Birds of the Bible – Stork III

January 27, 2011 by Lee

Wood Stork by Dan at Lake Morton Jan 2011

Dan and I were out birdwatching this last week several times. We have the privilege of seeing the Wood Storks quite frequently. The Birds of the Bible – Stork and the Birds of the Bible – Stork II articles have covered different aspects of the Stork. This time, the Bible passage in Job 39:13 is going to be covered.

The wings of the ostrich wave proudly, But are her wings and pinions like the kindly stork’s? (Job 39:13 NKJV)

The idea of the verse is that the Ostrich waves or flaps her wings proudly, but she lacks several things that the Stork has like the feathers and wings of a stork and nor the care for her young as the Stork show its young.

God has created them both, but they do not behave the same. Each has it’s own design and place to fill.

Lee feeding Wood Stork at Lake Morton by Dan Jan 2011

What is interesting is the different translations of Job 39:13. I use the e-Sword Bible program and have loaded every one of the free (English) Bibles and also have the New American Standard Bible and New King James Versions installed, which we purchased. One of the neat things you can do is select a verse and then choose “Compare” and every one of the Bible versions of that verse shows. It never ceases to amaze me that the versions can vary some times so much. This is one of those verses. (If you haven’t tried out the e-Sword Bible, it is worth loading and using and it is free for most of it. They also have the Bible in different languages.)

For now, I am going to show some of the versions that show the Stork:

(Brenton) The peacock has a beautiful wing: if the stork and the ostrich conceive, it is worthy of notice,
(Darby) The wing of the ostrich beats joyously–But is it the stork’s pinion and plumage?
(ERV) “An ostrich gets excited and flaps its wings, but it cannot fly. Its wings and feathers are not like the wings of a stork.
(GNB) How fast the wings of an ostrich beat! But no ostrich can fly like a stork.
(JPS) The wing of the ostrich beateth joyously; but are her pinions and feathers the kindly stork’s?
(LITV) The wing of the ostriches flap joyously, though not like the stork’s pinions for flight.
(MKJV) The wing of the ostrich beats joyously; though not like the stork’s pinions for flight.
(NKJV) “The wings of the ostrich wave proudly, But are her wings and pinions like the kindly stork’s?

Storks Shadowing Baby in Lakeland by Dan

Some of the other versions either mention a hawk, heron, or just the pinion and plumage of love. Ostriches are known for abandoning their young (Job 39:13-18 Birds of the Bible – Ostrich I) and the Storks are protective of their young (Stork II). The Ostriches don’t fly particularly, but the Storks have great wings and migrate good distances (Stork II).

Here are some facts about the Storks wings from various books and internet sites:

“Stork’s wings are built in a way, which allows them to take advantage of the streams of upward moving air. They are long and, compared to other birds, very wide – similar to these of vultures, condors, pelicans and the closest relatives of storks. Large wings of a stork “catch” the up going streams of air. Storks travel like gliders, taking advantage of the air movement.”

White Stork (Ciconia ciconia) by Nikhil Devasar

“Storks tend to use soaring, gliding flight, which conserves energy. Soaring requires thermal air currents. Ottomar Anschütz’s famous 1884 album of photographs of storks inspired the design of Otto Lilienthal’s experimental Gliders of the late 19th century. Storks are heavy, with wide wingspans: the Marabou Stork, with a wingspan of 3.2 m (10.5 ft), joins the Andean Condor in having the widest wingspan of all living land birds.” (Wikipedia)

“White Storks rely on the uplift of air thermals for long distance flight, taking great advantage of them during annual migrations between Europe and Sub-Saharan Africa. The shortest route south would take them over the Mediterranean, but since thermals only form over land, storks take a detour and avoid long water crossings. It has been estimated that storks metabolize the same amount of body fat to travel a distance in flapping flight as 23 times further by soaring, so they usually avoid prolonged wing flapping flight. Long flights over water may occasionally be undertaken. ”

To facilitate the sea crossing, birds from central Europe can take an eastern migration corridor, crossing the straits of Bosphorus to Turkey, traversing the Levant, and then bypassing the Sahara Desert by following the Nile, or follow a western route over the straits of Gibraltar. These corridors maximize the help from the thermals and thus save energy. The eastern route is by far the more important, with 530,000 birds taking this crossing, making this stork the second commonest migrant after the Honey Buzzard. The flocks of raptors, storks and Great White Pelicans can stretch for 200 km (125 mi). The eastern route is twice as long as the western, but storks take the same time to reach the wintering grounds by either route. Juvenile storks set of on their first southward migration in an inherited direction, but if displaced from that bearing by weather conditions, they are unable to compensate, and may end up in a new wintering location. Adults can compensate for strong winds and adjust their direction to finish at their normal winter sites, because they are familiar with the location. For the same reason, all spring migrants, even those from displaced wintering locations, can find their way back to the traditional breeding sites. Once in Africa, the storks spend the winter in savanna from Kenya and Uganda south to the Cape Province of South Africa. In these areas they congregate in large flocks which may reach a thousand individuals or more.” (Wikipedia)

Woolly-necked Stork (Ciconia episcopus) by Nikhil Devasar

(From Matthew Henry’s Commentary) – “Job 39:13-18
The ostrich is a wonderful animal, a very large bird, but it never flies. Some have called it a winged camel. God here gives an account of it, and observes,
I. Something that it has in common with the peacock, that is, beautiful feathers (Job_39:13): Gavest thou proud wings unto the peacocks? so some read it. Fine feathers make proud birds. The peacock is an emblem of pride; when he struts, and shows his fine feathers, Solomon in all his glory is not arrayed like him. The ostrich too has goodly feathers, and yet is a foolish bird; for wisdom does not always go along with beauty and gaiety. Other birds do not envy the peacock or the ostrich their gaudy colours, nor complain for want of them; why then should we repine if we see others wear better clothes than we can afford to wear? God gives his gifts variously, and those gifts are not always the most valuable that make the finest show. Who would not rather have the voice of the nightingale than the tail of the peacock, the eye of the eagle and her soaring wing, and the natural affection of the stork, than the beautiful wings and feathers of the ostrich, which can never rise above the earth, and is without natural affection?

Storks are in the Ciconiidae Family (slideshow) and there are 19 species of them around the world. The Storks are the only family in the Ciconiiformes Order. See the Storks Page.

Avian Worship…

January 21, 2011 by a j mithra

Avian Worship…

~ by a j mithra and Lee

The Bible says,” But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee; And the birds of the heavens, and they shall tell thee” Job 12:6

Birds are the most beautiful of all creations… Aren’t they? Of course they are.. If we have the heart to learn, there is indeed so much that we can learn from them; from living an organized lifestyle with what little they have and the way they take themselves and their homes and kids in times of adversities… Above all, we can learn a lot about music, about music and the most important part played by music in its life….

