Category Archives: Birds

The Best Toolmakers in the World by Emma Foster

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New Caledonian Crow (Corvus moneduloides) ©Jolyon Troscianko

The Best Toolmakers in the World

 By Emma Foster

Once there was a group of crows that lived on an island off of eastern Australia. They were New Caledonian Crows and every day one of them would leave their group of large nests in the trees to hunt for food.

On one particular day, one of the crows named Oliver flew to a tree trunk to search for food. Oliver carefully ripped off a piece of a plant to scoop out some worms from the trunk. In order to scrape the worms out, Oliver bit the strip of the plant with his beak to give the side of it a sharp, jagged edge. After pulling out the worms, Oliver grabbed them in his beak and made ready to fly away.

But as Oliver was about to fly back to his nest he spotted two creatures he had never seen before.

New Caledonian Crow (Corvus moneduloides) by Ian Montgomery

New Caledonian Crow (Corvus moneduloides) by Ian Montgomery

They were tall, wearing long white things that looked like tails to Oliver. They were hiding in the bushes as if they were watching him, but because they didn’t appear as if they would attack, Oliver flew back to his nest leaving his tool behind.

The next day, Oliver returned to the same tree trunk and made another tool just like the one had constructed the previous day. But before he dug into the trunk for more worms he noticed the same creatures sitting behind the bushes and watching him make his tool. This time, they had a strange machine.

Glancing down, Oliver realized that the tool he had made yesterday was gone, and he guessed that the creatures must have taken it. Thinking, that all the creatures wanted was whatever he made, Oliver attempted an experiment. After pulling out some worms and placing them in his claws, Oliver flew close to where the creatures sat and dropped his tool. After flying away, Oliver hid and watched the creatures pick it up and examine it. It seemed that they were taking notes on the way he had shaped the tool.

The next day Oliver made another tool after digging out worms then flew back to the bushes. This time he waited in front of the bushes, and the two creatures came out from behind the bushes. Oliver remained where he was.

Eventually the two people cautiously came closer to him. The entire time they used the strange machine Oliver had seen before. Oliver watched patiently, wondering what they were doing. One threw a couple of nuts down and Oliver assumed that this was payment to him for giving them his tool. After a few minutes Oliver flew away with the nuts, still confused.

New Caledonian Crow (Corvus moneduloides) by Ian Montgomery

New Caledonian Crow (Corvus moneduloides) by Ian Montgomery

But what Oliver didn’t know was that the people were two scientists studying New Caledonian Crows in eastern Australia. They had been documenting exactly how Oliver had built his tool out of the plant in order to get his food. And according to studies, besides humans, crows like Oliver are the best tool makers in the world. But Oliver never knew why they were there or where the people had come from. He did, however, fly back to the other crows to explain what he had seen. The other crows appeared to be very impressed at how Oliver had become a tool entrepreneur. From then on, the other crows considered Oliver’s tools to be better than of all the others when it came to catching food.

Lee’s Addition:

“Whence then cometh wisdom? and where is the place of understanding?” (Job 28:20 KJV)

Emma has given us another Bird Tale, but this one is actually based on some research she did about this interesting bird. She didn’t tell me which articles she had read, but I found several on the internet. One link and a video are below. Some of the articles found on line try to explain this behavior as part of evolution, but as the verse above says, we know where wisdom comes from. The Lord created the birds with enough knowledge to develop this habit. Crows are known as being very intelligent.

Thanks, Emma, for a very good article. Now we know how the birds must feel when they are being “watched” by those scientist. Keep up the great stories.

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More of Emma’s Stories

Wild New Caledonian crows possess tool-craft talent

This video shows the New Caledonian Crow working with his tool very successfully. His friend joins in the search for worms, but doesn’t quite have the knack of the first one. This was part of a research project of the scientist.

Lee’s Seven Word Sunday – 10/2/16

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Orioles at Feeder ©Wildbeaks.com

SATISFIED WITH THE FRUIT OF THY WORKS

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“He watereth the hills from his chambers: the earth is satisfied with the fruit of Thy works.”  (Psalm 104:13)

Orioles at Feeder ©Wildbeaks.com

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Sunday Inspiration – Beginning of the Bird Orders – Tinamiformes

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Elegant Crested Tinamou (Eudromia elegans) Cloud Forest at Zoo Miami by Lee

Elegant Crested Tinamou (Eudromia elegans) Cloud Forest at Zoo Miami by Lee

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. (Genesis 1:1 KJV)

We have finished up all the Passeriformes and reviewed them here with the Sunday Inspirations. That only took from February 1st of 2015 to September 25th of 2016. Of the forty orders of birds in the world, Passeriformes was the last and largest of the orders taxonomically. Today, we are going to start at the first of the bird orders. Not to panic, there is only one family in this order. We will cover it today.

