Tag Archives: Intelligence

Birds of the Bible II – Raven Adventures

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Common Raven at Cypress Provincial Park, British Columbia ©WikiC

In the First Bird Species Named post, you found out that it was the Raven that was sent out first from the Ark. He never came back in, but may have landed on it now and then. The Raven family has a very resourceful way of finding and collecting food and objects.

Today there are several species in the Raven family (Covidae). Of course, not all of those species were on the Ark. They spread out and reproduced after their kind. “every raven after its kind,” (Lev 11:15)

Chihuahuan Raven (Corvus cryptoleucus)Raven (Corvus corax) by Kent Nickell

Northern Raven (Corvus corax) by Kent Nickell

Compare the Common Raven and the Chihuahuan Raven

American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos) by Kent Nickell

American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos) by Kent Nickell

and compare the Common Raven and the American Crow.

All of these birds belong to the Covid family and Dr. Johnson posted a great article that covers this family.

Crows and Other Corvids are Really Smart Birds!

As was pointed out in that article, how the ravens came and fed Elijah. They brought him bread and flesh. (I Kings 17:6) But where do the Ravens get their food? (Job 38:41)

Much has been written about these interesting birds here over the years. Here are some of the links to help you find out more about the Ravens and their kind:

Birds of the Bible – Ravens

Other articles about the Raven:

Also check out articles by our various writers:

For younger readers:

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All Birds of the Bible section

Gideon

Flight: The Genius of Birds Film

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Flight DVD face

(Gen 1:21) So God created great sea creatures and every living thing that moves, with which the waters abounded, according to their kind, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.

I have just had the privilege of “screening” the “FLIGHT: The Genius of Birds” film. After being contacted by its director, Lad, I accepted the offer to watch this amazing film all about the bird’s intelligently designed ability to fly. It is FANTASTIC!

Illustra Media produced this film and I am including their Trailer and three segments; the Embryonic Development, the Skeletal system, and the Hummingbird tongue.

Enjoy watching these. And this is only a part of a tremendously amazing film!

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Flight: The Genius of Birds – Official Trailer

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Embryonic Development

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Iceland Gull (Larus glaucoides) chick-egg nest ©USFWS

Iceland Gull (Larus glaucoides) chick-egg nest ©USFWS

Out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them. And whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name. (Gen 2:19)

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Skeletal system

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American White Pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos) by AestheticPhotos

American White Pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos) by AestheticPhotos

Many, O LORD my God, are thy wonderful works which thou hast done, and thy thoughts which are to us-ward: they cannot be reckoned up in order unto thee: if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered. (Psa 40:5 KJV)

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This clip tells about the skeletal makeup of the birds. They do a super job showing with their photography and illustrations. It helped me better understand how the bird’s bones and structure work together to enable birds to fly.
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Hummingbird tongue

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Rufous-tailed Hummingbird (Amazilia tzacatl) by Judd Patterson

Rufous-tailed Hummingbird (Amazilia tzacatl) by Judd Patterson

Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it. (Psa 139:6 KJV)

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I never imagined this is how they get the nectar. Wow!

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I do not sell things here on the blog. My goal is to help promote this very informative video about how an Intelligent designer is behind all of the ingenious aspects of birds and their Flight. We know that the Lord Jesus Christ is that “intelligent designer’ and that He deserves all the credit.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. (Joh 1:1-3)

Taken from YouTube – TO ORDER DVDs: www.illustramedia.com / FLIGHT: THE GENIUS OF BIRDS is the first episode in Illustra Media’s new series THE DESIGN OF LIFE. This remarkable documentary explores the evidence for intelligent design as revealed through the biological systems and mechanisms that make avian flight possible. Photographed in North America, England, Peru, Greenland, and Antarctica FLIGHT celebrates birds and the miracle of life in the skies.
The DVD is available for purchase now – visit www.illustramedia.com for more information.

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Wordless Birds

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Birds of the Bible – Raven III

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Northern Raven (Corvus corax) by Ray

Northern Raven (Corvus corax) by Ray

It has been several years since the Raven was featured in the Birds of the Bible. Let’s review the Raven’s part in the Scripture and see if we can add more details about this fantastic bird and his family members.

Ravens are mentioned eleven times in the Bible:

Then he sent out a raven, which kept going to and fro until the waters had dried up from the earth. (Genesis 8:7)
every raven after its kind, (Leviticus 11:15)
every raven after its kind; (Deuteronomy 14:14)
You shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.” 1Kings 17:4)
And the ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook. (1Kings 17:6)
Who provides food for the raven, When its young ones cry to God, And wander about for lack of food? (Job 38:41)
He gives to the beasts their food, and to the young ravens that cry. (Psalms 147:9)
The eye that mocks a father and scorns to obey a mother will be picked out by the ravens of the valley and eaten by the vultures. (Proverbs 30:17)
His head is like the finest gold; His locks are wavy, And black as a raven. (Song of Solomon 5:11)
But the pelican and the porcupine shall possess it, Also the owl and the raven shall dwell in it. And He shall stretch out over it The line of confusion and the stones of emptiness. (Isaiah 34:11)
Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! (Luke 12:24)

As you can see, the Raven is one of the more mentioned birds in God’s Word, therefore it deserves to be studied again. The  Corvidae – Crows, Jays, Ravens Family is where you will find the Raven and their kind, such as Ravens, Crows, Jackdaw, Magpies, Jays, Magpie-Jays and Ground-Jays, Treepies, Choughs and Nutcrackers. At present, there are 130 species in the family. The Raven is one of several larger-bodied members of the genus Corvus—but in Europe and North America the Northern (Common) Raven is normally implied. They have black plumage and large beaks. They are considered the most intelligent of the birds, and among the most intelligent of all animals. It appears that the Lord used the intelligence He created in the Raven to help find the food that was needed to feed Elijah, the prophet, and also to help Noah discern when the waters had dried up.