Birds have never been to a university. But the fact is that, most of the universities around the world are behind birds, learning new things everyday about them.

Out of all that we can learn from birds, the most amazing habit is their singing, what the birders call as bird calls of bird songs. Singing is their habit and way of living, but for us, singing is a hobby and we try to earn a living out of it… Remember God had created us to worship..

Birds are the only creations which start their day with singing and end their day with singing… You know why birds sing at dawn? It is just that they want to advertise to this world that they are still alive..

We call ourselves as Christians.. But do we really have Christ in us? How many mornings did we advertise to this world that JESUS – THE LIFE dwells in us? If we don’t sing praises in the morning, we should definitely scan our heart and soul to see if we are dead or alive. For the Bible says,

The dead praise not the LORD, neither any that go down into silence. (Psalms 115:17)

Oh! What joy they should have in their life to do so? A small Sun bird’s call can be heard as far as 300 to 400 meters. If a bird is as big as a human and if it sings,

Purple-rumped Sunbird (Leptocoma zeylonica) by Clement Francis

(PURPLE-RUMPED SUNBIRD)

its song can be heard as far as 3 to 4 kilometers… Well, that is what Ornithologists say… To sing that powerful, birds need lots of energy. Hence, they need to eat very often, because birds burn lot of calories on singing…

How loud do we sing in Church? Or do we sing at all in our personal prayer? Or do we act as if we are worshiping the Lord will all our heart in Church? Bible says, “Make a joyful noise,” it did not say voice, it says NOISE. Joshua and his men made NOISE and the fort of Jericho crumbled. Let us do it the Joshua way.

Maybe their early morning singing is the reason that they are able to fly hundreds of miles every day in search of food and water and yet returns home with so much of energy to end their day with another open-air concert … There is a saying which goes like this “Laughter is the best medicine.” Birds can’t laugh… Is that why they sing to show their joy? Where there is joy, there is strength… Prophet Nehemiah knew that secret that is why he says,

….: for the joy of the Lord is your strength (Nehemiah 8:10)

Is that the reason why the birds are so strong that they can fly and we can’t? Birds never go to a doctor because they know that their music can heal them… Music has the power to heal you know?

Kind David’s music healed King Saul isn’t it? Your worship can heal people’s body, mind and soul. After all, GOD has kept life and death in our tongue. Let us use it for HIS glory..

Well, how many of us start or dare to start our day with singing? Where there is singing there is joy and where there is joy there is strength… It sounds so simple isn’t it? And it’s not just simple but, it’s powerful too… Birds know this secret and that’s why they bring so much joy through their singing…

No matter what the situation is, it is time for us to start our day with singing, for the KING is returning very soon. If we do not have the practice of singing here, we would never be able to sing in heaven along with the angels.

Birds sing in perfect pitch and perfect rhythm… Musicians use a software called “NEUNDO” for recording and the default set for the Tempo is 120 BPM (beats per minute)… The rhythm of the song of most birds is set to the tempo of 120 BPM… It sounds as if they had invented NEUNDO…Isn’t it quite astonishing or amazing or whatever you may call it? The syncopation of bird songs has intricate patterns and most of them are new to men… They sing very short phrases compared to human singing, but, their syncopation has complicated but complete rhythmic patterns…

Once as I was birding, I saw a Chestnut-headed Bee-eater

Chestnut-headed Bee-eater (Merops leschenaulti) by Nikhil Devasar

(CHESTNUT-HEADED BEE-EATER)

perched on a dry tree. Suddenly the bird flew as far as about 50 meters and flew back to the same place where it was perched with a dragon-fly stuffed into its beak.. The dragon-fly was still alive. So, the little bird whacked its beak. Tak, tak, tak, tak, tak, five times on either side on the branch where it was perched to kill the dragon-fly all in one motion… Was just wondering, why it whacked five times… Then I found that, in music a rhythmic phrase always ends on the first beat of the next bar… Don’t we sing in a funeral? That’s what the Bee-eater did? Hm

Plain wren,

Plain Wren (Cantorchilus modestus) ©WikiC

(PLAIN WREN)

Atherton Scrubwren,

Atherton Scrubwren (Sericornis keri) by Ian

(ATHERTON SCRUB WREN) – Video by KeithB

Carolina Wren

Carolina Wren (Thryothorus ludovicianus) by Lee at Circle B

(CAROLINA WREN)

and even Babblers,

Common Babbler (Turdoides caudata) by Ian

(COMMON BABBLER) – Video

they spontaneously sing complicated rhythmic patterns like a seasoned jazz player… Most composers avoid composing on 5/8 rhythm because of its limitation and the complications involved in the execution of a song in this rhythm…

But, I’ve heard a Rustic Bunting’s bird call

Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica) ©WikiC

(RUSTIC BUNTING)

from the Macaulay’s Library of Cornell’s lab of ornithology, sing in 5/8 rhythmic pattern… I felt so small in front of this small little bird when I heard that song… How it is possible for this little bird to sing in this one of the most complicated rhythmic pattern so spontaneously?

Each individual of Oriental Magpie Robin

Oriental Magpie-Robin (Copsychus saularis) by Nikhil Devasar

(ORIENTAL MAGPIE ROBIN)

can sing more than fifteen songs per individual and each one is different… Just imagine how much competition would be there to impress upon the females?

There are birds like the Malabar Whistling Thrush,

Malabar Whistling Thrush (Myophonus horsfieldii) by Nikhil Devasar

(MALABAR WHISTLING THRUSH)

which is considered as one of the best singers of the bird community… Bird call specialists say that you would mistake its singing for a human whistling a song… But, I personally feel that, that statement shows human ego… If I sound arrogant, please forgive me for that, because, I personally feel that the song of the Malabar Whistling Thrush or any other bird on planet earth is ORIGINAL… NO COMPARISONS PLEASE… Each bird’s songs are special and they know that too.. That is why birds never get jealous of each other’s singing… Do they?

Researchers say that, if a bird doesn’t learn to sing early, the percentage of survival is minimized… This means Birds sings for survival… The mother bird feeds the chick which shouts the most first… So, the louder you sing the more you eat…

God said,

I am the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt: open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it. (Psalms 81:10)

Imagine if the same rule applies for mankind, how many of us would still be alive? Most would’ve starved to death and Churches would be empty isn’t it? How long are we going to zip our mouth in the presence of the Lord? Let us open our mouth and He shall open the windows of heaven and fill us and we shall over flow..

