Birds of the Bible – Eurasian Jay?

Eurasian Jay (Garrulus glandarius) ©© Pierre Dalous

Eurasian Jay (Garrulus glandarius) ©© Pierre Dalous

One generation shall praise Your works to another, And shall declare Your mighty acts. (Psalms 145:4 NKJV)

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:34-35 NKJV)

How can an Eurasian Jay be a Bird of the Bible? Many times I have quoted the verse, in Job 12:17, about learning from the birds and now we have another bird we can learn from.  Focusing On Wildlife had an interesting article, Male Eurasian Jays Surprise Ornithologists.

Some quotes from the article:”The ability to disengage from our own desire to cater to someone else’s wishes is thought to be a unique feature of human cognition.” In their study, long story short, the male and female were fed different diets separate from each other. The male could watch the female eat, and when they were finally placed together, he would pick out her favorite food to get to her, even though his favorite was also there. “However, when the female’s desire differed from the male’s, then he took his partner’s wishes into account, often feeding her the food that she desired. This ability to ascribe to another individual an internal life-like one’s own and at the same time understand that the other’s internal, psychological states might differ from one’s own is called state-attribution.” “As humans, we ‘put ourselves into someone else’s shoes’ in order to respond to what the other person wants. Although we are biased by our own current desires,…”

Eurasian Jay (Garrulus glandarius) by Robert Scanlon

Eurasian Jay (Garrulus glandarius) by Robert Scanlon

This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. (John 15:12 NKJV)

Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another; (Romans 12:10 NKJV)

Eurasian Jay (Garrulus glandarius) ©WikiC

Eurasian Jay (Garrulus glandarius) ©WikiC

Therefore let us pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may edify another. (Romans 14:19 NKJV)

For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. (Galatians 5:13 NKJV)

PAS-Corv Eurasian Jay (Garrulus glandarius)2 by Robert Scanlon

And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love to one another and to all, just as we do to you, so that He may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints. (1 Thessalonians 3:12-13 NKJV)

Therefore comfort each other and edify one another, just as you also are doing. (1 Thessalonians 5:11 NKJV)

The verses on this page should help us remember how we are supposed to put others first in our lives.

Is the Eurasian Jay a Bird of the Bible? I think so. How about you? Let us learn his lesson.

Eurasian Jay (Garrulus glandarius) by Nikhil Devasar

Eurasian Jay (Garrulus glandarius) by Nikhil Devasar

And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, (Hebrews 10:24 NKJV)

Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart, (1 Peter 1:22 NKJV)

The Eurasian Jay (Garrulus glandarius) is a species of bird occurring over a vast region from Western Europe and north-west Africa to the Indian Subcontinent and further to the eastern seaboard of Asia and down into south-east Asia. Across its vast range, several very distinct racial forms look very different from each other, especially when forms at the extremes of its range are compared.

The bird is called jay, without any epithets, by English speakers in Great Britain and Ireland. It is the original ‘jay’ after which all others are named. (Wikipedia with editing)

The Jays belong to the Corvidae – Crows, Jays Family. There are 130 species in this family.

Eurasian Jay (Garrulus glandarius) ©WikiC

Eurasian Jay (Garrulus glandarius) ©WikiC

Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous; (1 Peter 3:8 NKJV)

Be hospitable to one another without grumbling. (1 Peter 4:9 NKJV)

Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. (1 John 4:11 NKJV)

See Also:

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Birds of the Bible – Patience Of…. A Duck?

Ferruginous Duck (Aythya nyroca) and Pintail by Lee at ZM 2014

Ferruginous Duck (Aythya nyroca) and Pintail by Lee at ZM 2014

But no one says, ‘Where is God my Maker, Who gives songs in the night, Who teaches us more than the beasts of the earth, And makes us wiser than the birds of heaven?’ (Job 35:10-11)

We know that God has given us more insight and wisdom than the animals and birds. Unfortunately, sometimes we need to observe the birds to see how we should behave. There are many times we can learn from watching their behaviors.

“But now ask the beasts, and they will teach you; And the birds of the air, and they will tell you; (Job 12:7)

While at the Zoo Miami’s Wings of Asia aviary, this behavior was captured on video. It’s between Ferruginous Ducks and a Mandarin Duck.

Can you think of some lessons that can be observed and learned? Are those ducks patient? Was one, the Mandarin Duck, jumping the line? What can be seen in their behaviors? Did you notice the eyes of the waiting duck? He wants it, but he is waiting. He even keeps his beak shut. Do we complain when things don’t go right? etc.

Here are some verses about patience, waiting and kindness that we can be taught from the birds.

Patience:

These all wait for You, That You may give them their food in due season. (Psalms 104:27)

Let integrity and uprightness preserve me, For I wait for You. (Psalms 25:21)

Kindness:

Therefore, my brethren, when you come together to eat, wait for one another. (1 Corinthians 11:33)

Breaking in Line – Mandarin:

Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for Him; Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass. Cease from anger, and forsake wrath; Do not fret—it only causes harm. (Psalms 37:7-8)

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The Ferruginous Duck, also Ferruginous Pochard (Aythya nyroca) is a medium-sized diving duck from Eurasia. The species is known colloquially by birders as “Fudge Duck”. They are members of the Anatidae – Ducks, Geese & Swans Family.

