“Then the king, when he heard these words, was sore displeased with himself, and set his heart on Daniel to deliver him: and he laboured till the going down of the sun to deliver him. (Daniel 6:14 KJV)
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Birds flying to their home during the sunset – Chitwan National Park ©WikiC
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Continuing through the Tanagers of the Thraupidae, we have some more beautiful birds to let you enjoy. Our Lord must have loved creating this kind of bird. He sure created enough of them through their interbreeding. We are about half way through the Traupidae family. This is the fifth installment. Not sure how many more it will take to finish up this family. Trust you are enjoying them.
Black-faced Dacnis (Dacnis lineata) ©WikiC
The Dacnis genus are from the Columbia and other nearby countries in South America. Some I could not find photos of that gave permission to use, so enjoy the ones that could be shown. The most common Dacnis seems to be the Blue Dacnis. Typical of this genus, they “occur in forests and other woodlands, including gardens and parks. The bulky cup nest is built in a tree and the normal clutch is of two to three grey-blotched whitish eggs. The female incubates the eggs, but is fed by the male. These are social birds which eat mainly insects gleaned from foliage, flowers or bromeliads. Fruit is often taken and usually swallowed whole, but nectar is rarely consumed.” (Wikipedia) There is one more Dacnis that is in the Xenodacnis genus.
Green Honeycreeper (Chlorophanes spiza) Male Immature ©BirdPhotos.com
The next three genera, Cyanerpes, Chlorophanes, and Iridophanes are Honeycreepers. They have longer tails than the Dacnis and you will notice a little more down curve on their bills. The four Cyanerpes species have colourful legs, long wings and a short tail. The males are typically glossy purple-blue and the females greenish.
Guira Tanager (Hemithraupis guira) Male ©BirdPhotos.com
“Yellow-rumped” clade of Tanagers include the Heerospingus, Chrysothlpis, and Hemithraupis genera. These small to medium tanagers are found in the moist forests of Central and South America. The females are duller than the males.
White-browed Conebill (Conirostrum ferrugineiventre) ©WikiC
The Conebills from the Conirostrum genus, finish our group of beautiful birds from the Tanager Family for this week. “They are small tanagers (9–14 cm) found in the forests of South America. They feed in pairs or small flocks by gleaning insects from foliage.” Following these here is a Giant Conebill (Oreomanes fraseri) in its own genus.
“The genus consists of two rather distinct subgenera: The first, Ateleodacnis, possibly deserving full generic status, is confined to lowland areas. They are mostly grey in colour and inhabit deciduous woodlands, mangroves or riverbank habitats. The second group, the nominate Conirostrum subgenus, inhabits the forests of the Andes. They are somewhat more colourful combining grey or blue backs with rufous underparts. Their thin bills led to them being formerly classified as wood-warblers or honeycreepers but genetic data places them firmly in the tanager family and they are now generally considered to belong in the Thraupidae.” (Wikipedia)
Enjoy the Slideshow and the music below.
That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. (Ephesians 2:7-10 KJV)
“Amazing Grace & I Love You Written In Red” – Choir and Orchestra at Faith Baptist
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Sunday Inspiration – Thraupidae – Tanagers and Allies I
Sunday Inspiration – Thraupidae – Tanagers and Allies II
Sunday Inspiration – Thraupidae – Tanagers and Allies III
Sunday Inspiration – Thraupidae – Tanagers and Allies IV
Traupidae Family – Tanagers and Allies
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“Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: remove thy foot from evil.” (Proverbs 4:27 KJV)
Painted Bunting (Passerina ciris) Both Photos ©Flickr Ralph Arvesen
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“And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald.” (Revelation 4:3 KJV)
Painted Bunting (Passerina ciris) ©©Flickr
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“The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.” (Matthew 6:22 KJV)
Blue-necked Tanager (Tangara cyanicollis) ©Flickr Andres Cuervo
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“And it came to pass in the six hundredth and first year, in the first month, the first day of the month, the waters were dried up from off the earth: and Noah removed the covering of the ark, and looked, and, behold, the face of the ground was dry.” (Genesis 8:13 KJV)
Philippine Hawk-Eagle (Nisaetus philippensis) ©Flickr Billy Lopue
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“And Cornelius said, Four days ago I was fasting until this hour; and at the ninth hour I prayed in my house, and, behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing,” (Acts 10:30 KJV)
Vulturine Guineafowl (Acryllium vulturinum) by Lee
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“And it is a rare thing that the king requireth, and there is none other that can shew it before the king, except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.” (Daniel 2:11 KJV)
Crested Ibis (Asian) (Nipponia nippon) One of Rarest Birds ©©Pinterest
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“And withal they learn to be idle, wandering about from house to house; and not only idle, but tattlers also and busybodies, speaking things which they ought not.” (1 Timothy 5:13 KJV)
Baby Ostritches ©AnimalWallXYZ
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Paradise Tanager (Tangara_chilensis) -DenverZoo-WikiC
And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise. (Luke 23:43 KJV)
This week, you are only going to meet those Tanagers that belong to one Genus. Why? Because there are around 50 of them and they are beautiful. The Lord created these beauties, and through their breeding, many varieties are available for us to enjoy. The genus featured today are those with Tangara as the first part of their scientific name. One of my favorites is the one above (actually all of them are). You might think an artist worked on these birds. Well, actually, He Did! “I know all the fowls of the mountains: and the wild beasts of the field are mine.” (Psalms 50:11 KJV)
Well, let’s get started looking at and learning about these lovely avian wonders.