Birds sing to attract their mate… A bird which sings the best gets the most attractive mate… If again, the same rule applies to us, scores of us would still be bachelors isn’t it? If again, we don’t sing, our eternal bridegroom would never come near us. Because, our GOD dwells among our praises..

But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel. (Psalms 22:3)

Remember, most of us prefer to sing in the bathroom rather than in the church! We sing for applause, name, fame and money. If we start applauding, each time a bird sings, I wonder if any bird could live near us, for they will fly away and never venture to sing before a man again… But, Birds sing for the sheer joy of singing… When would we learn to live like them?

An African bird called the Slate colored Bou Bou

Slate-colored Boubou (Laniarius funebris) ©©

(SLATE COLORED BOU BOU) – Video

has a sound which resembles the wood block, a percussion instrument, which originated from Africa… Maybe the Africans were inspired by the bird’s call… There are tales after tales that say how man was inspired by nightingales and sparrows and cuckoos for their inspiring songs…

Birds never keep singing the same old songs all through their lives… To impress upon their mates they try to outwit their male subordinates by improvising their songs time and again… After all, female birds feel that, the males which sing the most complicated songs are the ones which are capable of taking care of their families better… Is that why, great teachers like Socrates and Pythagoras taught music first before they taught mathematics and astronomy?

King David knew God’s heart that is why he says,

I will sing a new song unto thee, O God: upon a psaltery and an instrument of ten strings will I sing praises unto thee. (Psalms 144:9)

We stop teaching our kids with rhymes than music; and that too only till the kindergarten level… If only we had been singing all through our lives, this world would’ve been rid of jealousy, ego, hatred, terrorism and the list may go on and on… If Osama Bin Laden had practiced music, he would’ve been a carrying a 4-stringed Oudh – an Arabian stringed instrument plucked with the Quill of an Eagle’s feather, instead of an AK47…

Birds live in perfect harmony not only among themselves but also with the flow of nature… Once I heard a territorial call of an Indian bird called Common Iora.

Common Iora (Aegithina tiphia) by Clement Francis

(COMMON IORA)

Each one was answering one another’s territorial calls. They both were singing similar phrase. Slowly, the calls turned a bit aggressive I thought; because, one was answering before the other could finish singing its phrase. At one particular point when one overlapped the other’s call, like what we call singing cannon in music, it turned into a harmony. As a musician, I know it was perfect harmony. But, I don’t know if it was intentional or accident. All that I heard was perfect harmony. They are in harmony with time and season. Rain or shine, no matter what happens around them the birds are able to sing.

Do we find harmony at home, in school, in our office, in our church? If only we knew the power of harmony, we Christians will not have thousands of denominations. If we knew the effect of harmony, by this time every soul would have accepted Christ as their savior… If we had learned to live in harmony, this world would be a better place to live.

A home or a street or a town or a city or a state or a country which encourages and practices music will live in PERFECT HARMONY… After all music is all about harmony and perfection of body, mind and soul… Most Christian families do not have family prayer and worship.. We think that Sunday worship in Church is suffice. Unless we live in perfect harmony at home, would it be possible to have harmony in the places where we go. Well, ministry starts at home.

It is because of us trying to move against the flow of nature that the world is facing severe biological catastrophe. If only we could learn to live in harmony with nature? This world would be the same as it was in the beginning. It may be too late and too hard to live in harmony with nature right now. But, we can surely postpone the inevitable to a certain extent. This can happen only when we unite together in harmony and save earth so that they Birds can sing and sing and sing forever and ever… Come on, rain or shine, let us all learn to sing like birds at all times and live in PERFECT HARMONY with GOD and HIS creations..…

(a j mithra wrote the article and Lee supplied some photos, videos and the sounds-not all recordings match his descriptions)

Oilbird – Mission With A Vision

January 17, 2011 by a j mithra

Oilbird (Steatornis caripensis) by Bob-Nan

Oilbird – Mission With A Vision ~ by a j mithra

Oilbird or Guacharo lives in northern South America from Guyana to Peru. The Oilbird ranges locally across much northern South America and down the Andes all the way to Bolivia.

Their plumage is cinnamon brown, with small, white spots. The Oilbird presents a somewhat “hen-ish” or owlish appearance, observant and hesitant when trolling branches; puffy and somnolent when asleep. It is mainly reddish-brown with white spots on the nape and wings. Lower Oilbird parts are brownish color to neutral white. The stiff tail feathers are a rich chestnut brown spotted with white on either side.

This is a large bird at sixteen to nineteen inches with a wing span of three feet. The Oilbird’s flattened hooked bill is surrounded by dark brown bristles up to two inches long.

Oilbird (Steatornis caripensis) by Ian

It is a bird of tropical and subtropical primary forests. Colonies leave the caves at night to fly to fruiting trees. Figs are often consumed but the Trinidad population has been documented eating over 36 different kinds of fruit. The seeds of these fruit are spread widely after passing through the bird’s system, and the Oilbird is thus an important component of the tropical ecosystems. The forest depends on these fruit eaters — and other animals with similar behavior such as fruit bats — to continue in existence.

The existence of Church depends on how far and wide we sow the word of God…
God has asked us to spread the gospel over all the earth…

But, the question is have we touched lives which dwell next door or at least to the person who sits next to our table in office ? First of all, we don’t even know the person who sits next to us in church, isn’t it? We’ve been hearing a lot about brotherly love and love your neighbor as thy selves..

But, have we ever asked ourselves if we truly love our self?
Most so called believers are going through self inflicted injuries and self pity…
Maybe that is the reason we are not able to lead a fruitful life..
Our fruits are not the fruits which God expects from us…
Unless we are fruitful and our lives testify God’s work in us, we may not be able to sow seeds of faith among our fellow beings…

A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them (Mathew 7:18-20)

It is a seasonal migrant, moving from breeding caves to fertile wild land fruit trees. Oilbirds plump up possibly half their body weight again before the breeding migration, an intelligent habit as caves will provide little nutrition and parents will not want to leave the nest.

Oilbird (Steatornis caripensis) by Judd Patterson

Seasonally, the oilbird lives in forests to gather nutrition and store up for breeding. Then the oilbird will migrate from the forest and woodland to within breeding areas within caves. Both parents share the task of incubating the clutch of two to four eggs for about 33 days, and the nestlings stay put for up to four months.

Oilbirds feed their young exclusively on fruit pulp. This is very unusual because an all-fruit diet would not normally provide adequate nutrition or baby birds. The young nestlings grow fat (even half as heavy again as their parents)—causing the literal downfall of many!

These birds seem to know the importance of storing nutrition for migration and breeding that’s why they provide adequate nutrition for their babies…

We as Christian parents, do we take care to nourish our children with spiritual food?
We tell them stories about the five who went to buy oil at the last minute..
But are we insisting upon our kids to get ready to meet the King?

