They Came By Pairs – Green-winged Teal (Anas carolinensis) ©WikiC

And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee; they shall be male and female. Of fowls after their kind, and of cattle after their kind, of every creeping thing of the earth after his kind, two of every sort shall come unto thee, to keep them alive. And take thou unto thee of all food that is eaten, and thou shalt gather it to thee; and it shall be for food for thee, and for them. Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he. (Genesis 6:19-22 KJV)

When Noah was preparing the Ark, he was informed that the animals and birds (fowls) after their kinds would come to him to keep them alive. Again, notice in Genesis 7:1-3 that the clean beast and the birds (fowls) all come by sevens (pairs) also. Clean or unclean, the birds came by seven pairs. There is no distinction made with them.

And the LORD said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation. Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female: and of beasts that are not clean by two, the male and his female. Of fowls also of the air by sevens, the male and the female; to keep seed alive upon the face of all the earth. (Genesis 7:1-3 KJV)

Bobolink (Dolichonyx oryzivorus) ©© Pair ramendan

In Birds of the Bible – Foundation #3 Updated, I made this remark “Noah did not have to round up the animals, they came to him. Because not every animal we see today came on board but the main kinds (for instance the “bird kinds” may have had a “warbler kind” but not have black and white warblers, yellow-rumped warblers, hooded warbler, etc.), which ever ones they were, there was plenty of room for them. I have an idea that because the LORD sent the animals, birds, and critters, that their DNA’s were of the highest quality. (That is my opinion)”

At the time that comment was made, I was not aware of this article from Dr. Jean Lightner, about the Avian Ark Kinds. This series is based on her’s and other’s research into the Avian Kinds that came on board the ark.

“Kinds” or created kinds are called “baramins” and they used different methods to try to find the original kinds. This part of her article is rather technical, and honestly, I don’t understand some of the terms and methods discussed. Yet, the findings, is what I would like to share with you. Those, we can understand. (You can read her article HERE)

Most of us are aware that the many variety of dogs we see today came from an original “dog kind.” No matter how much interbreeding they do, the results are still dog kinds. Cats and dogs don’t interbreed, so no evolution is involved. Variation within the dog kind has occurred, just as it has in the “bird kinds”. In the Bird Kinds, they have come up with approximately 196 putative bird kinds and most of those break down to our modern-day Families in our taxonomy. Yet, in the I.O.C. their are 239 families and two Incertae Sedis families which make 241 families. The next articles will show how those Families compare to today’s families.

By the way, my math was off in that first article. I forgot the two Incertae Sedis Families. That makes for 45 extra families to account for.

Mountain Bluebird, male (R)- female (L) ©Mickey Barnes / from Birds & Blooms

Two quotes from Dr. Lighner’s article: “There is tremendous variety seen today in animal life as creatures have multiplied and filled the earth since the Flood (Genesis 8:17). In order to identify which modern species are related, being descendants of a single kind, interspecific hybrid data is utilized. When hybrid data is lacking, a cognitum approach is preferred; this identifies natural groupings based on human cognitive senses. Generally the cognitum at the family level (which is usually fairly strong) is preferred when hybrid data is lacking, though obvious cognita surrounding this level are noted.” (emphasis mine)

“As in mammals and amphibians, the state of avian taxonomy is in flux. Despite the ideal of neatly nested hierarchies in taxonomy, it seems groups of birds are repeatedly “changing nests.” This is partially because where an animal is placed depends on which characteristics one chooses to consider. While many had thought that molecular data would resolve these issues, in some cases it has exacerbated them.”

One thing we can see from all this. We will never know exactly who, what, or which one belongs to this family or that order or kind until we reach heaven and ask their Creator.

Let them praise the name of the LORD: for he commanded, and they were created. (Psalms 148:5 KJV)

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Avian Kinds on the Ark – Introduction

Birds of the Bible – Foundation – The Ark

Birds of the Bible – Foundation #3 Updated

An Initial Estimate of Avian Ark Kinds,

Birds of the Bible – Seven By Seven

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