Disclaimer About Bible Version Usage

February 28, 2012 by Lee

Eurasian Collared Dove (Streptopelia decaocto) by Dan

I would like to post a Disclaimer about the use of the different Bible versions that I use in my various blogs, especially the Birds of the Bible articles. Because I quote from different versions does not mean that I endorse them. There are versions that translated God’s Word very faithfully by Godly men. There are some of the translations that are questionable as to “by whom” and “why” the translations were made.

When I do my Birds of the Bible articles, I like to “Compare” the different versions. I use e-Sword, a free Bible program from e-sword.net, and it has a “compare” mode that lets me see all the different versions of a verse I have loaded at the same time. I find it amazing that the different versions of Scripture translate a Greek or Hebrew word into so many different birds. When I do my articles, I write from an educational mode, an instructional mode and a spiritual mode.

Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. (2 Timothy 2:15 KJV)

Here is an example of what my “Compare” looks like with all the different versions I have loaded. I have some which I can’t even read, some are in Spanish, and I have the Latin Vulgate in here because many of the bird species use Latin in their names and I try to see if that will give me a clue as to which bird is intended.

Long-eared Owl (Asio otus) by Daves BirdingPix

Leviticus 11:17

(ACV) and the little owl, and the cormorant, and the great owl,

(ABP+) AndG2532 long-eared owl,G3563.3 andG2532 cormorant,G2674.1 andG2532 ibis,G2395.1

(ABP-G+) καιG2532 νυκτικορακαG3563.3 καιG2532 καταρρακτηνG2674.1 καιG2532 ιβινG2395.1

(AKJV) And the little owl, and the cormorant, and the great owl,

(AMP) The owl, the cormorant, the ibis,

(ASV) and the little owl, and the cormorant, and the great owl,

(BBE) And the little owl and the cormorant and the great owl;

(Bishops) The Falcon, the Cormorant, the great Owle,

(Brenton) and the night-raven and the cormorant and the stork,

(CEV) (SEE 11:13)

(CJB) the little owl, the cormorant, the great owl,

(Darby) and the owl, and the gannet, and the ibis,

(DRB) The screech owl, and the cormorant, and the ibis.

(ERV) owls, cormorants, great owls,

(ESV) the little owl, the cormorant, the short-eared owl,

(Geneva) The litle owle also, and the connorant, and the great owle.

(GNB) (SEE 11:13)

(GW) little owls, cormorants, great owls,

(HCSB) the little owl, the cormorant, the long-eared owl,

(HOT+) ואתH853 הכוסH3563 ואתH853 השׁלךH7994 ואתH853 הינשׁוף׃H3244

(ISV) owl, cormorant, ibis,

(JPS) and the little owl, and the cormorant, and the great owl;

(KJV) And the little owl, and the cormorant, and the great owl,

(KJV+) And the little owl,H3563 and the cormorant,H7994 and the great owl,H3244

(KJV-1611) And the little Owle, and the Cormorant, and the great Owle,

(KJVA) And the little owl, and the cormorant, and the great owl,

(LBLA) el búho, el somormujo, el búho real,

(LITV) and the little owl, and the cormorant, and the eared owl;

(LXX+) καιG2532 CONJ νυκτικορακαN-ASM καιG2532 CONJ καταρρακτηνN-ASM καιG2532 CONJ ιβινN-ASF

(MKJV) and the little owl, and the cormorant, and the eared owl;

(MSG) owl, cormorant, ibis,

(NAS77) and the little owl and the cormorant and the great owl,

(NASB) and the little owl and the cormorant and the great owl,

(NASB+) and the littleH3563b owlH3563b and the cormorantH7994 and the N1greatH3244 owlH3244,

(NBLH) el búho, el somormujo, el búho real,

(NIrV) “‘They include little owls, cormorants and great owls.

(NIV) the little owl, the cormorant, the great owl,

(NKJV) the little owl, the fisher owl, and the screech owl;

(NRSV) the little owl, the cormorant, the great owl,

(NRSVA) the little owl, the cormorant, the great owl,

(RV) and the little owl, and the cormorant, and the great owl;

(SRV) Y el buho, y el somormujo, y el ibis,

(Translit+) . . kowcH3563 kowcH3563 . . shalakH7994 . . yanshuwphH3244 yanshuwphH3244

(Vulgate) bubonem et mergulum et ibin

(Webster) And the little owl, and the cormorant, and the great owl,

(YLT) and the little owl, and the cormorant, and the great owl,

________________________

White Pelican at Lake Hollingsworth by Dan

Or the next verse:

Leviticus 11:18

(ACV) and the horned owl, and the pelican, and the vulture,

(ABP+) andG2532 the purple-legged stork,G4209.2 andG2532 pelican,G3989.2 andG2532 swan,G2945.2

(ABP-G+) καιG2532 πορφυριωναG4209.2 καιG2532 πελεκαναG3989.2 καιG2532 κυκνονG2945.2

(AKJV) And the swan, and the pelican, and the gier eagle,

(AMP) The swan, the pelican, the vulture,

(ASV) and the horned owl, and the pelican, and the vulture,

(BBE) And the water-hen and the pelican and the vulture;

(Bishops) The Backe, the Pellicane, the Pye,

(Brenton) and the red-bill, and the pelican, and swan,

(CEV) (SEE 11:13)

(CJB) the horned owl, the pelican, the barn owl,

(Darby) and the swan, and the pelican, and the carrion vulture,

(DRB) And the swan, and the bittern, and the porphyrion.

(ERV) water hens, pelicans, carrion vultures,

(ESV) the barn owl, the tawny owl, the carrion vulture,

(Geneva) Also the redshanke and the pelicane, and the swanne:

(GNB) (SEE 11:13)

(GW) barn owls, pelicans, ospreys,

(HCSB) the white owl, the desert owl, the osprey,

(HOT+) ואתH853 התנשׁמתH8580 ואתH853 הקאתH6893 ואתH853 הרחם׃H7360

(ISV) water-hen, pelican, carrion,

(JPS) and the horned owl, and the pelican, and the carrion-vulture;

(KJV) And the swan, and the pelican, and the gier eagle,

(KJV+) And the swan,H8580 and the pelican,H6893 and the gier eagle,H7360

(KJV-1611) And the Swanne, and the Pellicane, and the Gier-eagle,

(KJVA) And the swan, and the pelican, and the gier eagle,

(LBLA) la lechuza blanca, el pelícano, el buitre común,

(LITV) and the barn owl, and the pelican and the owl-vulture;

(LXX+) καιG2532 CONJ πορφυριωναN-ASM καιG2532 CONJ πελεκαναN-ASM καιG2532 CONJ κυκνονN-ASM

(MKJV) and the barn owl, and the pelican, and the owl-vulture;

(MSG) water hen, pelican, Egyptian vulture,

(NAS77) and the white owl and the pelican and the carrion vulture,

(NASB) and the white owl and the pelican and the carrion vulture,

(NASB+) and the whiteH8580 owlH8580 and the N1pelicanH6893 and the carrionH7360 vultureH7360,

(NBLH) la lechuza blanca, el pelícano, el buitre común,

(NIrV) They include white owls, desert owls and ospreys.

(NIV) the white owl, the desert owl, the osprey,

(NKJV) the white owl, the jackdaw, and the carrion vulture;

(NRSV) the water hen, the desert owl, the carrion vulture,

(NRSVA) the water hen, the desert owl, the carrion vulture,

(RV) and the horned owl, and the pelican, and the vulture;

(SRV) Y el calamón, y el cisne, y el onocrótalo,

(Translit+) . . tanshemethH8580 . . qa’athH6893 . . rachamH7360 rachamH7360

(Vulgate) cycnum et onocrotalum et porphirionem

(Webster) And the swan, and the pelican, and the gier-eagle,

(YLT) and the swan, and the pelican, and the gier eagle,

Updating the Slideshows – Report # 3

February 27, 2012 by Lee

As previously reported, the Slide.Com is closing down as of March 6th. Unfortunately I have used a lot of the Slideshows from them on this site. I am busy kicking up dust behind the scenes and decided to share links to the articles as I get some of them finished. At least you will know I have not been “goofing off.” Besides that, many of these were produced sometime back and deserve a reminder of our many birds the Lord has created for His Glory and pleasure. Trust you like the new Slideshows that are being installed. They are taking a great effort on my part to learn the new procedure, but after quite a few mistakes, maybe I can get them out quicker now.