Their breeding habitat is marshes and lakes with a metre or more water depth. These ducks breed in southern and eastern Europe and southern and western Asia. They are somewhat migratory, and winter farther south and into north Africa.

The adult male is a rich chestnut colour with a darker back and a yellow eye. The pure white undertail helps to distinguish this species from the somewhat similar Tufted Duck. The female is similar but duller, and with a dark eye.

These are gregarious birds, forming large flocks in winter, often mixed with other diving ducks, such as Tufted Ducks and Pochards.

These birds feed mainly by diving or dabbling. They eat aquatic plants with some molluscs, aquatic insects and small fish. They often feed at night, and will upend (dabble) for food as well as the more characteristic diving.

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A Clash of Wills

A tiny owl and an angry woodpecker clash - from Mail Online

A tiny owl and an angry woodpecker clash – from Mail Online

My friend, Pastor Pete, sent me this photo. I am sharing it with you all also. It was posted in the Mail Online. The two were battling over food for their young. Click Here to read the article.

He also sent me a photo of a Blue-footed Booby scratching. Couldn’t find it on line, but found this one by Max Ruckman that is ©©

Blue-footed Booby Scratching ©© Max Ruckman

Blue-footed Booby Scratching ©© Max Ruckman

We have been running all day, but wanted to share something with you. Keep watching those birds. You never know what they will be doing next.

I don’t believe the first two birds are giving a good example of this verse:

Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share, (1 Timothy 6:18 NKJV)

and the second one:

For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. (2 Timothy 4:3-4 NKJV)

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True Duck Story – From an e-Mail

I received this from a friend and it was too good not to share.
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This is a really neat story.

True duck story – San Antonio , Texas – Bravo something really cute happened this week. Michael R. Is an accounting clerk at Frost Bank and works there in a second story office. Several weeks ago, he watched a mother duck choose the concrete awning outside his window as the unlikely place to build a nest above the sidewalk. The mallard laid ten eggs in a nest in the corner of the planter that is perched over 10 feet in the air. She dutifully kept the eggs warm for weeks, and Monday afternoon all of her ten ducklings hatched.

Duck Story 1

Michael worried all night how the momma duck was going to get those babies safely off their perch in a busy, downtown, urban environment to take to water, which typically happens in the first 48 hours of a duck hatching. Tuesday morning, Michael watched the mother duck encourage her babies to the edge of the perch with the intent to show them how to jump off. Office work came to a standstill as everyone gathered to watch.

The mother flew down below and started quacking to her babies above. In disbelief Michael watched as the first fuzzy newborn trustingly toddled to the edge and astonishingly leapt into thin air, crashing onto the cement below. Michael couldn’t stand to watch this risky effort nine more times! He dashed out of his office and ran down the stairs to the sidewalk where the first obedient duckling, near its mother, was resting in a stupor after the near-fatal fall. Michael stood out of sight under the awning-planter, ready to help.

As the second one took the plunge, Michael jumped forward and caught it with his bare hands before it hit the concrete. Safe and sound, he set it down it by its momma and the other stunned sibling, still recovering from that painful leap. (The momma must have sensed that Michael was trying to help her babies.)

One by one the babies continued to jump.. Each time Michael hid under the awning just to reach out in the nick of time as the duckling made its free fall. At the scene the busy downtown sidewalk traffic came to a standstill. Time after time, Michael was able to catch the remaining eight and set them by their approving mother.

At this point Michael realized the duck family had only made part of its dangerous journey. They had two full blocks to walk across traffic, crosswalks, curbs and past pedestrians to get to the closest open water, the San Antonio River , site of the famed “River Walk.” The onlooking office secretaries and several San Antonio police officers joined in. An empty copy-paper box was brought to collect the babies. They carefully corralled them, with the mother’s approval, and loaded them in the container.. Michael held the box low enough for the mom to see her Brood. He then slowly navigated through the downtown streets toward the San Antonio River . The mother waddled behind and kept her babies in sight, all the way.

As they reached the river, the mother took over and passed him, jumping in the river and quacking loudly. At the water’s edge, Michael tipped the box and helped shepherd the babies toward the water and to the waiting mother after their adventurous ride.

All ten darling ducklings safely made it into the water and paddled up snugly to momma. Michael said the mom swam in circles, looking back toward the beaming bank bookkeeper, and proudly quacking.

At last, all present and accounted for: “We’re all together again. We’re here! We’re here!”

And here’s a family portrait before they head outward to further adventures….

Like all of us in the big times of our life, they never could have made it alone without lots of helping hands. I think it gives the name of San Antonio ‘s famous “River Walk” a whole new meaning! Maybe you will want to share this story with others. It’s too good to lose! Live honestly, Love generously, Care deeply, Speak kindly & Leave the rest to God.