Virginia Partridge (under attack by diving hawk) (Public Domain)
“The fish of the sea, the birds of the heavens, the beasts of the field, all the creeping things that creep on the earth, and all the men who are on the face of the earth will shake at My presence; the mountains also will be thrown down, the steep pathways will collapse and every wall will fall to the ground.” (Ezekiel 38:20 NASB)
I had never noticed this verse before about birds shaking, along with all the rest of Creation. While in our reading of Ezekiel, we came across this verse the other morning. My “Blog Idea” bell went off, and have been wondering if birds shake much during their life normally. This verse refers to a very serious situation in the future, and refers to the Lord’s presence.
Birds shake their tails and feathers after bathing, displaying, or as aggression. Yet, do they shake out of fear? Let’s see what we can find out:
How might the birds be acting?
From The Spruce – Bird Emotions
White-bellied Sea Eagle captured a Lesser Whistling Duck ©WikiC
Fear and tension: Frightened birds exhibit several behaviors that demonstrate their fear. Quick flight and escape is the most common reaction to fear and is the same fight-or-flight response humans use. Other fear indicators include freezing in place, crouching, increased respiration rate, widened eyes, and alarm or distress calls. These are all similar fear indicators to humans freezing in fear, a racing heart, and screams of terror. Parent birds may also show fear for their offspring by using different distraction displays or other tactics in an attempt to lure predators away from vulnerable chicks.
Birds have had to face fear and dread every since they left the ark after the flood.
“And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be on every beast of the earth, on every bird of the air, on all that move on the earth, and on all the fish of the sea. They are given into your hand.” (Genesis 9:2 NKJV)
“Adam and Eve originally were given dominion over all the animal creation (Genesis 1:26), but sin came in and then, after the Flood, God placed the fear and dread of man “upon all that moveth upon the earth” (Genesis 9:2), and the primeval fellowship between man and his animal friends was broken. [Days of Praise – To The Animals]
Black Bear
Yet, this fear mentioned in Ezekiel will not only be for birds, it is for all of Creation and mankind. This is what I would describe as TERROR! That puts the shakes in all of creation.
38:20 shake at my presence. The entire world and all its creatures will be affected by this convulsion of nature, the greatest since the global deluge of Noah’s day. Yet this will only be a precursor of the still greater global earthquakes described during the coming tribulation period (Revelation 6:12-14; 16:18-20). (From New Defender’s Bible Study Notes)
Thankfully, there is Good News for people to avoid this coming tribulation. Most of these articles clearly show how to assure you will not be on earth when this occurs.
Lee's Birdwatching Adventures Plus 