The works of the LORD are great, sought out of all them that have pleasure therein.(Psalms 111:2 KJV) Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself: (Ephesians 1:9 KJV) For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. (Philippians 2:13 KJV) Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore. (Psalms 16:11 KJV)

Thanks for your patience and your visits to this website. While I am working away, I am enjoying seeing articles that I had forgotten about. Completed:

Baby Common Moorhen

Birdwatching Trip – Lake Hollingsworth 7-29-08

Anhinga (Anhinga anhinga) by Dan

Birdwatching Trip – Lake Hollingsworth 5/1/08

Roseate Spoonbills at Ding Darling

Birdwatching Trip – J. N. “Ding” Darling NWR – July 15, 2008

"Skippy" - Black-necked Stilt

Happy Birthday – Skippy at National Aviary

Birdwatching at the National Aviary – Introduction

National Aviary – Hospital, Breeding, and Kitchen Areas

National Aviary – Penguin Encounter

Birds of the Bible – At the National Aviary

Birdwatching the National Aviary – Grasslands

Birdwatching the National Aviary – Tropical Forest

Also:

Scarlet Robin (Petroica boodang) by Ian

Birds of the Bible – Eye Hath Seen

Birdwatching at Lake Hollingsworth-June 1st

Birds of the Bible – Spain

Formed By Him – Birds of Peru and Chile – II

Also See:

Updating the Slideshows – Report # 1

Updating the Slideshows – Report # 2

Birds Vol 1 #2 – The American Red Bird

February 26, 2012 by Lee

Red Bird – Northern Cardinal for Birds Illustrated

Birds Illustrated by Color Photography – Revisited

Vol 1. February, 1897 No. 2

THE AMERICAN RED BIRD.

MERICAN RED BIRDS are among our most common cage birds, and are very generally known in Europe, numbers of them having been carried over both to France and England. Their notes are varied and musical; many of them resembling the high notes of a fife, and are nearly as loud. They are in song from March to September, beginning at the first appearance of dawn and repeating successively twenty or thirty times, and with little intermission, a favorite strain.

The sprightly figure and gaudy plumage of the Red Bird, his vivacity, strength of voice, and actual variety of note, and the little expense with which he is kept, will always make him a favorite.

This species is more numerous to the east of the great range of the Alleghenies, but is found in Pennsylvania and Ohio, and is numerous in the lower parts of the Southern States. In January and February they have been found along the roadsides and fences, hovering together in half dozens, associating with snow birds, and various kinds of sparrows. In the northern states they are migratory, and in the southern part of Pennsylvania they reside during the whole year, frequenting the borders of rivulets, in sheltered hollows, covered with holly, laurel, and other evergreens. They love also to reside in the vicinity of fields of Indian corn, a grain that constitutes their chief and favorite food. The seeds of apples, cherries, and other fruit are also eaten by them, and they are accused of destroying bees.

Early in May the Red Bird begins to prepare his nest, which is very often fixed in a holly, cedar or laurel bush. A pair of Red Birds in Ohio returned for a number of years to build their nest in a honeysuckle vine under a portico. They were never disturbed and never failed to rear a brood of young. The nest was constructed of small twigs, dry weeds, slips of vine bark, and lined with stalks of fine grass. Four eggs of brownish olive were laid, and they usually raised two broods in a season.

In confinement they fade in color, but if well cared for, will live to a considerable age. They are generally known by the names: Red Bird, Virginia Red Bird, Virginia Nightingale, and Crested Red Bird. It is said that the female often sings nearly as well as the male.

THE REDBIRDS.

Two Redbirds came in early May,
Flashing like rubies on the way;
Their joyous notes awoke the day,
And made all nature glad and gay.

Thrice welcome! crested visitants;
Thou doest well to seek our haunts;
The bounteous vine, by thee possessed,
From prying eyes shall keep thy nest.

Sing to us in the early dawn;
’Tis then thy scarlet throats have drawn
Refreshing draughts from drops of dew,
The enchanting concert to renew.

No plaintive notes, we ween, are thine;
They gurgle like a royal wine;
They cheer, rejoice, they quite outshine
Thy neighbor’s voice, tho’ it’s divine.

Free as the circumambient air
Do thou remain, a perfect pair,
To come once more when Proserpine
Shall swell the buds of tree and vine.
—C. C. M.

Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) by Aestheticphotos

THE RED BIRD.

Is it because he wears a red hat,
That we call him the Cardinal Bird?
Or is it because his voice is so rich
That scarcely a finer is heard?

’Tis neither, but this—I’ve guessed it, I’m sure—
His dress is a primary color of Nature.
It blends with the Oriole’s golden display,
And the garment of Blue Bird completes the array.
—C. C. M.

Lee’s Addition:

Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. (Isaiah 1:18 KJV)

I hadn’t realized that back in 1897 that they carried the Cardinal or Red Bird overseas to be in cages. I suppose it is no different than those here, even today, cage birds from other countries. Personally, I think they should all be free, other than places like zoos where they are breeding them to help preserve endangered species. Even those young should be released once their numbers improve.

The Northern Cardinal is a favorite for most of us probably because they are seen in so many areas of our country. We had a pair stop by for a visit to the feeders within the last week. One chilly morning, the male sat out there and looked twice as large as normal. He was fluffed up trying to stay warm. Their song is quite known and we can hear them singing and identify them by there different songs and calls.

(Audio from xeno-canto.org)

The Northern Cardinal is one of three birds in the genus Cardinalis and is included in the family Cardinalidae, which is made up of passerine birds found in North and South America.

The Northern Cardinal was one of the many species originally described by Linnaeus in his 18th century work, Systema Naturae. It was initially included in the genus Loxia, which now contains only crossbills. In 1838, it was placed in the genus Cardinalis and given the scientific name Cardinalis virginianus, which means “Virginia Cardinal”. In 1918, the scientific name was changed to Richmondena cardinalis to honor Charles Wallace Richmond, an American ornithologist. In 1983, the scientific name was changed again to Cardinalis cardinalis and the common name was changed to “Northern Cardinal”, to avoid confusion with the seven other species also termed cardinals.

The common name, as well as the scientific name, of the Northern Cardinal refers to the cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church, who wear distinctive red robes and caps. The term “Northern” in the common name refers to its range, as it is the northernmost cardinal species.

The Northern Cardinal is a mid-sized songbird with a body length of 20–23 cm (7.9–9.1 in) and a wingspan of 25–31 cm (9.8–12 in). It weighs about 45 g (1.6 oz). The male is slightly larger than the female. The male is a brilliant crimson red with a black face mask over the eyes, extending to the upper chest. The color is dullest on the back and wings. The female is fawn, with mostly grayish-brown tones and a slight reddish tint on the wings, the crest, and the tail feathers. The face mask of the female is gray to black and is less defined than that of the male. Both sexes possess prominent raised crests and bright coral-colored beaks. The beak is cone-shaped and strong.

Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) Female ©WikiC

The Northern Cardinal is found in residential areas throughout its range. Backyard birders attract it using feeders containing seeds, particularly sunflower seeds and safflower seeds. Although some controversy surrounds bird feeding, an increase in backyard feeding by humans has generally been beneficial to this species. It has an estimated global range of 5,800,000 square kilometers (2,239,392.5 sq mi) and a global population estimated to be about 100,000,000 individuals. Populations appear to remain stable. It was once prized as a pet due to its bright color and distinctive song. In the United States, this species receives special legal protection under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918, which also banned their sale as cage birds. It is also protected by the Convention for the Protection of Migratory Birds in Canada. It is illegal to take, kill, or possess Northern Cardinals, and violation of the law is punishable by a fine of up to 15,000 US dollars and imprisonment of up to six months.