These young oilbirds are heavier than their parents, how healthy are our children in spirituality?

I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth. (III John : 1)

The wings of the oilbird control aerial maneuvers. The Oilbird’s small feet are somewhat useless, other than for positioning and alignment to vertical surfaces. The oilbird’s hovering, twisting flight allows the bird to navigate the route and “hallways” of the caves. Oilbirds echo-locate (like bats) inside caves but use their huge eyes once they leave the communal roosts.

Oilbird (Steatornis caripensis) ©©Flickr - dominic sherony

Oilbird (Steatornis caripensis) ©©d.sherony

They apparently have excellent night vision. Rows of bristles protect the eyes both above and below. They fly with fast with primary tips widely spaced (like New World vultures) but have the ability to fly slowly or even hover. They can range quite a distance in search of fruit. Radio telemetry studies have shown their normal range per night is 40 kms (25 mi) but they have traveled as far as 150 km (93 mi) in a single night. They may find fruit by smell. These birds travel so long in a single night in search of fruits..

This reminds of how Jesus had come from heaven to earth in search of fruits from us isn’t it?

He expects us to give fruits at all seasons…
Do we have fruits to offer 24 x 7 or just seasonal?

And now also the ax is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. (Matthew 3:10)

Studies have shown that all the fruit they eat is spicy or aromatic when ripe. Oilbirds nest in large colonies on high, rocky ledges, often a good distance into the cave. They build their cone-shape nests from a mixture of regurgitated fruit pulp, their droppings and undigested seeds. Oilbird nestlings retain food in their intestines for longer than normal, enabling them to extract all the nutrients which they need in order to thrive on fruit. For instance, they are able to extract 80% of the lipids (fats) from their diet.

We eat lots of the THE FIRST, which is the WORD OF GOD…
But, do we extract all the nutrients of THE WORD by meditating on what we read?
Do we eat THE WORD in haste? Or is it a ritual that we need to practice every day?
The Word of God has the power to heal, to cleanse, and to encourage and so on…
How do we handle it?

For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. (Hebrews 4: 12)

Just like bats (and many sea mammals), Oilbirds emit clicking calls in rapid succession and listen to the returning echoes. This means that, in the pitch blackness of their cave home, they can fly around without bumping into the cave walls or each other.

Oilbird (Steatornis caripensis) by Bob-Nan

At dusk, they leave the cave to find food and their echolocation system works together with their keen smell and super-sensitive vision, helping them to snatch nuts and small fruits in mid-flight without needing to land. In fact it is thought that they never perch during foraging trips, using instead their ability to hover while feeding.

The eyes of oilbirds are highly specialized for their unique lifestyle. While not apparently designed for distinguishing colour, it has recently been discovered that they are extraordinarily sensitive to light—a great advantage to a bird that ‘breaks all the rules’ by being nocturnal. This incredible light-sensitivity is achieved by each of the oilbird’s eyes having a large pupil, enabling them to gather the maximum amount of light and millions of densely packed rods, the photoreceptor cells.

God had created these birds with excellent night vision for them to travel long distance in search of food..

But, we are so privileged that we have God Himself as our light to show us the way during our dark times..

Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. (John 8:12)

These unique Oilbirds dwell in caves, has dolphin-like sonar, navigates like a bat, has eyes like a deep-sea fish, can hover like a kingfisher, finds its food by smell and can be boiled up to make oil…

The eyes of these birds are extremely sensitive to light and that is the reason that they are able to break all rules by being a nocturnal…

This world will see us also as very special when we are sensitive to THE LIGHT..

The light of the body is the eye: therefore when thine eye is single, thy whole body also is full of light; but when thine eye is evil, thy body also is full of darkness If thy whole body therefore be full of light, having no part dark, the whole shall be full of light, as when the bright shining of a candle doth give thee light. Take heed therefore that the light which is in thee be not darkness. (Luke 11:34-36)

Have a blessed day!

Your’s in YESHUA,
a j mithra

Please visit us at: Crosstree

What a neat bird, a j. I am also going to add this to the “Formed By Him” series. The Creator has really designed this very unique and useful bird for His Glory.

The Oilbirds are the only family members of the Steatornithidae – Oilbird Family which are in the Caprimulgiformes Order. They keep company there with the Frogmouths, Potoos and Nightjar families.

Birds In Hymns – Flee As A Bird

January 16, 2011 by Lee

Birds In Hymns – Flee As A Bird ~ by Mary S. Shindler

…A Psalm of David. In the LORD I put my trust; How can you say to my soul, “Flee as a bird to your mountain”? (Psalms 11:1 NKJV)

Words & Music ~ by Mary S. Shindler, 1842

Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) chasing Western Great Egret (Ardea alba) by Ray

Flee As A Bird

Flee as a bird to your mountain, thou who art weary of sin;
Go to the clear flowing fountain where you may wash and be clean.
Haste, then, th’Avenger is near thee; call, and the Savior will hear thee;
He on His bosom will bear thee; O thou who art weary of sin,
O thou who art weary of sin.

He will protect thee forever, wipe every falling tear;
He will forsake thee, O never, sheltered so tenderly there.
Haste, then, the hours are flying, spend not the moments in sighing,
Cease from your sorrow and crying: The Savior will wipe every tear,
The Savior will wipe every tear.

*************

He will swallow up death forever, And the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces; The rebuke of His people He will take away from all the earth; For the LORD has spoken. (Isaiah 25:8 NKJV)

for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of waters. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” (Revelation 7:17 NKJV)

And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away. (Revelation 21:4 NKJV)

Most information from The Cyber Hymnal

See ~ Wordless Birds

More ~ Birds in Hymns

Birds In Hymns – With Songs and Honors Sounding Loud

January 14, 2011 by Lee

Birds In Hymns – With Songs and Honors Sounding Loud – Isaac Watts

Praise the LORD! For it is good to sing praises to our God; For it is pleasant, and praise is beautiful. (Psalms 147:1 NKJV)

Words – By Isaac Watts, The Psalms of David, 1719
Music – By Bedford, William Wheale, 1729
Alternate Tune Belfield by William Gilchrist, 1895

With Songs and Honors Sounding Loud

With songs and honors sounding loud,
Address the Lord on high;
Over the heav’ns He spreads His cloud,
And waters veil the sky.

He sends His showers of blessing down
To cheer the plains below;
He makes the grass the mountains crown,
And corn in valleys grow.

Northern Raven (Corvus corax) by Ray

He gives the grazing ox his meat,
He hears the raven’s cry;
But man, who tastes His finest wheat,
Should raise His honors high.

His steady counsels change the face
Of the declining year;
He bids the sun cut short his race,
And wintry days appear.