And Elijah the Tishbite, of the inhabitants of Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the LORD God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, except at my word.” Then the word of the LORD came to him, saying, “Get away from here and turn eastward, and hide by the Brook Cherith, which flows into the Jordan. And it will be that you shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.” So he went and did according to the word of the LORD, for he went and stayed by the Brook Cherith, which flows into the Jordan. The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening; and he drank from the brook. (1 Kings 17:1-6 NKJV)

Today there are thirteen (11) Ravens plus several subspecies. (IOC 3.4) There are also two extinct; the Chatham and New Zealand Ravens.

Forest Raven (Corvus tasmanicus)
Little Raven (Corvus mellori)
Australian Raven (Corvus coronoides)
Pied Crow (Corvus albus)
Brown-necked Raven (Corvus ruficollis)
Somali Crow (Corvus edithae)
Northern Raven (Corvus corax)
Chihuahuan Raven (Corvus cryptoleucus)
Fan-tailed Raven (Corvus rhipidurus)
White-necked Raven (Corvus albicollis)
Thick-billed Raven (Corvus crassirostris)

Chihuahuan Raven (Corvus cryptoleucus) ©WikiC

Chihuahuan Raven (Corvus cryptoleucus) ©WikiC

The Northern (Common) Raven, which is North America’s main Raven, began in the Old World and crossed the Bering land bridge into North America. Recent genetic studies, which examined the DNA of Northern Ravens from across the world, have determined that the birds fall into at least two clades: a California clade, found only in the southwestern United States, and a Holarctic clade, found across the rest of the northern hemisphere. Birds from both clades look alike, but the groups are genetically distinct and began to diverge.

The findings indicate that based on mitochondrial DNA, Northern Ravens from the rest of the United States are more closely related to those in Europe and Asia than to those in the California clade, and that Northern Ravens in the California clade are more closely related to the Chihuahuan Raven (C. cryptoleucus) than to those in the Holarctic clade. Ravens in the Holarctic clade are more closely related to the Pied Crow (C. albus) than they are to the California clade. Thus, the Northern Raven species as traditionally delimited is considered to be paraphyletic.

One explanation for these surprising genetic findings is that Northern Ravens settled in California and became separated from their relatives in Europe and Asia during an ice age. A group from the California clade became into a new species, the Chihuahuan Raven. Other members of the Holarctic clade arrived later in a separate migration from Asia.

A recent study of raven mitochondrial DNA showed that the isolated population from the Canary Islands is distinct from other populations. The study did not include any individuals from the North African population, and its position is therefore unclear, though its morphology is very close to the population of the Canaries (to the extent that the two are often considered part of a single subspecies). (Wikipedia with editing)

Thick-billed Raven (Corvus crassirostris) ©WikiC

Thick-billed Raven (Corvus crassirostris) ©WikiC

Wikipedia and others break the Ravens into five groups along with their allies in the True Crows division.

  • Australian and Melanesian Species – Australian Raven, Little Raven, Forest Raven
  • Eurasian and North African Species – Fan-tailed Raven, Brown-necked Raven
  • Holarctic Species – Northern (Common) and Pied Ravens
  • North and Central American Species – Chihuahuan Raven, Western Raven
  • Tropical African Species – White-necked Raven, Thick-billed Raven, Somali Crow (Dwarf Raven)
Australian Raven (Corvus coronoides) by Ian

Australian Raven (Corvus coronoides) by Ian

Other articles about the Raven:

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Interesting Things – Ancient Plane from Ancient Egypt

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And I said, Oh that I had wings like a dove! [for then] would I fly away, and be at rest. Lo, [then] would I wander far off, [and] remain in the wilderness. (Psalm 55 6-7)

These days, we don’t have to wait very long before we hear some nonsense about how flight or – more recently – space travel are but stages in human evolutionary development. As Christians, we know that when Adam, the first man, is described as perfect, he is perfect in every way – spiritually, morally and intellectually. This probably explains why Scripture says that within the first few generations of human existence on Earth, the arts and sciences were flourishing.

 

In 1898, an object that was thought to be a small wooden model of a bird was discovered in Egypt. The “unremarkable” find was tossed into a box marked “wooden bird models” and was rediscovered in more recent times. The Egyptian Ministry of Culture set up a special panel to study the object. As a result of that study, the object is on display at the Cairo Museum today as the centerpiece of a special exhibit. It is now officially labeled as a model airplane.

The plane’s design shows that it is an excellent glider, and with a small engine it could carry huge loads because of the unique design of its wings. This 2,200 year old model airplane had wings that angle slightly downward at the ends—exactly the same improved wing design that was first used in modern times on the supersonic Concorde!

Everyone agrees that humans have always been interested in flight. But now it appears that we creationists were right – we have always been smart enough to do something about our interest in flight as well!

Prayer:
Lord, help people understand that they are not simply glorified animals but are Your creations. Help us all to see that You made each one of us for a purpose, and help me to live for Your purpose.
In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
Notes:
Photo: Courtesy of Dawoudk and licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.
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