In the United States, the Northern Cardinal is the mascot of a number of athletic teams. In professional sports, it is the mascot of the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball’s National League and the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League. In college athletics, it is the mascot of many schools, including the University of Louisville, the State University of New York at Plattsburgh, Ball State University, Illinois State University, Lamar University, the Catholic University of America, Wesleyan University, Wheeling Jesuit University, Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, North Idaho College and Saint John Fisher College. It is also the state bird of seven states, more than any other species: North Carolina, West Virginia, Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, and Virginia. It was also a candidate to become the state bird of Delaware, but lost to the Blue Hen of Delaware.

Birds Illustrated by Color Photograhy Vol 1 February 1897 No 2 – Cover

Birds Illustrated by Color Photography – Revisited – Introduction

The above article is the first article in the monthly serial for February 1897 “designed to promote Knowledge of Bird-Live.” These include Color Photography, as they call them, today they are drawings. There are at least three Volumes that have been digitized by Project Gutenberg.

To see the whole series of – Birds Illustrated by Color Photography – Revisited

(Information from Wikipedia and other internet sources)

Next Article – Little Boy Blue – The Blue Bird

Previous Article – Blue Mountain Lory (Rainbow Lorikeet)

Wordless Birds

Links:

Cardinalidae – Grosbeaks, Saltators & Allies

Northern Cardinal (Wikipedia)

Birds of the Bible – Hawks

February 25, 2012 by Lee

Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) Brevard Zoo by Lee

“Does the hawk fly by your wisdom, And spread its wings toward the south? (Job 39:26 NKJV)

In Birds of the Bible – Hawk Migration we covered Job 38:1-3 which talks about birds knowing when to head South. After taking nice pictures of the Red-shouldered and Red-tailed Hawks at the Brevard Zoo, I decided to do another Birds of the Bible about Hawks. Just discovered that I never really did an initial one on Hawks like I did for the other Birds of the Bible articles.

According to the King James Version of Scripture, the other two verses with hawk in them are:

the ostrich, the short-eared owl, the sea gull, and the hawk after its kind; (Leviticus 11:16 NKJV)

and

the ostrich, the short-eared owl, the sea gull, and the hawk after their kinds; (Deuteronomy 14:15 NKJV)

Both of these references to the Hawk are in the list of unclean birds the Israelites were not suppose to eat. The list of Clean and Unclean birds were covered in Birds of the Bible – Clean vs. Unclean, Birds of the Bible – The Law Of The Birds and Deuteronomy 14:11-18 Visualized.

The CEV (Contemporary English Version) combines all of the birds together in one verse in Leviticus and then again in Deuteronomy.

Eagles, vultures, buzzards, crows, ostriches, hawks, sea gulls, owls, pelicans, storks, herons, hoopoes, and bats are also disgusting, and you are forbidden to eat any of them. (Leviticus 11:13 CEV)

But don’t eat the meat of any of the following birds: eagles, vultures, falcons, kites, ravens, ostriches, owls, sea gulls, hawks, pelicans, ospreys, cormorants, storks, herons, and hoopoes. You must not eat bats. (Deuteronomy 14:12 CEV)

The GNB (Good News Bible) does basically the same with Leviticus and Deuteronomy:

You must not eat any of the following birds: eagles, owls, hawks, falcons; buzzards, vultures, crows; ostriches; seagulls, storks, herons, pelicans, cormorants; hoopoes; or bats. (Leviticus 11:13 GNB)

But these are the kinds of birds you are not to eat: eagles, owls, hawks, falcons; buzzards, vultures, crows; ostriches; seagulls, storks, herons, pelicans, cormorants; hoopoes; and bats. (Deuteronomy 14:12 GNB)

Red-shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus) Brevard Zoo by Lee

Let’s see what other references to the Hawk can be found in other version of the Bible.

Job 28:7 talks about the vulture’s or hawk’s eye and it’s vision. The KJV and some of the others translate Job 28:7 with a “vulture’s eye”, where as the BBE, CEV, GNB, MSG, translate it as the “hawk’s eye” or the hawk. Yet others translate it as a falcon or kite.

No bird has knowledge of it, and the hawk’s eye has never seen it. (Job 28:7 BBE)

Miners go to places unseen by the eyes of hawks; (Job 28:7 CEV)

No hawk sees the roads to the mines, And no vulture ever flies over them. (Job 28:7 GNB)

Vultures are blind to its riches, hawks never lay eyes on it. (Job 28:7 MSG)

J Vernon McGee says this about the verse – “The birds fly over the earth and its mountains. There are veins of minerals down in the earth that the birds fly over and know nothing about, neither can the vulture see them. There must be precious stones and veins of riches and wealth which are completely unknown and untapped.”

Adam Clarke’s Commentary -“There is a path which no fowl knoweth – The instinct of birds is most surprising. They traverse vast forests, etc., in search of food, at a great distance from the place which they have chosen for their general residence; and return in all weathers, never missing their track: they also find their own nest without ever mistaking another of the same kind for it. Birds of passage, also, after tarrying in a foreign clime for six or seven months, return to their original abode over kingdoms and oceans, without missing their way, or deviating in the least from the proper direction; not having a single object of sight to direct their peregrinations. In such cases even the keen scent of the vulture, and the quick, piercing sight of the eagle, would be of no use. It is possible that Job may here refer to undiscovered mines and minerals; that notwithstanding man had already discovered much, yet much remained undiscovered, especially in the internal structure and contents of the earth. Since his time innumerable discoveries have been made; and yet how little do we know!”
____

The only Bible to translate Psalms 74:19 as a “hawk” is the BBE, while most of the rest make it “wild beast” or “wild animal”.

O give not the soul of your dove to the hawk; let not the life of the poor go out of your memory for ever. (Psalms 74:19 BBE)

____

The DRB (Douay-Reimes Bible) totally misinterprets this verse in my opinion. Check out other translations and you will see the difference.

The wing of the ostrich is like the wings of the heron, and of the hawk. (Job 39:13 DRB)

Sharp-shinned Hawk (Accipiter striatus) ©BirdwatchingBliss

Isaiah has several verses mentioning the hawk. Isaiah 34 talks about a gathering of birds and these verses mention the hawk:

Owls, hawks, and wild animals will make it their home. God will leave it in ruins, merely a pile of rocks. (Isaiah 34:11 CEV)

Horned owl and hawk will possess it, screech owl and raven will live there; he will stretch over it the measuring line of confusion and the plumbline of the empty void. (Isaiah 34:11 CJB)

But the hawk and the porcupine shall possess it, the owl and the raven shall dwell in it. He shall stretch the line of confusion over it, and the plumb line of emptiness. (Isaiah 34:11 ESV)

The arrowsnake will make her hole and put her eggs there, and get her young together under her shade: there the hawks will come together by twos. (Isaiah 34:15 BBE)

There the owl nests and lays and hatches and gathers her young in her shadow; indeed, there the hawks are gathered, each one with her mate. (Isaiah 34:15 ESV)

The tree snake will make its nest and lay eggs there, And it will hatch and gather them under its protection. Yes, the hawks will be gathered there, Every one with its kind. (Isaiah 34:15 NASB)

The tree snake shall make its nest and lay eggs there, And it will hatch and gather them under its protection. Yes, the hawks shall be gathered there, Every one with its kind. (Isaiah 34:15 NAS77)

There the arrow snake shall make her nest and lay eggs And hatch, and gather them under her shadow; There also shall the hawks be gathered, Every one with her mate. (Isaiah 34:15 NKJV)