His hoary frost, His fleecy snow,
Descend and clothe the ground;
The liquid streams forbear to flow,
In icy fetters bound.

When from the dreadful stores on high
He pours the rattling hail,
The wretch that dares this God defy
Shall find his courage fail.

He sends His Word, and melts the snow,
The fields no longer mourn;
He calls the warmer gales to blow,
And bids the spring return.

The changing wind, the flying cloud,
Obey His mighty Word:
With songs and honors sounding loud,
Praise ye the sovereign Lord.

*************

… a Psalm of David. I will praise You, O LORD, with my whole heart; I will tell of all Your marvelous works. I will be glad and rejoice in You; I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High. (Psalms 9:1-2 NKJV)

Be exalted, O LORD, in Your own strength! We will sing and praise Your power. (Psalms 21:13 NKJV)

Be exalted, O LORD, in Your own strength! We will sing and praise Your power. (Psalms 21:13 NKJV)

Most information from The Cyber Hymnal

See ~ Wordless Birds

More ~ Birds in Hymns

Formed By Him – Music Making Birds

January 13, 2011 by Lee

Do Birds Truly Make Music? (from Creation Moments)

The flowers appear on the earth; the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land. (Song of Solomon 2:12)

The Bible speaks of bird calls as songs, as most of us do. However, evolutionary theory has led some scientists to say that we are merely assigning human meanings to the calls of birds. They say that the bird calls have nothing to do with real music.

Common Blackbird (Turdus merula) by Ian

Ornithologists have known for some time that bird songs use the same musical scales as our music. Decades ago it was noted that some of Beethoven’s work could be heard from the European blackbird. The music was the same as the opening rondo of Beethoven’s “Violin Concert in D, Opus 61.” Since these birds pass their songs from generation to generation, Beethoven could have gotten the lilting music from the forefathers of today’s European blackbird!

Common Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) by Quy Tran

The songs of some species, like the song sparrow, follow the form of a sonata, beginning with a strong theme, then the theme is musically played with, and for a finish, the original theme is then repeated. Mozart had a starling as a pet. Once, having heard Mozart play his “Piano Concerto in C Major,” the starling not only imitated it, but changed the sharps to flats! Mozart exclaimed, “That was beautiful!” When the starling died, Mozart held an elaborate funeral for it. Eight days later he wrote, “A Musical Joke” which contains the same elaborate structure found in starling song.

Do birds make true music, as the Bible says? Contrary to what some evolutionists say, Beethoven and Mozart certainly thought they did.
Prayer:
Lord, I thank You for the gift of music and I await the music of heaven. Amen.
Notes:
Science News, 4/15/00, pp. 252-254, “Music without Borders.”

Lee’s Addition:

From – A Musical Joke?

“Mozart was not alone in incorporating bird sounds in music. According to Baptista:

Yellowhammer (Emberiza citrinella) by Ian

In Beethoven’s sixth symphony, the song of a Yellowhammer is followed by those of a quail, then a cuckoo.

American Goldfinch (Carduelis tristis) on Thistle by Fenton

A Goldfinch inspired Vivaldi’s flute concerto “Il gardellino.”
Bela Bartok’s third piano concerto was inspired by birds in North Carolina, where Bartok was living during the composition.

Blue-eyed Cockatoo (Cacatua ophthalmica) ©Wikipedia

The Cuckoo, BTW, is the most popular bird in Western music, said Baptista, and even appears in a Johann Sebastian Bach fugue — in counterpoint with a chicken!

Cactus Wren (Campylorhynchus brunneicapillus) by Judd Patterson

The Canyon Wren in the Ansaborego desert of California sounds so much like Chopin that you could consider it “a student of Chopin,” Baptista said.

The rest of the avian orchestra
Beyond that two-part voice box, birds also use their bodies to make sound in other ways. Some even make instruments!

Palm Cockatoo (Probosciger aterrimus) by Ian Montgomery

While courting, the Palm Pockatoo, for example, breaks a branch, carves it into a drumstick, and bangs a hollow log as a signal to females that he’s on the prowl. Providentially, he stores the stick to use it again, said Baptista.
The European Snipe, on the other hand, dives to force wind through its feathers, which act as reeds.

Williamson’s Sapsucker (Sphyrapicus thyroideus) by Judd Patterson

Williamson’s Sapsucker in the Sierra Nevada drums on tree trunks in specific rhythms that vary in what Baptista called “local dialects.”

The Lord has created beautiful birds and has given each their own songs and sounds. Many have listened and learned from those sounds. As you have read above, some have turned those lessons learned into beautiful music.

But now ask the beasts, and they will teach you; And the birds of the air, and they will tell you; Or speak to the earth, and it will teach you; And the fish of the sea will explain to you. Who among all these does not know That the hand of the LORD has done this, In whose hand is the life of every living thing, And the breath of all mankind? (Job 12:7-10 NKJV)

He sends the springs into the valleys; They flow among the hills. They give drink to every beast of the field; The wild donkeys quench their thirst. By them the birds of the heavens have their home; They sing among the branches. (Psalms 104:10-12 NKJV)

Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia) by Ray

The LORD is my strength and my shield; My heart trusted in Him, and I am helped; Therefore my heart greatly rejoices, And with my song I will praise Him. (Psalms 28:7 NKJV)

Oh, sing to the LORD a new song! Sing to the LORD, all the earth. Sing to the LORD, bless His name; Proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day. Declare His glory among the nations, His wonders among all peoples. For the LORD is great and greatly to be praised; He is to be feared above all gods. (Psalms 96:1-4 NKJV)

Formed By Him – Silver Birds

January 10, 2011 by Lee

Silver ©USGOV

Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag (Latin: argentum, from the Indo-European root *arg- for “grey” or “shining”) and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal.

Silver has long been valued as a precious metal, and it is used to make ornaments, jewelry, high-value tableware, utensils (hence the term silverware), and currency coins. Today, silver metal is also used in electrical contacts and conductors, in mirrors and in catalysis of chemical reactions.

Silver, in the form of electrum (a gold-silver alloy), was coined to produce money in around 700 BC by the Lydians. Later, silver was refined and coined in its pure form. Many nations used silver as the basic unit of monetary value. In the modern world, silver bullion has the ISO currency code XAG. The name of the United Kingdom monetary unit “pound” (£) reflects the fact that it originally represented the value of one troy pound of sterling silver.

Jewelry and silverware are traditionally made from sterling silver (standard silver), an alloy of 92.5% silver with 7.5% copper. In the US, only an alloy consisting of at least 90.0% fine silver can be marketed as “silver” (thus frequently stamped 900). Sterling silver (stamped 925) is harder than pure silver, and has a lower melting point (893 °C) than either pure silver or pure copper.

