sacs before it passes back out. In the lungs the blood is oxygenated by fine air capillaries, where air and blood flow in opposite directions. Owing to this counterflow, the oxygenated blood that leaves the bird lung acquires a higher oxygen concentration than that corresponding to the oxygen pressure in the expired [exhaled] air.(5)
Also, bird hearts are proportionately larger to their bodies than those of mammals—from 0.8 to 1.5% of its total body mass, compared to mammals (averaging around 0.6%), enabling speedy blood transport and intensive oxygen renewal.(5)
So, is the “flow-through principle” basically all that there is, to why birds can breathe at higher altitudes, — or is it even more complicated than that?
In fact, the technical aspects of how oxygen is acquired and consumed, by high-flying birds, is more marvelous than is easy to describe, as this succinct-yet-technical summary indicates:
Birds that fly at high altitudes must support vigorous exercise in oxygen-thin environments. … [There is an interactive combination of bioengineering] characteristics that help high fliers [to] sustain the high rates of metabolism needed for flight at [such] elevation. Many traits in the O2 transport pathway distinguish birds in general from other vertebrates. These include enhanced gas-exchange efficiency in the lungs, maintenance of O2 delivery and oxygenation in the brain during hypoxia, augmented O2 diffusion capacity in peripheral tissues and a high aerobic capacity. … The distinctive features of high fliers include an enhanced hypoxic ventilator response, an effective breathing pattern, larger lungs [proportionately speaking], hæmoglobin with a higher O2 affinity, further augmentation of O2 diffusion capacity in the periphery and multiple alterations in the metabolic properties of cardiac and skeletal muscle. These unique specializations improve the uptake, circulation and efficient utilization of O2 during high-altitude hypoxia. High-altitude birds also have larger wings than their lowland relatives[,] to reduce the metabolic costs of staying aloft in low-density air. High fliers are therefore unique in many ways ….(6)
If all of that sounds complicated it is because it is – very complicated. But in order for birds to successfully fly at high elevations it was necessary for God to design and install bioengineering features that would succeed in such thin air. And, because God did not provide such physiologies for dogs – such as Alsatian German Shepherds (like Antis) – it was needful for Antis to have his own oxygen mask, for those times when Antis flew in oxygen-scarce altitudes.
So, three cheers for the East Wretham fitters, who custom-fit a canine oxygen mask, for Antis’ high-altitude breathing! Also, proper credit is surely due to Vickers-Armstrongs (Aircraft) Ltd., the manufacturer of the Wellington bomber that Robert and Antis flew in.
Yet how much moreso should we cheer and extol our Creator-God, for how He designed and constructed high-flying birds,(7) with respiratory physiologies that need no manmade airplanes or oxygen masks! Yes, “the heavens declare the glory of God”(8) — and so do the birds he made to fly in those skies, even the skies that are so high that others, flying there, need oxygen masks!
References
Bar-headed Goose (Anser indicus) ©Fair Use credit: Bruce Moffat Photography
Bar-headed Goose (Anser indicus)
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“And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken. ” (Daniel 2:42 KJV)
EurasianCoot (Fulica atra) Lobed Feet ©WikiC
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“That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;” (Genesis 22:17 KJV)
Skimmers – Gulls – Terns resting at the shore MacDill by Lee
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Lee's Birdwatching Adventures Plus 