Cooper’s Hawk Wild at Lowry Pk Zoo

Isaiah again in Chapter 46 verse 11 has been translated by some to contain a hawk:

and brought someone from a distant land to do what I wanted. He attacked from the east, like a hawk swooping down. Now I will keep my promise and do what I planned. (Isaiah 46:11 CEV)

I am calling a man to come from the east; he will swoop down like a hawk and accomplish what I have planned. I have spoken, and it will be done. (Isaiah 46:11 GNB)

____

Here are just various verses that mention hawks:

My people are like a hawk surrounded and attacked by other hawks. Tell the wild animals to come and eat their fill. (Jeremiah 12:9 CEV)

My chosen people are like a bird attacked from all sides by hawks. Call the wild animals to come and join in the feast! (Jeremiah 12:9 GNB)

It happened at once. Nebuchadnezzar was driven out of human company, ate grass like an ox, and was soaked in heaven’s dew. His hair grew like the feathers of an eagle and his nails like the claws of a hawk. (Daniel 4:33 MSG)

___

Then there are a couple of verse that use “hawk” not as a bird “per se,” but a verb:

They don’t seem to realize that this comprehensive setting-things-right that is salvation is God’s business, and a most flourishing business it is. Right across the street they set up their own salvation shops and noisily hawk their wares. After all these years of refusing to really deal with God on his terms, insisting instead on making their own deals, they have nothing to show for it. (Romans 10:3 MSG)

For we are not as many, hawking the Word of God; but as of sincerity, but as of God, we speak in Christ in the sight of God. (2 Corinthians 2:17 MKJV)

Hawks are in the Accipitridae Family of Kites, Hawks & Eagles and can be read about in the Birds of the Bible – Hawk section.

The term hawk can be used in several ways: (from Wikipedia)

In strict usage in Australia and Africa, to mean any of the species in the subfamily Accipitrinae, which comprises the genera Accipiter, Micronisus, Melierax, Urotriorchis and Megatriorchis. The large and widespread Accipiter genus includes goshawks, sparrowhawks, the Sharp-shinned Hawk and others. These are mainly woodland birds with long tails and high visual acuity, hunting by sudden dashes from a concealed perch.
More generally (especially in North America) to mean falcons or small to medium-sized members of the Accipitridae—the family which includes the “true hawks” as well as eagles, kites, harriers and buzzards.
Loosely, to mean almost any bird of prey outside of the order Strigiformes (owls).

The common names of birds in various parts of the world often use hawk in the second sense. For example, the Osprey or “fish hawk”; or, in North America, the various Buteo species (e.g., the Red-tailed Hawk, B. jamaicensis).

In February 2005, the Canadian ornithologist Louis Lefebvre announced a method of measuring avian “IQ” in terms of their innovation in feeding habits. Hawks were named among the most intelligent birds based on his scale. Hawks are widely reputed to have visual acuity several times that of a normal human being. This is due to the many photoreceptors in the retina (up to 1,000,000 per square mm for Buteo, against 200,000 for humans), an exceptional number of nerves connecting these receptors to the brain, and an indented fovea, which magnifies the central portion of the visual field.

Birds Vol 1 #2 – The Blue Mountain Lory – Rainbow Lorikeet

February 23, 2012 by Lee

Blue Mountain Lory

BLUE MOUNTAIN LORY.

HIS bird inhabits the vast plains of the interior of New South Wales. It is one of the handsomest, not only of the Australian Parrots, but takes foremost place among the most gorgeously dressed members of the Parrot family that are to be met with in any part of the world. It is about eleven or twelve inches in length. The female cannot with certainty be distinguished from her mate, but is usually a very little smaller. The Lory seldom descends to the ground, but passes the greater part of its life among the gum trees upon the pollen and nectar on which it mainly subsists. In times of scarcity, however, it will also eat grass seeds, as well as insects, for want of which it is said, it often dies prematurely when in captivity.

Dr. Russ mentions that a pair obtained from a London dealer in 1870 for fifty dollars were the first of these birds imported, but the London Zoological Society had secured some of them two years before.

Despite his beauty, the Blue Mountain Lory is not a desirable bird to keep, as he requires great care. A female which survived six years in an aviary, laying several eggs, though kept singly, was fed on canary seed, maize, a little sugar, raw beef and carrots. W. Gedney seems to have been peculiarly happy in his specimens, remarking, “But for the terribly sudden death which so often overtakes these birds, they would be the most charming feathered pets that a lady could possess, having neither the power nor inclination to bite savagely.” The same writer’s recommendation to feed this Lory exclusively upon soft food, in which honey forms a great part, probably accounts for his advice to those “whose susceptible natures would be shocked” by the sudden death of their favorite, not to become the owner of a Blue Mountain Lory.

Like all the parrot family these Lories breed in hollow boughs, where the female deposits from three to four white eggs, upon which she sits for twenty-one days. The young from the first resemble their parents closely, but are a trifle less brilliantly colored.

They are very active and graceful, but have an abominable shriek. The noise is said to be nearly as disagreeable as the plumage is beautiful. They are very quarrelsome and have to be kept apart from the other parrots, which they will kill. Other species of birds however, are not disturbed by them. It is a sort of family animosity. They have been bred in captivity.

The feathers of the head and neck are long and very narrow and lie closely together; the claws are strong and hooked, indicating their tree climbing habits. Their incessant activity and amusing ways make these birds always interesting to watch.

Birds Illustrated by Color Photography – Revisited

Vol 1. February, 1897 No. 2

Rainbow Lorikeet (Trichoglossus moluccanus) by Ian

Lee’s Addition:

Rainbow Lorikeet is what the Blue Mountain Lory is known as today. Actually, it is probably the subspecies “Swainson’s Lorikeet.” It is confusing at times with the Rainbow’s. Many of the Zoos give them various names.

Lories and lorikeets (tribe Lorini) are small to medium-sized arboreal parrots characterized by their specialized brush-tipped tongues for feeding on nectar of various blossoms and soft fruits, preferably berries. The species form a monophyletic group within the parrot family Psittaculidae. Traditionally, they were considered a separate subfamily (Loriinae) from the other subfamily (Psittacinae) based on the specialized characteristics, but recent molecular and morphological studies show that the group is positioned in the middle of various other groups. They are widely distributed throughout the Australasian region, including south-eastern Asia, Polynesia, Papua New Guinea, Timor Leste and Australia, and the majority have very brightly coloured plumage.

The usage of the terms “lory” and “lorikeet” is subjective, like the usage of “parrot” and “parakeet”. Species with longer tapering tails are generally referred to as “lorikeets”, while species with short blunt tails are generally referred to as “lories” (Wikipedia)

Rainbow Lorikeet (Trichoglossus moluccanus) WikiC

Rainbow Lorikeet (Trichoglossus moluccanus) also known as Swainson’s ©WikiC

Looking at these beautiful birds, by whatever name it is called, one can’t help but remember the Promise the LORD made to all his created creatures. He promised never to destroy the whole earth again with a worldwide flood and to remind Him and us of that promise, He gave us the rainbow.

It shall be, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the rainbow shall be seen in the cloud; and I will remember My covenant which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. The rainbow shall be in the cloud, and I will look on it to remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.” And God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant which I have established between Me and all flesh that is on the earth.” (Genesis 9:14-17 NKJV)

Rainbow (aka Swainson’s) Lorikeet by Lee at Lowry Pk Zoo

Birds Illustrated by Color Photograhy Vol 1 February 1897 No 2 – Cover

Birds Illustrated by Color Photography – Revisited – Introduction

To see the whole series of – Birds Illustrated by Color Photography – Revisited

(Information from Wikipedia and other internet sources)

Next Article – The American Red Bird

Previous Article – The Red Wing Black Bird – The Bird Of Society

ABC’s of the Gospel

Links:

Blue Mountain Lory

Swainson’s Blue Mountain, Swainson’s Blue Mt. Lorikeet, Swainson’s Lory, Blue Mountain Lories – Avian Web

Rainbow Lorikeet – Wikipedia

Birds Vol 1 #2 – The Red-Wing Black Bird

February 23, 2012 by Lee

Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) – Birds Illustrated

Birds Illustrated by Color Photography – Revisited

Vol 1. February, 1897 No. 2

THE RED WING BLACK BIRD – THE BIRD OF SOCIETY

THE BLACKBIRD.