Golden-eared Tanager (Tangara chrysotis) ©WikiC
Tangara is a large genus of birds of the tanager family. It includes about 50 species, but as currently defined the genus is polyphyletic. All are from the Neotropics, and while most are fairly widespread, some have small distributions and are threatened. They are fairly small, ranging in size from 11.5–15 centimetres (4.5–5.9 in). This genus includes some of the most spectacularly colored birds of the world.
Flame-faced Tanager (Tangara parzudakii) ©WikiC
These tanagers are mainly found high in forest canopies, but some occupy more open habitat. They are found at all elevations below tree line but are most diverse in the Andean subtropical and foothill forests of Colombia, Ecuador and Peru.
The female builds a usually well concealed cup nest and lays two brown- or lilac-speckled white eggs. These hatch in 13–14 days and the chicks fledge in a further 15–16 days. The male and female feed the nestlings on insects and fruit, and may be assisted by helpers.
Tangara tanagers pick insects from leaves, or sometimes in flight, but fruit is a major dietary item, accounting for 53-86% of food items in those species which have been studied. (Information from Wikipedia Tangara)
And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints. (Revelation 15:3 KJV)
“El Shaddai” ~ by Nell Reese
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Sunday Inspiration – Thraupidae – Tanagers and Allies I
Sunday Inspiration – Thraupidae – Tanagers and Allies II
Sunday Inspiration – Thraupidae – Tanagers and Allies III
Traupidae Family – Tanagers and Allies
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“And ye shall chase your enemies, and they shall fall before you by the sword.” (Leviticus 26:7 KJV)
Cat’s Angry Bird ©Animalwall.XYZ
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They Came By Pairs – Green-winged Teal (Anas carolinensis) ©WikiC
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. 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. And take thou unto thee of all food that is eaten, and thou shalt gather it to thee; and it shall be for food for thee, and for them. Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he. (Genesis 6:19-22 KJV)
When Noah was preparing the Ark, he was informed that the animals and birds (fowls) after their kinds would come to him to keep them alive. Again, notice in Genesis 7:1-3 that the clean beast and the birds (fowls) all come by sevens (pairs) also. Clean or unclean, the birds came by seven pairs. There is no distinction made with them.
And the LORD said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation. Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female: and of beasts that are not clean by two, the male and his female. Of fowls also of the air by sevens, the male and the female; to keep seed alive upon the face of all the earth. (Genesis 7:1-3 KJV)
Bobolink (Dolichonyx oryzivorus) ©© Pair ramendan
In Birds of the Bible – Foundation #3 Updated, I made this remark “Noah did not have to round up the animals, they came to him. Because not every animal we see today came on board but the main kinds (for instance the “bird kinds” may have had a “warbler kind” but not have black and white warblers, yellow-rumped warblers, hooded warbler, etc.), which ever ones they were, there was plenty of room for them. I have an idea that because the LORD sent the animals, birds, and critters, that their DNA’s were of the highest quality. (That is my opinion)”
At the time that comment was made, I was not aware of this article from Dr. Jean Lightner, about the Avian Ark Kinds. This series is based on her’s and other’s research into the Avian Kinds that came on board the ark.
“Kinds” or created kinds are called “baramins” and they used different methods to try to find the original kinds. This part of her article is rather technical, and honestly, I don’t understand some of the terms and methods discussed. Yet, the findings, is what I would like to share with you. Those, we can understand. (You can read her article HERE)
Most of us are aware that the many variety of dogs we see today came from an original “dog kind.” No matter how much interbreeding they do, the results are still dog kinds. Cats and dogs don’t interbreed, so no evolution is involved. Variation within the dog kind has occurred, just as it has in the “bird kinds”. In the Bird Kinds, they have come up with approximately 196 putative bird kinds and most of those break down to our modern-day Families in our taxonomy. Yet, in the I.O.C. their are 239 families and two Incertae Sedis families which make 241 families. The next articles will show how those Families compare to today’s families.
By the way, my math was off in that first article. I forgot the two Incertae Sedis Families. That makes for 45 extra families to account for.
Mountain Bluebird, male (R)- female (L) ©Mickey Barnes / from Birds & Blooms
Two quotes from Dr. Lighner’s article: “There is tremendous variety seen today in animal life as creatures have multiplied and filled the earth since the Flood (Genesis 8:17). In order to identify which modern species are related, being descendants of a single kind, interspecific hybrid data is utilized. When hybrid data is lacking, a cognitum approach is preferred; this identifies natural groupings based on human cognitive senses. Generally the cognitum at the family level (which is usually fairly strong) is preferred when hybrid data is lacking, though obvious cognita surrounding this level are noted.” (emphasis mine)
“As in mammals and amphibians, the state of avian taxonomy is in flux. Despite the ideal of neatly nested hierarchies in taxonomy, it seems groups of birds are repeatedly “changing nests.” This is partially because where an animal is placed depends on which characteristics one chooses to consider. While many had thought that molecular data would resolve these issues, in some cases it has exacerbated them.”
One thing we can see from all this. We will never know exactly who, what, or which one belongs to this family or that order or kind until we reach heaven and ask their Creator.
Let them praise the name of the LORD: for he commanded, and they were created. (Psalms 148:5 KJV)
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Avian Kinds on the Ark – Introduction
Birds of the Bible – Foundation – The Ark
Birds of the Bible – Foundation #3 Updated
An Initial Estimate of Avian Ark Kinds,
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Lee's Birdwatching Adventures Plus 