We know that Adam named the animals and birds starting in Genesis and people are still naming them. Silver has been known about for centuries and it is no wonder that critters and birds have their silver color described with “silver” in their names. Checking out the latest I.O.C. list of birds (Ver 2.6) you will find 32 birds with “silver” eyes, beaks, bills, backed, breasted, capped, crowned, eared, rumped, throated, and tipped. Also found are “silvery” cheeked, flanked, fronted, and throated birds. Below is a list of the 32 “Silver Birds”, plus a slideshow of the photos of them that I could obtain.

Silver-crowned Friarbird (Philemon argenticeps) by Ian

In the King James Version of the Bible, there are 282 verses that have silver mentioned 320 times. (per e-Sword). Abraham and Sarah are the first mentioned to be rich in silver and jewels of silver (Gen 23), Joseph was sold for 20 pieces of silver (Gen 37:28), and it was a silver cup that was in found in Benjamin’s bag when he had been taken to Joseph in Egypt many years later (Gen 44:2).

In Exodus, they were warned not to make gods of silver or of gold (Ex. 20:23), they used silver to make sockets and fillets for the tabernacle (Ex. 26, 27), they made cunning works in gold and silver (Ex. 31) and they were to give it with willing heart.

Take ye from among you an offering unto the LORD: whosoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it, an offering of the LORD; gold, and silver, and brass, (Exodus 35:5 KJV)

Many other articles were made of silver in the service of the LORD throughout the Bible. King Solomon had the navy bring gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks to him (1 King 10:22). Even the mining of silver is mentioned in Job 28:1.

Maybe because silver is used and referred to so often that the Lord, when He Created the birds, wanted us to see Silver Birds and think of Him, His Word, His Creation, His Son, and the price of His betrayal. Verses like:

The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. (Psalms 12:6 KJV)

The law of thy mouth is better unto me than thousands of gold and silver. (Psalms 119:72 KJV)

If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures; Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God. (Proverbs 2:4-5 KJV)

Receive my instruction, and not silver; and knowledge rather than choice gold. For wisdom is better than rubies; and all the things that may be desired are not to be compared to it. (Proverbs 8:10-11 KJV)

Receive my instruction, and not silver; and knowledge rather than choice gold. For wisdom is better than rubies; and all the things that may be desired are not to be compared to it. (Proverbs 8:10-11 KJV)

A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver. (Proverbs 25:11 KJV)

Silver-eared Leiothrix (Leiothrix argentauris) by Ian

Silver-eared Leiothrix (Leiothrix argentauris) brightly colored-by Ian

And I said unto them, If ye think good, give me my price; and if not, forbear. So they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver. And the LORD said unto me, Cast it unto the potter: a goodly price that I was prised at of them. And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and cast them to the potter in the house of the LORD. (Zechariah 11:12-13 KJV)

Fullfilled: And said unto them, What will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver. (Matthew 26:15 KJV)
Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, Saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, What is that to us? see thou to that. And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself. And the chief priests took the silver pieces, and said, It is not lawful for to put them into the treasury, because it is the price of blood. And they took counsel, and bought with them the potter’s field, to bury strangers in. Wherefore that field was called, The field of blood, unto this day. (Matthew 27:3-8 KJV)

Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk. (Acts 3:6 KJV)

For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; (1 Corinthians 3:11-12 KJV)

Wompoo Fruit-Dove (Ptilinopus magnificus) by Ian

In Doves and Pigeon Updated this verse was mentioned: “Though ye have lien among the pots, yet shall ye be as the wings of a dove covered with silver, and her feathers with yellow gold.” (Psalms 68:13 KJV) Even though today this bird, the Wompoo Fruit-Dove, doesn’t have “Silver” in it’s name, maybe the Lord gave them their colors so we would remember the following verses and truth.

Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you, Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God. (1 Peter 1:18-21 KJV)

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Silver Gull	Chroicocephalus novaehollandiae
Silver Oriole	Oriolus mellianus
Silver Pheasant	Lophura nycthemera
Silver Teal	Anas versicolor
Silver-backed Needletail	Hirundapus cochinchinensis
Silver-backed Tanager	Tangara viridicollis
Silver-beaked Tanager	Ramphocelus carbo
Silverbird	Empidornis semipartitus
Silver-breasted Broadbill	Serilophus lunatus
Silver-capped Fruit Dove	Ptilinopus richardsii
Silver-crowned Friarbird	Philemon argenticeps
Silver-eared Honeyeater	Lichmera alboauricularis
Silver-eared Laughingthrush	Trochalopteron melanostigma
Silver-eared Leiothrix	Leiothrix argentauris
Silvered Antbird	Sclateria naevia
Silvereye	Zosterops lateralis
Silver-rumped Spinetail	Rhaphidura leucopygialis
Silver-throated Bushtit	Aegithalos glaucogularis
Silver-throated Tanager	Tangara icterocephala
Silver-tipped Imperial Pigeon	Ducula luctuosa
Silvery Grebe	Podiceps occipitalis
Silvery Kingfisher	Ceyx argentatus
Silvery Pigeon	Columba argentina
Silvery-cheeked Antshrike	Sakesphorus cristatus
Silvery-cheeked Hornbill	Bycanistes brevis
Silvery-flanked Antwren	Myrmotherula luctuosa
Silvery-fronted Tapaculo	Scytalopus argentifrons
Silvery-throated Jay	Cyanolyca argentigula
Silvery-throated Spinetail	Synallaxis subpudica
African Silverbill	Euodice cantans
Grey-headed Silverbill	Odontospiza griseicapilla
Indian Silverbill	Euodice malabarica

Best I can do for the Silver-capped Fruit Dove is a video by del Hoyo on Internet Bird Collection.

Wordless Birds

Birds of the Bible – Falcon – Caracara

January 6, 2011 by Lee

Northern Crested Caracara (Caracara cheriway) by Dan at Viera Wetlands

The first Birds of the Bible – Falcons blog introduced the North American members of the Falcon – Falconidae Family. Then the next article, Birds of the Bible – Falcons II, introduced more of the 65 Falcon family members, mainly just the falcons, and provided links to videos of them.

The Caracaras are a part of the Falcon – Falconidae family and these would also be included in the references given in the Bible. The Falcons and their kind are on the “do not eat” list in Leviticus and Deuteronomy and again mentioned in Job.