“I could not think so plain a bird
Could sing so fine a song.”

One on another against the wall
Pile up the books—I am done with them all;
I shall be wise, if I ever am wise,
Out of my own ears, and of my own eyes.

One day of the woods and their balmy light—
One hour on the top of a breezy hill,
There in the sassafras all out of sight
The Blackbird is splitting his slender bill
For the ease of his heart:
Do you think if he said
“I will sing like this bird with the mud colored back
And the two little spots of gold over his eyes,
Or like to this shy little creature that flies
So low to the ground, with the amethyst rings
About her small throat—all alive when she sings
With a glitter of shivering green—for the rest,
Gray shading to gray, with the sheen of her breast
Half rose and half fawn—
Or like this one so proud,
That flutters so restless, and cries out so loud,
With stiff horny beak and a top-knotted head,
And a lining of scarlet laid under his wings—”
Do you think, if he said, “I’m ashamed to be black!”
That he could have shaken the sassafras-tree
As he does with the song he was born to? not he!
—Alice Cary.

“Do you ne’er think what wondrous beings these?
Do you ne’er think who made them—who taught
The dialect they speak, where melodies
Alone are the interpreters of thought?
Whose household words are songs in many keys,
Sweeter than instrument of man ere caught!
Whose habitation in the tree-tops even
Are half-way houses on the road to heaven!

* * * * * * *

“You call them thieves or pillagers; but know,
They are the winged wardens of your farms,
Who from the cornfields drive the insidious foe,
And from your harvest keep a hundred harms;
Even the blackest of them all, the crow,
Renders good service as your man-at-arms,
Crushing the beetle in his coat of mail,
And crying havoc on the slug and snail.”
—From “The Birds of Killingworth.”

Red-winged Blackbird at S. Lake Howard Nature Pk. by Lee

The blackbirds make the maples ring
With social cheer and jubilee;
The redwing flutes his o-ka-lee.—Emerson.

HE much abused and persecuted Red Wing Black Bird is found throughout North America, from the Atlantic to the Pacific; and it breeds more or less abundantly wherever found. In New England it is generally migratory, though instances are on record where a few have been known to remain throughout the winter in Massachusetts. Passing, in January, through the lower counties of Virginia, one frequently witnesses the aerial evolutions of great numbers of these birds. Sometimes they appear as if driven about like an enormous black cloud carried before the wind, varying every moment in shape. Sometimes they rise suddenly from the fields with a noise like thunder, while the glittering of innumerable wings of the brightest vermillion, amid the black cloud, occasion a very striking effect. At times the whole congregated multitude will suddenly alight in some detached grove and commence one general concert, that can plainly be distinguished at the distance of more than two miles. With the Redwings the whole winter season seems one continued carnival. They find abundant food in the old fields of rice, buckwheat and grain, and much of their time is spent in aerial movements, or in grand vocal performances.

The Redwings, for their nest, always select either the borders of streams or low marshy situations, amongst thick bunches of reeds. One nest was found built on a slender sapling at the distance of fourteen feet from the ground. The nest was pensile, like that of the Baltimore Oriole.

They have from one to three or more broods in a season, according to locality.

In the grain growing states they gather in immense swarms and commit havoc, and although they are shot in great numbers, and though their ranks are thinned by the attacks of hawks, it seems to have but little effect upon the survivors.

On the other hand, these Black Birds more than compensate the farmer for their mischief by the benefit they confer in the destruction of grub worms, caterpillars, and various kinds of larvae, the secret and deadly enemies of vegetation. It has been estimated the number of insects destroyed by these birds in a single season, in the United States, to be twelve thousand millions.

The eggs average about an inch in length. They are oval in shape, have a light bluish ground, and are marbled, lined and blotched with markings of light and dark purple and black.

BLACKBIRD.

’Tis a woodland enchanted!
By no sadder spirit
Than blackbirds and thrushes,
That whistle to cheer it
All day in the bushes,
This woodland is haunted;
And in a small clearing,
Beyond sight or hearing
Of human annoyance,
The little fount gushes.—Lowell.

THE BIRD OF SOCIETY.

The blackbird loves to be one of a great flock. He talks, sings or scolds from morning until night. He cannot keep still. He will only stay alone with his family a few months in the summer. That is the reason he is called the “Bird of Society.” When he is merry, he gaily sings, “Conk-quer-ree.” When he is angry or frightened he screams, “Chock! Chock!” When he is flying or bathing he gives a sweet note which sounds like ee-u-u. He can chirp—chick, check, chuck, to his little ones as softly as any other bird. But only his best friends ever hear his sweetest tones, for the Blackbirds do not know how to be polite. They all talk at once. That is why most people think they only scream and chatter. Did you ever hear the blackbirds in the cornfields? If the farmers thought about it perhaps they would feel that part of every corn crop belongs to the Blackbirds. When the corn is young, the farmer cannot see the grubs which are eating the young plants. The Blackbirds can. They feed them to their babies—many thousands in a day. That is the way the crops are saved for the farmer. But he never thinks of that. Later when the Blackbirds come for their share of the corn the farmer says, “No, they shall not have my corn. I must stop that quickly.” Perhaps the Blackbirds said the same thing to the grubs in the spring. It is hard to have justice for everyone.

In April the Blackbird and his mate leave the noisy company. They seek a cosy home near the water where they can be quiet until August. They usually choose a swampy place among low shrubs and rushes. Here in the deep nest of coarse grass, moss and mud the mother bird lays her five eggs. They are very pretty—light blue with purple and black markings. Their friends say this is the best time to watch the blackbirds. In the flock they are all so much alike we cannot tell one from another. You would like to hear of some of the wise things Blackbirds do when they are tame.

One friend of the birds turned her home into a great open bird cage. Her chair was the favorite perch of her birds. She never kept them one minute longer than they wanted to stay. Yet her home was always full. This was Olive Thorne Miller. If you care to, you might ask mother to get “Bird Ways” and read you what she says about this “bird of society” and the other birds of this book.

Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) female by Ian

Lee’s Addition:

I combined the Blackbird and the Red Wing Blackbird together. The poems and some of the writing, combined them and only one photo was provided.

Today this bird is called the Red-winged Blackbird and they are in the Icteridae – Oropendolas, Orioles & Blackbirds Family, which has 108 species. We are fortunate here because we see Red-winged Blackbirds quite often and even have them stop by the feeders in our yard. I can always tell when they are near because of the male’s song. It is a loud, gurgling “conk-a-reeeee” or “o-ka-leeeee” sound.

And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so. And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day. (Genesis 1:30-31 ESV)

*

Birds Illustrated by Color Photograhy Vol 1 February 1897 No 2 – Cover

Birds Illustrated by Color Photography – Revisited – Introduction

To see the whole series of – Birds Illustrated by Color Photography – Revisited

(Information from Wikipedia and other internet sources)

Next Article – Blue Mountain Lory

Previous Article –The Kingfisher – The Lone Fisherman

Wordless Birds

Links:

Red-winged Blackbirds

Eagle Away From Home

February 22, 2012 by Lee

Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) Brevard Zoo by Lee

While having devotions this morning, we read this from Comments on Here and Hereafter, by Dr. Bob Jones, Sr. (After our regular devotional we read from different books.)

