Bar-headed Goose (Anser indicus) Lowry Park Zoo by Lee

While you were reading Birds of the Bible – Psalm 50:11’s Mountain Birds I, did you notice where the birds/fowls are?

Most of them are from the mountains. Where else are they mentioned?

They are:

• “in the mountains”
• “of the mountains”
• “on the mountains”
• “of the hills”
• “upon the mountains”
• “living in the fields”
• “every mountain bird”
• “of the air”
• “in the sky”
• “flying over the mountains” [more on this later]

Common Crane (Grus grus) by Nikhil Devasar

Whose birds are they? What did the Creator say about these birds?

• “I know all the birds, every bird”
• “I know and am acquainted with all the birds”
• “all the wild birds are mine”
• “I keep track of every bird”
• “I know every movement of the birds”
• “I have known every fowl”
• “I see all the birds”
• “I know every mountain bird by name”

This reminds us of “Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will.”
(Matthew 10:29 NKJV)

At the end of these verses from Psalm 50:11, what does the Word say about them?

• “are/is mine/Mine”
• “are Mine and are with Me, in My mind”
• “is in my care”
• “is with me”
• “indeed, everything that moves… is mine”
• “All creation and its bounty are mine…”
• “belong to me”
• “are at my commandment”
• “are in my sight”
• ” is in my thoughts. The entire world and everything it contains is mine.”

Alpine Chough, in snowy French Alps ©Static1-Philip Braude

WOW! 

As my pastor would say, let those words sink in. If God, the Creator, cares that much about the birds and animals, how much more does He care about us.

Psalm 50:11 refers to all the birds living in and around the mountains. One of those translations caught my attention when it mentioned the birds “flying over the mountains“. I have never heard of the VOICE translation, but this is how it reads:

Bar-headed Goose (Anser indicus) Zoo Miami by Lee

“Every bird flying over the mountains I know; every animal roaming over the fields belongs to Me.”

Yes, they all fly over the mountains, but the Bar-headed Goose, that we saw at the zoo, is known to fly over the “peaks of the Himalayas on their migratory path.” At an altitude of 29,000 feet/8,800 meters. But this Goose isn’t the highest flying bird.

An article from Institute for Creation Research mentions high flying birds. “What about high-flying birds that have no such oxygen mask? How can they survive elevations of 15,000 feet and sometimes higher without a supplemental source of oxygen? Many bird migrations occur at extremely high elevations: 21,000 feet for the mallard duck, 27,000 feet for swans, even 36,000 feet for vultures!The article goes on to explain about the Creators design of such birds:

“A bird’s lungs function according to the through-flow principle: the inspired [inhaled] air collects in the bird’s posterior air-sacs and flows through the lungs to the anterior air-sacs before it passes back out. In the lungs the blood is oxygenated by fine air capillaries, where air and blood flow in opposite directions. Owing to this counterflow, the oxygenated blood that leaves the bird lung acquires a higher oxygen concentration than that corresponding to the oxygen pressure in the expired [exhaled] air.

In addition to flow-through lungs, birds have hearts that are proportionately larger to their bodies than those of mammals—from 0.8 to 1.5% of total body mass, compared to mammals, which average around 0.6%. The birds’ larger hearts enable speedy blood transport and intensive oxygen renewal.”

Which is the highest flying bird? The Ruppell’s Vulture (Gyps rueppellii). One was hit by a plane at 11,300 metres (37,100 feet).

Rüppell’s Vulture (Gyps rueppellii) ©WikiC

I have a tendency, at times, to just read a verse and then move on. Yet, sometimes it is good to check out some of the other translations. [Read my disclaimer in the last article.] The last article showed photos of some of the birds that live in the mountains, but how about these that fly over the mountains. Only a Creator could design them with those capabilities. Chance molecules, evolution, or whatever theory man devises does not explain the Wisdom that comes Only from the Lord Jesus Christ, their Creator.

High Altitude Flying For Birds – I.C.R.

List of Birds by Flight Heights – Wikipedia

Top 10 Highest Flying Birds in the World – TMW

Birds of the Bible

Birds of the Bible – Psalm 50:11’s Mountain Birds

Gideon