And these you shall detest among the birds; they shall not be eaten; they are detestable: the eagle, the bearded vulture, the black vulture, the kite, the falcon of any kind, (Leviticus 11:13-14 ESV)

the kite, the falcon of any kind; (Deuteronomy 14:13 ESV)

That path no bird knows, Nor has the falcon’s eye seen it. (Job 28:7 NKJV)

Chimango Caracara by Daves Birding Pix

Caracaras, there are 10 of them, are also included in the birds of prey category. We saw our first Northern Crested Caracara along the interstate in Texas, not far from the well-known King Ranch. The Northern Crested Caracara is 23 inches long and has a 50 inch wingspan. The wings are broad and it has a long tail. They have long necks and long legs. They spend much of their time perched or walking on the ground, but can run swiftly. They hang out with vultures at carcasses and many times steal their food.

Male and females are similar. We have these here in central Florida. They are seen on the ground or perching on fence posts and tops of trees. Often seen walking along roadsides. Scratches like chicken for insects. The AOU split this species in July, 2000 from the South American species, Caracara plancus.

The Caracaras are:

Black Caracara (Daptrius ater) – S. America

Red-throated Caracara (Ibycter americanus) – C. & S. America

Carunculated Caracara (Phalcoboenus carunculatus) – Ecuador & Colombia

White-throated Caracara (Phalcoboenus albogularis) – S. America

Striated Caracara (Phalcoboenus australis) – S. America

Northern Crested Caracara (Caracara cheriway) by Dan – N. America

Southern Crested Caracara (Caracara plancus) – S. America

Yellow-headed Caracara (Milvago chimachima) – C. & S. America

Chimango Caracara (Milvago chimango) – S. America

***

As you can see above, they are only in the Western Hemisphere

***

Some information from Thayer Birding Software

Falcon Page

Caracara – Wikipedia

Gospel Message

*

Macrocephalon Maleo – The Mute Missionary…

January 5, 2011 by a j mithra

Macrocephalon Maleo – The Mute Missionary… ~ by a j mithra

The Maleo, Macrocephalon maleo, is a medium-sized (approximately 55cm long) blackish megapode with bare yellow facial skin, reddish-brown iris, reddish-orange beak and rosy salmon underparts. The crown is ornamented with a black helmet casque. The greyish blue feet have four long sharp claws, separated by a membranous web. The sexes are almost identical with a slightly smaller and duller female.

Voice several different vocalisations, including extraordinary loud braying, series of disyllabic rolls, and, in disputes, a duck-like quacking. Usually shy and often silent, except around nesting grounds, where occasionally crepuscular or nocturnal.

What can we learn from these birds? Silence?

Well, silence is the most powerful language..
If Jesus had not been silent on the cross, we wouldn’t have had redemption..
His silence has given us the assurance of life eternal…
How silent are we during our prayer time?
God says that there is a time to talk and a time to be silent…

Maleo (Macrocephalon maleo) ©©Wong Dermayu

The God who created us in His own image is able to turn our silence into a powerful weapon you know?

Keep silence before me, O islands; and let the people renew their strength: let them come near; then let them speak: let us come near together to judgment. Isaiah 41:1
Be silent, O all flesh, before the LORD: for he is raised up out of his holy habitation. Zechariah 2:13

Like these birds, we as body of Christ need to be crepuscular and nocturnal as well..

David sought the Lord at all times and that was the reason he won favour from the Lord..
How is our relationship with God?
Do we seek Him at all times are only in times of trouble?

…….I will bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth. Psalm 34:1

The only member of the monotypic genus Macrocephalon, the Maleo is endemic to the Indonesian island of Sulawesi. The Maleo is monogamous, and members of a pair stay close to each other all the time. Its diet consists mainly of fruits, seeds, ants, termites, beetles and other small invertebrates..

Maleo (Macrocephalon maleo) egg©©Wong Dermayu

It is found in the tropical lowland and hill forests, but nests in the open sandy areas, volcanic soils or beaches that are heated by the sun or geothermal energy for incubation. There are also megapode species that use fermenting compost to incubate their eggs. The Maleo’s egg is large, about five times as large as that of the domestic chicken’s.

Maleo (Macrocephalon maleo) pair digging©Mongabay.com

The female lays and covers each egg in a deep hole in the sand and allows the incubation to take place through solar or volcanic heating. After the eggs hatch, the young birds work their way up through the sand and hide in the forest. The young birds are able to fly and are totally independent. They must find food and defend themselves from predators such as lizards, pythons wild pigs or cats.

Though these birds live close to active volcanoes, they still survive..
They did not run away from the heat of the volcano..
In fact they use the heat of the sand to incubate their eggs..
You may be in the midst of a hot situation..

Remember:

That God is not bent upon burning us but He wants to show how much He cares for us..
The same God who walked with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego is still alive and is still an unchanging God..
Joseph’s brother did evil, but God turned him into a blessing to his brothers…

Our God is still able to change all the evil that had been done against us into blessings..

But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive. Genesis 50:

Have blessed day!

Your’s in YESHUA,
a j mithra

Please visit us at: Crosstree

Lee’s Addition:

Good job, a j, but you sure gave me a challenge trying to find photos for this bird. They are becoming extinct and I think the photographers who are willing to share their photos of the Maleo are also becoming extinct.

The Maleo is in the Megapodiidae – Megapodes Family of the Galliformes Order.

2010 in review

January 2, 2011 by Lee

The stats helper monkeys at WordPress.com mulled over how this blog did in 2010, and here’s a high level summary of its overall blog health:

Healthy blog!

The Blog-Health-o-Meter™ reads Wow.

Crunchy numbers

The Louvre Museum has 8.5 million visitors per year. This blog was viewed about 130,000 times in 2010. If it were an exhibit at The Louvre Museum, it would take 6 days for that many people to see it.

In 2010, there were 357 new posts, growing the total archive of this blog to 787 posts.

The busiest day of the year was September 28th with 617 views. The most popular post that day was South Lake Howard Nature Park.

Where did they come from?

The top referring sites in 2010 were wiki.answers.com, birdsofthebible.wordpress.com, search.aol.com, mail.yahoo.com, and facebook.com.

Some visitors came searching, mostly for nature, elephant ear plant, dragonfly, parrot, and nature pictures.

Attractions in 2010

These are the posts and pages that got the most views in 2010.

South Lake Howard Nature Park July 2008

2 comments

When I Consider! – Elephant Ears and Scarab Beetles September 2009

1 comment

Interesting Things – Dragonflies January 2009

2 comments

Birds of the Bible July 2008

0 comments

Life List of All Birds We Have Seen March 2009

0 comments

This was produced by WordPress.Com and used with my permission. WordPress is a great place to have a blog. They have treated me very well and they work hard to keep their system running.

Thanks again to the Lord for His blessings on this blog. Thanks to all of you for stopping by to view this blog.

Happy New Year – First Bird for 2011?