“A story is told of an eagle that had its wing clipped. He was put in the barnyard with the fowls. The eagle used to walk out in the light and turn one eye to the mountain and the other eye to the sun, and he said in his eagle language, ‘This is not my home. I don’t belong here. God made me for the jagged peaks of the mountain top.’ The eagle tried to lift himself with the clipped wing, but he could not fly. Day after day while the wing was growing back to normal he looked at the mountain and he looked at the sun and said in his own eagle language, ‘I am going home some day.’ One day the eagle’s wing was strong. He tried his wings and found he could lift himself. He said, ‘Good-by, I am going home. God didn’t make me for this place. He made me for a mountain top.’ God didn’t make man for the dread sordidness of the commonplace and the monotony of every-day life. The soul of man has wings. But sin has made these wings helpless. Christ can restore us and make strong these wings of the soul so man can fly high enough to have fellowship with the infinite God.”

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. (John 3:16-17 KJV)

Birds Vol 1 #2 – The Kingfisher – The Lone Fisherman

February 20, 2012 by Lee

Kingfisher – Birds Illustrated by Photography 1897

Birds Illustrated by Color Photography – Revisited

Vol 1. February, 1897 No. 2

THE KINGFISHER.

Dear Children:

I shall soon arrive from the south. I hear that all the birds are going to tell stories to the boys and girls.

I have never talked much with children myself for I never really cared for people. They used to say that the dead body of a Kingfisher kept them safe in war and they said also that it protected them in lightning.

Even now in some places in France they call us the moth birds, for they believe that our bodies will keep away moths from woolen cloth.

I wish that people would not believe such things about us. Perhaps you cannot understand me when I talk. You may think that you hear only a child’s rattle.

Listen again! It is I, the Kingfisher. That sound is my way of talking. I live in the deep woods. I own a beautiful stream and a clear, cool lake. Oh, the little fish in that lake are good enough for a king to eat! I know, for I am a king.

You may see me or some of my mates near the lake any pleasant day. People used to say that we always brought pleasant weather. That is a joke. It is the pleasant weather that always brings us from our homes. When it storms or rains we cannot see the fish in the lake. Then we may as well stay in our nests.

My home once belonged to a water rat. He dug the fine hall in the gravel bank in my stream. It is nearly six feet long. The end of it is just the kind of a place for a nest. It is warm, dry and dark. In June my wife and I will settle down in it. By that time we shall have the nest well lined with fish bones. We shall put in some dried grass too. The fish bones make a fine lining for a nest. You know we swallow the fish whole, but we save all the bones for our nest.

I shall help my wife hatch her five white eggs and shall try in every way to make my family safe.

Please tell the people not to believe those strange things about me and you will greatly oblige,
A neighbor,
The Kingfisher.

THE KINGFISHER.

The Lone Fisherman.

HE American species belongs to the true group of Kingfishers. It occupies the whole continent of North America and although migrating in the north, he is a constant resident of our southern states. The belted Kingfisher is the only variety found along the inland streams of the United States. Audubon declares that “belted” should apply only to the female, however.

Like most birds of brilliant plumage, the Kingfisher prefers a quiet and secluded haunt. It loves the little trout streams, with wooded and precipitous banks, the still ponds and small lakes, ornamental waters in parks, where it is not molested, and the sides of sluggish rivers, drains and mill-ponds.

Here in such a haunt the bird often flits past like an indistinct gleam of bluish light. Fortune may sometimes favor the observer and the bird may alight on some twig over the stream, its weight causing it to sway gently to and fro. It eagerly scans the shoal of young trout sporting in the pool below, when suddenly it drops down into the water, and, almost before the observer is aware of the fact, is back again to its perch with a struggling fish in its beak. A few blows on the branch and its prey is ready for the dexterous movement of the bill, which places it in a position for swallowing. Sometimes the captured fish is adroitly jerked into the air and caught as it falls.

Fish is the principal food of the Kingfisher; but it also eats various kinds of insects, shrimps, and even small crabs. It rears its young in a hole, which is made in the banks of the stream it frequents. It is a slatternly bird, fouls its own nest and its peerless eggs. The nesting hole is bored rather slowly, and takes from one to two weeks to complete. Six or eight white glossy eggs are laid, sometimes on the bare soil, but often on the fish bones which, being indigestible, are thrown up by the bird in pellets.

The Kingfisher has a crest of feathers on the top of his head, which he raises and lowers, especially when trying to drive intruders away from his nest.

The plumage is compact and oily, making it almost impervious to water. The flesh is fishy and disagreeable to the taste, but the eggs are said to be good eating. The wings are long and pointed and the bill longer than the head. The voice is harsh and monotonous.

It is said that few birds are connected with more fables than the Kingfisher. The superstition that a dead Kingfisher when suspended by the throat, would turn its beak to that particular point of the compass from which the wind blew, is now dead. It was also supposed to possess many astonishing virtues, as that its dried body would avert thunderbolts, and if kept in a wardrobe would preserve from moths the woolen stuffs and the like contained in it.

Under the name of “halcyon,” it was fabled by the ancients to build its nest on the surface of the sea, and to have the power of calming the troubled waves during its period of incubation; hence the phrase “halcyon days.”

A pair of Kingfishers have had their residence in a bank at the south end of Washington Park, Chicago, for at least three seasons past. We have watched the Kingfisher from secluded spots on Long Island ponds and tidal streams, where his peculiar laughing note is the same as that which greets the ear of the fisherman on far inland streams on still summer days.

Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon) by Daves BirdingPix

Lee’s Addition:

Another of my favorite birds. I think most of them are, but the Belted Kingfisher is a real challenge to photograph. They must sense that your camera is on. Dan says that many photographers call it the “Devil Bird” because it is so hard to photo. See http://jimt.zenfolio.com/p703966915 by James Thiel and another photographer at http://www.flickr.com/photos/johnklos/3049270990/.

I think of them as having a short squatty neck and a long beak. Actually the Laughing Kookaburra is in the Kingfisher family, the Kingfishers – Alcedinidae Family. The article mentioned that the Belted Kingfisher is the only one in the U. S., but there are actually two more; the Ringed and the Green Kingfishers that are found in south Texas. We have seen all three of them.

The Kingfisher – Alcedinidae family has a total of 95 members. Many of them are very colorful and again show the Lord’s Creative Hand at work. He has provided them with just the right kind of beak to snatch their meals with and even given them the ability to see their prey in the water. The distortion water gives is compensated for them.

And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers. And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. (Matthew 4:18-19 KJV)

Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon) by Lee Circle B

In January, I was able for the first time to get some photos of the Belted Kingfisher. Two of them were showing off and forgot someone was watching. They can hover over the water, keeping their head steady and watch for their prey. It is amazing to watch them do that. (Birdwatching Adventure – Circle B Bar Reserve – 1/16/12)

Birds Illustrated by Color Photograhy Vol 1 February 1897 No 2 – Cover

Birds Illustrated by Color Photography – Revisited – Introduction

To see the whole series of – Birds Illustrated by Color Photography – Revisited

(Information from Wikipedia and other internet sources)

Next Article – The Red Wing Black Bird – The Bird Of Society

Previous Article – The American Robin – The Bird Of The Morning

Wordless Birds

Links:

Birds Vol 1 #2 – The American Robin

February 18, 2012 by Lee

American Robin for Birds Illustrated by Color Photography

Birds Illustrated by Color Photography – Revisited

Vol 1. February, 1897 No. 2

THE AMERICAN ROBIN.

The Bird of the Morning.

Yes, my dear readers, I am the bird of the morning. Very few of you rise early enough to hear my first song. By the time you are awake our little ones have had their breakfast, Mrs. Robin and I have had our morning bath and we are all ready to greet you with our morning song.

I wonder if any of you have seen our nest and can tell the color of the eggs that Mrs. Robin lays. Some time I will let you peep into the nest and see them, but of course you will not touch them.