Dan and I have only seen one member of this order and that was at Zoo Miami, FL

Elegant Crested Tinamou (Eudromia elegans) by Dan at Zoo Miami

Elegant Crested Tinamou (Eudromia elegans) by Dan at Zoo Miami

“Tinamiformes is a taxonomic order of birds that are also known as Tinamou. The order is represented by only one Family Tinamidae, which consists of 47 species in 9 genera. They are short-legged, little-headed and plump-bodied. They prefer to run rather than fly to avoid danger.

The Tinamous are found only in Central and South America. They are related to the ratites (Ostriches and Rheas). Generally ground dwelling, they are found in a range of habitats from woodlands to open grassland. They prefer eating a diet of berries and seeds off the ground. They also consume insects and small animals.” (CreationWiki)

As you will notice the Tinamou are not very colorful and that is mostly because of how they live. They are very well designed by their Creator to sulk along in the underbrush.

“And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good.” (Genesis 1:21 KJV) Emphasis added

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Go forth of the ark, thou, and thy wife, and thy sons, and thy sons’ wives with thee. Bring forth with thee every living thing that is with thee, of all flesh, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth; that they may breed abundantly in the earth, and be fruitful, and multiply upon the earth. (Genesis 8:16-17 KJV)

“Praise Medley” by ©The Hyssongs

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More Sunday Inspirations

Birds of the World – Tinamidae – Tinamous 

Hooded Tinamou

CreationWiki – Tinamous

TINAMIFORMES – Tinamous

Tinamidae Family – Our Photos

Tinamidae – Tinamous Family

An Initial Estimate of Avian Ark Kinds

Evolution Made Ridiculous Flightless Birds Over and Over – If you want to some actual truth, but you need to read around the evolution part. You can see the Creator at work.

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Lee’s Six Word Saturday – 10/1/16

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Western Scrub Jay (Aphelocoma californica) ©WikiC

THAT THOU GIVEST THEM THEY GATHER

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“That thou givest them they gather: thou openest thine hand, they are filled with good.” (Psalm 104:28)

Western Scrub Jay (Aphelocoma californica) ©WikiC

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Lee’s Five Word Friday – 9/30/16

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Blackbird on a Hawk's Back ©Dept of Interior

AND MY BURDEN IS LIGHT

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“For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:30 KJV)

Blackbird on a Hawk’s Back ©Dept of Interior

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Birdwatching On Board the Ark Encounter – More Birds

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Osprey in the Ark

Osprey at the Ark Encounter

“And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee; they shall be male and female.” (Genesis 6:19 KJV)

The first article about our visit to the Ark Encounter which is part of Answers in Genesis was Birdwatching On Board the Ark Encounter – The Doves. Now I would like to show you the other birds we found on the ark.

First, there are no live animals on the this ark, but there are representations of the birds. Some are beautifully sculptured, and the others were real birds that had been stuffed by a taxidermist. Having live animals on-board would be quite involved. The purpose of the Ark, in this respect, is to show how the animals would have been kept on board. More like museum displays.

Bird Enclosures at the Ark Encounter

Bird Enclosures at the Ark Encounter

After entering the ark, there are areas where the cages or enclosures for the animals, birds, and creeping things were held. The cages for the birds were very interesting. For once, my not being able to get a shot through the cage, worked out okay. Now you can see the wood pretty good.

Bird Enclosures at the Ark Encounter

Bird Enclosures at the Ark Encounter – with a Hornbill

All of them were made of wood, and they were of different sizes, of course. Bigger cages for the larger birds like the Cassowary,

Bird Enclosures at the Ark Encounter

Bird Enclosures at the Ark Encounter – with a Cassowary

medium to large size for birds like the Sacred Ibis,

Sacred iIbis n Bird Enclosures at the Ark Encounter

Medium to Large Enclosure for the Scarlet Ibis

and smaller yet for the Parrots.

Parrot the Ark Encounter

Parrot the Ark Encounter

We also found onboard these birds: A Motmot, a Pigeon (I think), an Osprey, an Owl, a Quail, and another two that I am not sure of. Looks like one of the unknowns is some sort of water bird. If you would like to leave a reply with the names, please do. I have added the photos so they can be seen larger.