January 1, 2011 by Lee

"And I said, Oh that I had wings like a dove! for then would I fly away, and be at rest." (Psalms 55:6 KJV) Mourning Dove by Reinier Munguia

Then said he unto them, Therefore every scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old. (Matthew 13:52 KJV)

Happy 2011 to all of you. As we start the New Year, lets keep the old things which were good and look forward to finding and doing new things. Like improving our walk with the Lord, but maintaining the good habits of Bible Study and serving the Lord. Also, improving our knowledge about God’s Creative Hand and not forgetting the things already learned. (At this stage of my life, that is becoming a challenge :o) ) Two of my goals for this year is to continue to improve this blog and most of all to serve my Lord better than before.

Turkey Vulture at Circle B 2010 by Lee

There is a path which no fowl knoweth, and which the vulture’s eye hath not seen: (Job 28:7 KJV)

When I got up this morning I started watching my bird feeder outside the bedroom window to see what the first bird of 2011 would be. Two Mourning Doves and then a Eurasian Collared Dove landed right behind them. Looks like the Doves have it for me. We then drove to Bartow, FL, 7 miles away, and started my birdwatching list for the year.

Boat-tailed Grackle at S. Lk Howard 2008 by Lee

I think most of the birds either had a party or were sleeping in after all the fireworks and racket kept them awake during the night. We only spotted another Mourning Dove, a Boat-tailed Grackle and 2 Black Vultures on the way to town. On the way back, they had started waking up. We saw lots of Cattle Egrets, a Great Egret, a Mockingbird, two unknown Hawks and 300-400 Turkey and Black Vultures heading in a SE direction.

Would love to hear what your first birds of the new year are. How about leaving a comment and telling us about your first birds of 2011. Waiting to hear, Lee

Click Here to leave a comment if the Comment section is not showing.

Formed by Him – Oxpeckers

December 27, 2010 by Lee

Red-billed Oxpecker (Buphagus erythrorhynchus) on Giraffe©©

The oxpeckers are two species of bird which make up the family Buphagidae. Some ornithologists regard them as a subfamily Buphaginae within the starling family Sturnidae but they appear to be quite distinct. Oxpeckers are endemic to the savanna of Sub-Saharan Africa. Both the English and scientific names arise from their habit of perching on large mammals (both wild and domesticated) such as cattle or rhinoceroses, and eating ticks, botfly larvae, lice and other parasites.

Red-billed Oxpecker by Africaddict checking an impala ear

The Egyptians had their run-in with lice when the LORD told Moses to – “Stretch out thy rod, and smite the dust of the land, that it may become lice throughout all the land of Egypt. And they did so; for Aaron stretched out his hand with his rod, and smote the dust of the earth, and it became lice in man, and in beast; all the dust of the land became lice throughout all the land of Egypt.” (Exodus 8:16-17 KJV)

Yellow-billed Oxpecker (Buphagus africanus) ©©

Many large animals today have lice, ticks, and such and the Lord has provided them a bird that gets its meals from the things crawling around on animals backs, legs, necks, ears, and even their nostrils. Most of the animals do not mind the help they receive from these oxpeckers. The elephants aren’t always happy, but the oxpeckers find plenty of other animals. Also known as tickbirds, oxpeckers have very short legs and sharp claws, which aid them in perching on the backs of large mammals, both wild and domesticated. Oxpeckers were designed with broad, thick, laterally flattened beaks to pick at and feed on skin parasites such as ticks and embedded larvae. They also pick at scabs, often opening and enlarging wounds, and probably obtain their main nourishment from the blood from these wounds rather than from the ticks. Although these birds are valuable from the standpoint of ridding domesticated animals of parasites, they also feed on tick-free game and become debilitating parasites themselves.

Researchers are not sure why they pick the scabs, but they do know that the birds aid the host animals by providing alarm sounds when danger is lurking.

Job was asked by the LORD,

“Is it by your understanding that the hawk soars and spreads his wings toward the south? Is it at your command that the eagle mounts up and makes his nest on high? (Job 39:26-27 ESV)

We don’t always understand why the birds and critters do what they do, but they have a Creator who does. The Lord encourages us to study and learn, but we do not always find the exact answer.

Red-billed Oxpecker (Buphagus erythrorhynchus) by Africaddict

The Oxpeckers are about 9 inches long with a brownish color on the upper parts, with a lighter underside. The two Oxpeckers are the Red-billed and the Yellow-billed. The Red-billed has a red bill and yellow eyes where as the Yellow-billed has a yellow bill with a red tip and it has red eyes. The bird spends most of its time on the animals and even court and mate while riding on their back.

Some Breeding Facts from Biodiversity Explorer:
* Monogamous, cooperative breeder, as the breeding pair are usually assisted by up to 7 helpers who are usually unmated adults and juveniles from the previous breeding season.
* It usually nests in a natural tree cavity or a hole in rock or a stone wall, lining the interior with hair from its mammal hosts, dung, grass and rootlets.
* Egg-laying season is from October-March.
* It lays 2-5 eggs, which are incubated by both sexes for about for about 12-13 days.
* The chicks are fed by all members of the group, leaving the nest after about 30 days and becoming fully independent roughly two months later.

Yellow-billed Oxpecker with Water Buffalo ©©

This behavior between the animals and the Oxpeckers is another example of cooperation (symbiosis) between species.

From Psalms we know that all creation is His,

For every beast of the forest is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills. I know all the birds of the hills, and all that moves in the field is mine. (Psalms 50:10-11 ESV)

Videos:
Red-billed Oxpecker by Joseph del Hoyo
Yellow-billed Oxpecker by Joseph del Hoyo

Lee's Birdwatching Adventures Plus

Birdwatching from a Christian Perspective

Tag Archives: Christian

Birds of the Bible – Stork III

Avian Worship…

Avian Worship…

(a j mithra wrote the article and Lee supplied some photos, videos and the sounds-not all recordings match his descriptions)

Oilbird – Mission With A Vision

Oilbird – Mission With A Vision ~ by a j mithra

Birds In Hymns – Flee As A Bird

Birds In Hymns – With Songs and Honors Sounding Loud

Formed By Him – Music Making Birds

Formed By Him – Silver Birds

Birds of the Bible – Falcon – Caracara

Macrocephalon Maleo – The Mute Missionary…

2010 in review

Crunchy numbers

Where did they come from?

Attractions in 2010

Happy New Year – First Bird for 2011?

Formed by Him – Oxpeckers

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Avian Worship…

(a j mithra wrote the article and Lee supplied some photos, videos and the sounds-not all recordings match his descriptions)

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Oilbird – Mission With A Vision ~ by a j mithra

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Crunchy numbers

Where did they come from?

Attractions in 2010

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