I wonder, too, if you know any of my cousins—the Mocking bird, the Cat-bird or the Brown Thrush—I think I shall ask them to have their pictures taken soon and talk to you about our happy times.

Did you ever see one of my cousins on the ground? I don’t believe you can tell how I move about. Some of you may say I run, and some of you may say I hop, and others of you may say I do both. Well, I’ll tell you how to find out. Just watch me and see. My little friends up north won’t be able to see me though until next month, as I do not dare leave the warm south until Jack Frost leaves the ground so I can find worms to eat.

I shall be about the first bird to visit you next month and I want you to watch for me. When I do come it will be to stay a long time, for I shall be the last to leave you. Just think, the first to come and last to leave. Don’t you think we ought to be great friends? Let us get better acquainted when next we meet. Your friend,
Robin.

American Robin (Turdus migratorius) Eggs and 1 hatchling ©©SenzEnina

How do the robins build their nest?
Robin Red Breast told me,
First a wisp of yellow hay
In a pretty round they lay;
Then some shreds of downy floss,
Feathers too, and bits of moss,
Woven with a sweet, sweet song,
This way, that way, and across:
That’s what Robin told me.

Where do the robins hide their nest?
Robin Red Breast told me,
Up among the leaves so deep,
Where the sunbeams rarely creep,
Long before the winds are cold,
Long before the leaves are gold
Bright-eyed stars will peep and see
Baby Robins—one, two, three:
That’s what Robin told me.

American Robin (Turdus migratorius) by Raymond Barlow

THE AMERICAN ROBIN.

“Come, sweetest of the feathered throng.”

UR American Robin must not be confounded with the English Robin Redbreast, although both bear the same name. It is the latter bird in whose praise so much has been written in fable and song. The American Robin belongs to the Thrush family; the Mocking bird, Cat-bird and Brown Thrush, or Thrasher, being other familiar children. In this family, bird organization reaches its highest development. This bird is larger than his English cousin the Redbreast and many think has a finer note than any other of the Thrush family.

The Robin courts the society of man, following close upon the plow and the spade and often becoming quite tame and domestic. It feeds for a month or two on strawberries and cherries, but generally on worms and insects picked out of the ground. It destroys the larvae of many insects in the soil and is a positive blessing to man, designed by the Creator for ornament and pleasure, and use in protecting vegetation. John Burroughs, the bird lover, says it is the most native and democratic of our birds.

It is widely diffused over the country, migrating to milder climates in the Winter. We have heard him in the early dawn on Nantucket Island welcoming the coming day, in the valleys of the Great and the little Miami, in the parks of Chicago, and on the plains of Kansas, his song ever cheering and friendly. It is one of the earliest heralds of Spring, coming as early as March or April, and is one of the latest birds to leave us in Autumn. Its song is a welcome prelude to the general concert of Summer.

“When Robin Redbreast sings,
We think on budding Springs.”

The Robin is not one of our most charming songsters, yet its carol is sweet, hearty and melodious. Its principal song is in the morning before sunrise, when it mounts the top of some tall tree, and with its wonderful power of song, announces the coming of day. When educated, it imitates the sounds of various birds, and even sings tunes. It must be amusing to hear it pipe out so solemn a strain as Old Hundred.

American Robin’s Song from xeno.canto by Mike Nelson

It has no remarkable habits. It shows considerable courage and anxiety for its young, and is a pattern of propriety when keeping house and concerned with the care of its offspring. Two broods are often reared out of the same nest. In the Fall these birds become restless and wandering, often congregating in large flocks, when, being quite fat, they are much esteemed as food.

The Robin’s nest is sometimes built in a corner of the porch, but oftener it is saddled on the horizontal limb of an orchard tree. It is so large and poorly concealed that any boy can find it, yet it is seldom molested. The Robin is not a skillful architect. The masonry of its nest is rough and the material coarse, being composed largely of leaves or old grass, cemented with mud. The eggs number four to six and are greenish blue in color.

An observer tells the following story of this domestic favorite:

“For the last three years a Robin has nested on a projecting pillar that supports the front piazza. In the Spring of the first year she built her nest on the top of the pillar—a rude affair—it was probably her first effort. The same season she made her second nest in the forks of an Oak, which took her only a few hours to complete.

“She reared three broods that season; for the third family she returned to the piazza, and repaired the first nest. The following Spring she came again to the piazza, but selected another pillar for the site of her domicile, the construction of which was a decided improvement upon the first. For the next nest she returned to the Oak and raised a second story on the old one of the previous year, but making it much more symmetrical than the one beneath. The present season her first dwelling was as before, erected on a pillar of the piazza—as fine a structure as I ever saw this species build. When this brood was fledged she again repaired to the Oak, and reared a third story on the old domicile, using the moss before mentioned, making a very elaborate affair, and finally finishing up by festooning it with long sprays of moss. This bird and her mate were quite tame. I fed them with whortleberries, which they seemed to relish, and they would come almost to my feet to get them.”

The amount of food which the young robin is capable of absorbing is enormous. A couple of vigorous, half-grown birds have been fed, and in twelve hours devoured ravenously, sixty-eight earth worms, weighing thirty-four pennyweight, or forty-one per cent more than their own weight. A man at this rate should eat about seventy pounds of flesh per day, and drink five or six gallons of water.

The following poem by the good Quaker poet Whittier is sweet because he wrote it, interesting because it recites an old legend which incidentally explains the color of the robin’s breast, and unique because it is one of the few poems about our American bird.

THE ROBIN.

My old Welsh neighbor over the way
Crept slowly out in the sun of spring,
Pushed from her ears the locks of gray,
And listened to hear the robin sing.

Her grandson, playing at marbles, stopped,
And—cruel in sport, as boys will be—
Tossed a stone at the bird, who hopped
From bough to bough in the apple tree.

“Nay!” said the grandmother; “have you not heard,
My poor, bad boy! of the fiery pit,
And how, drop by drop, this merciful bird
Carries the water that quenches it?

“He brings cool dew in his little bill,
And lets it fall on the souls of sin:
You can see the mark on his red breast still
Of fires that scorch as he drops it in.

“My poor Bron rhuddyn! my breast-burned bird,
Singing so sweetly from limb to limb,
Very dear to the heart of Our Lord
Is he who pities the lost like Him.”

“Amen!” I said to the beautiful myth;
“Sing, bird of God, in my heart as well:
Each good thought is a drop wherewith
To cool and lessen the fires of hell.

“Prayers of love like rain-drops fall,
Tears of pity are cooling dew,
And dear to the heart of Our Lord are all
Who suffer like Him in the good they do.”

Lee’s Addition:

Robins have always been special. I suppose it was one of the first birds that I knew by name. Not that I was a birdwatcher back in my youth. Wish I had started back then.

Like the article mentioned, the American Robin is actually in the Turdidae – Thrushes Family of Passerines which has 184 members. There is another family of Robins and they are in the Chats, Old World Flycatchers – Muscicapidae Family which has 297 species. Wikipedia has this to say about these Robins:

European Robin (Erithacus rubecula) by Robert Scanlon

“The European Robin (Erithacus rubecula), most commonly known in Anglophone Europe simply as the Robin, is a small insectivorous passerine bird that was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family (Turdidae), but is now considered to be an Old World flycatcher (Muscicapidae). Around 12.5–14.0 cm (5.0–5.5 in) in length, the male and female are similar in colouration, with an orange breast and face lined with grey, brown upperparts and a whitish belly. It is found across Europe, east to Western Siberia and south to North Africa; it is sedentary in most of its range except the far north.

The term Robin is also applied to some birds in other families with red or orange breasts. These include the American Robin (Turdus migratorius), which is a thrush, and the Australian red robins of the genus Petroica, members of a family whose relationships are unclear.” They are the Petroicidae – Australasian Robins Family with 46 species.