In the gift shop, I found these birds for sale. :)

Birds at the Ark Encounter Store

Birds at the Ark Encounter Store

At the Ararat Ridge Zoo, behind the Ark, we found an Emu.

That is about the sum total of the birds we saw. Of course, the Doves that were shown in the first article. It was a little disappointed, but we understand their reasoning. There will have more about the birds and how they were provided for in another Ark Encounter article.

“Of fowls after their kind, and of cattle after their kind, of every creeping thing of the earth after his kind, two of every sort shall come unto thee, to keep them alive.” (Genesis 6:20 KJV)

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Birdwatching On Board the Ark Encounter – The Doves

Ark Encounter

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Lee’s Four Word Thursday – 9/29/16

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White-cheeked Turaco (Tauraco leucotis) ©WikiC

ON THE RIGHT CHEEK

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“But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.” Matthew 5:39

White-cheeked Turaco (Tauraco leucotis) ©WikiC

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Lee’s Three Word Wednesday – 9/28/16

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Great Egret by Quy Tran

SHOULD BE ARRAYED

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“And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.” (Revelation 19:8 KJV)

Great Egret by Quy Tran

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Lee’s Two Word Tuesday – 9/27/16

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Long-eared Owl (Asio otus) ©WikiC

OUR EARS

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“O LORD, there is none like thee, neither is there any God beside thee, according to all that we have heard with our ears.” (1 Chronicles 17:20 KJV)

Long-eared Owl (Asio otus) ©WikiC

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Birds With A Memory To Envy – Re-post

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Clark's Nutcracker (Nucifraga columbiana) ©USFWS

Clark’s Nutcracker (Nucifraga columbiana) ©USFWS PD

BIRDS WITH A MEMORY TO ENVY from Creation Moments

“Who provideth for the raven his food? when his young ones cry unto God, they wander for lack of meat.” (Job 38:41)

Interesting Things from Smiley CentralThe shy bird called Clark’s nutcracker collects food during the growing season and stores it for the cold winter months. In one year, a bird will store between 22,000 and 33,000 seeds in as many as 2,500 locations, which can be more than ten miles apart. But does the little bird remember where he put all those seeds?

Biologists tracked the activity of Clark’s nutcrackers in the San Francisco Peaks in northern Arizona. A small army of researchers tracked the birds’ seed gathering and storing activities. One of the first things they discovered was that the birds quickly figured out that they were being observed. Some refused to store food when researchers were watching them. Others faked storing seeds when they were watched. Back in the lab, researchers studied the storing activity of Eurasian nutcrackers. After the birds stored seeds in a large sand floor, the birds were removed. Then the seeds they stored were dug up. When the birds were allowed to return, they quickly discovered that their seeds had been stolen, so they refused to store any more seeds. In the end, researchers concluded that the nutcrackers recover as many as two-thirds of their stored seeds within 13 months.

The remarkable memory of these little birds is their gift from God that enables them to be fed all year around.

Prayer:
Father, I thank You because You are gracious and generous, not just to the birds, but also to me. Amen.
Notes:
Science News, 2/14: 2004, pp. 103-105, Susan Milius, “Where’d I Put That?”

Clark's Nutcracker (Nucifraga columbiana) by Ian

Lee’s Addition:

“Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.” (1 Timothy 6:19 KJV)

Even though this was posted before, 6 years ago, it was still very interesting and worth reviewing. Interesting Things – Birds With a Memory to Envy. That is why Creation Moments. “Repetition aides learning,” or so they say. Here are some more articles along this same chain of thought.

The Space sharing seed storing Redpoll…

Birds of the Bible – Woodpecker & Friend’s Storehouse

Nuggets Plus – Ants, Gravity, and Mulberry – by A J Mithra

Oilbird – Mission With A Vision

Scripture Alphabet of Animals: The Bee

More Interesting Things

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Lee’s One Word Monday – 9/26/16

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Sandhill Crane (Grus canadensis) Chick and Egg ©USFWS

NEW

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“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” (2 Corinthians 5:17 KJV)

Sandhill Crane (Grus canadensis) Chick and Egg ©USFWS

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Lee’s Seven Word Sunday – 9/25/16

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Sandwich Tern ©Jürgen Reich

IF ANY PROVIDE NOT FOR HIS OWN

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“But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.
(1 Timothy 5:8 KJV)

Sandwich Tern ©Jürgen Reich

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