Scarlet Robin (Petroica boodang) by Ian

Hope you enjoy seeing the three different “Robin Families.” I am thankful the the Lord let at least three different continents have their very own “Robin.” He told the birds to multiply and fill up the earth. They seemed to have obeyed, were we that obedient.

Bring out with you every living thing of all flesh that is with you: birds and cattle and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, so that they may abound on the earth, and be fruitful and multiply on the earth.” So Noah went out, and his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives with him. Every animal, every creeping thing, every bird, and whatever creeps on the earth, according to their families, went out of the ark. (Genesis 8:17-19 NKJV)

Birds Illustrated by Color Photograhy Vol 1 February 1897 No 2 – Cover

Birds Illustrated by Color Photography – Revisited – Introduction

To see the whole series of – Birds Illustrated by Color Photography – Revisited

(Information from Wikipedia and other internet sources)

Next Article – The Kingfisher – The Lone Fisherman

Previous Article – King Parrot Or King Lory

ABC’s of the Gospel

Links:

An Ad:

Ads for Desk and Pens – 1897

Updating the Slideshows – Report # 2

February 17, 2012 by Lee

The works of the LORD are great, sought out of all them that have pleasure therein.(Psalms 111:2 KJV)

Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself: (Ephesians 1:9 KJV)

For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. (Philippians 2:13 KJV)

Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore. (Psalms 16:11 KJV)

Thanks for your patience and your visits to this website. While I am working away, I am enjoying seeing articles that I had forgotten about.

Completed:

Apostlebird (Struthidea cinerea) by Ian

Birds of the Bible – Names of Birds

Wood Storks in Top of Tree by Lee

Birdwatching at Circle B Bar Reserve – October

Red-legged Seriema (Cariama cristata) by Lee

Birdwatching at the Lowry Park Zoo 2/15/11

Sandhill Cranes - Adult and Juvenile in yard 8/27/10

Sandhill Crane Juveniles in Backyard

Sandhill Crane "colts"

Sandhill Crane “Colt” Birdwatching

Hamerkop (Scopus umbretta) at National Aviary by Dan

Birds of the Bible – Tamed

Ian’s Bird of the Week – Auckland and Campbell Islands Teal

February 17, 2012 by Ian

Auckland Teal (Anas aucklandica) Male by Ian 1

Ian’s Bird of the Week – Auckland and Campbell Islands Teal

by Ian Montgomery

Newsletter ~ 2/16/12

The almost predator-free nature of the Sub-Antarctic Islands before the Europeans and their pests arrived is well illustrated by the existence of two closely-related flightless ducks on the Auckland and Campbell Islands. The first photo shows a male Auckland Islands Teal on Enderby Island – now their main stronghold – in the Auckland Islands group.

You can see how short the wings are, extending only two thirds of the way along the body instead of to the base of the tail as in their flying relatives the Chestnut Teal of Australia and the Brown Teal of New Zealand. This male is in breeding plumage and has greenish iridescence on the head and subtly beautiful barring on the flanks.

Auckland Teal (Anas aucklandica) Female by Ian 2

Females (and juveniles and eclipse-plumaged males) have more subdued colours and lack the green sheen on the head. The white eye-ring of both sexes is shared with the Brown Teal of New Zealand but not the Chestnut Teal of Australia. The third photo shows another female going for a stroll. Note the slightly drooping tail and upright stance, both characteristic of the two flightless species.

Auckland Teal (Anas aucklandica) Female by Ian 3

As you can probably judge from the photos, the teal were very confiding showing no alarm when closely approached. I had to retreat from the male to get it in focus – the lens I was using has a minimum focus distance of 1.8m/5.9ft, not usually an issue with wild birds! The first two photos were taken on one of the few bodies of freshwater on Enderby Island. Their more usual habitat is along the coast. We saw some in sheltered pools on a rock platform and they feed mainly on invertebrates and algae found in both attached and beach-stranded seaweed.

Campbell Teal (Anas nesiotis) by Ian 4

The fourth photo shows a vocal male Campbell Islands Teal on salt water near the landing wharf of that island. It’s very similar in appearance to the Auckland Islands Teal and both species were until recently treated as races of the flight-worthy Brown Teal of mainland New Zealand. Recent studies suggest that the the Brown Teal and Sub-Antarctic Teals were the product of separate colonisation events by the Australian Chestnut Teal, which occurs in New Zealand only as a rare vagrant.

The Sub-Antarctic Teals have suffered badly from the introduction of mammalian pests, particularly pigs, cats and rats (mice seem to affect them less). The Auckland Islands Teal is extinct on the main Auckland Island, but survives on six neighbouring island pig-less and cat-less island. The population is estimated at 600-2,000 individuals, appears stable, is classified as Vulnerable, and the New Zealand government is planning to eliminate pigs and cats from Auckland Island which will permit reintroduction of the Teal.

The Campbell Islands Teal was though to be extinct but a population of about 20 were rediscovered on nearby Dent Island in 1975, raising its status to Critically Endangered and the world’s rarest duck. A captive breeding program followed, leading to the establishment of a feral population on predator-free Codfish Island near Stewart Island in 1999 and 2000. Following the elimination of rats on Campbell Island, 50 birds were released there in 2005 and 55 in 2006. Successful breeding occurred in 2006. The total population, captive and wild, is now thought to be over 200 and its status has been downgraded to merely Endangered.

You can read the full story here http://terranature.org/tealcampbell_island.htm . It’s great to read a successful conservation story at a time of increasingly frequent bad news about wild populations.

Links to Ian’s Photos:

Aukland Islands Teal
Campbell Islands Teal
Chestnut Teal

Best wishes
Ian

Ian Montgomery, Birdway Pty Ltd,
454 Forestry Road, Bluewater, Qld 4818
Phone: 0411 602 737 +61-411 602 737
Preferred Email: ian@birdway.com.au
Website: http://birdway.com.au

Lee’s Addition:

That last Teal looks happy and “bushy eyed.” They must havee happy ducks and teals down there. Must be that lack of pigs and cats!

The Teals belong to the Anatidae – Ducks, Geese & Swans Family. There are 165 species in 48 genus including the Teals, Ducks, Shovelers, Wigeons, Pintails, Swans, Geese, Pochards, Scaups, Eiders, Mergansers and all their allies. “Anatidae is the biological family of birds that includes ducks, geese and swans. The family has a cosmopolitan distribution, occurring on all the world’s continents except Antarctica and on most of the world’s islands and island groups. These are birds that can swim, float on the water surface, and in some cases dive in at least shallow water.” (Wikipedia)

And God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” (Genesis 1:22 NKJV)

Updating the Slideshows – Report # 1

February 16, 2012 by Lee

The works of the LORD are great, sought out of all them that have pleasure therein.(Psalms 111:2 KJV) Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself: (Ephesians 1:9 KJV) For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. (Philippians 2:13 KJV) Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore. (Psalms 16:11 KJV)

Thanks for your patience and your visits to this website. Completed: One of my favorite birds the Broadbill. Never heard of it until I started doing the Birds of the World. Aren’t they adorable?

Silver-breasted Broadbill (Serilophus lunatus) by Peter Ericsson

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Birds Illustrated by Color Photography – Revisited

Vol 1. February, 1897 No. 2

THE AMERICAN RED BIRD.

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BLUE MOUNTAIN LORY.

Birds Illustrated by Color Photography – Revisited

Vol 1. February, 1897 No. 2

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Birds Illustrated by Color Photography – Revisited

Vol 1. February, 1897 No. 2

THE RED WING BLACK BIRD – THE BIRD OF SOCIETY

THE BLACKBIRD.

THE BIRD OF SOCIETY.

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Birds Illustrated by Color Photography – Revisited

Vol 1. February, 1897 No. 2

THE KINGFISHER.

THE KINGFISHER.

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Birds Illustrated by Color Photography – Revisited

Vol 1. February, 1897 No. 2

THE AMERICAN ROBIN.

THE AMERICAN ROBIN.

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