Cactus Wren (Campylorhynchus brunneicapillus) by Lee
“Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? for riches certainly make themselves wings; they fly away as an eagle toward heaven.” (Proverbs 23:5 KJV)
“Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding.” (Isaiah 40:28 KJV)
Mute Swan (Cygnus olor)II at Bok Tower By Dan’sPix
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“And they clothed him with purple, and platted a crown of thorns, and put it about his head,” (Mark 15:17 KJV)
Purple Sunbird (Cinnyris asiaticus) ©WikiC-J M Garg
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Mountain Bluebird (Sialia currucoides) ©Elaine R Wilson WikiC
“Which were clothed with blue, captains and rulers, all of them desirable young men, horsemen riding upon horses.” (Ezekiel 23:6 KJV)
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“I love the LORD, because he hath heard my voice and my supplications.” (Psalms 116:1 KJV)
Flamingos In Love ©Pixabay
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“And thou shalt teach them ordinances and laws, and shalt shew them the way wherein they must walk, and the work that they must do.” (Exodus 18:20)
Walking Chicks ©GettyImages
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“I know all the birds of the mountains, And the wild beasts of the field are Mine.” (Psalms 50:11 NKJV)
Watching Birds at MacDill AFB Shore by Lee
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Ian’s Bird of the Week – Southern Lapwing ~ by Ian Montgomery
Newsletter – 5/24/16
It is, I regret more than a month since last bird of the “week” so you have probably given me up for lost or worse, unless of course you’ve been so busy too that you haven’t noticed. Anyway, I’m now at Brisbane airport waiting for a flight, so you have my undivided attention for at least half an hour.
I’m continuing the series of global Lapwings, with a South American one, the Southern Lapwing. It’s crest gives it a superficial resemblance to the Northern Lapwing of Eurasia, but it’s not a very close relative and used to be in its own monotypic (single species) genus.
It has a wide distribution from the tip of Tierra del Fuego in the south to Nicaragua in Central America. Interestingly, there are two Lapwing species in South America (the other is the Andean Lapwing) but none in North America, odd given the almost global distribution of Lapwing species so one would wonder how their ancestors got around.
The Southern Lapwing lacks the gentle manners of its Northern counterpart and is noisy and aggressive like the Masked Lapwing of Australia. In fact, in Brazil and Chile it is often kept with wings clipped as a guard ‘dog’. Maybe I should get one to get my own back on my neighbour’s Great Dane who often wakes me in the middle of the night.
Another reason why I’ve been slack about the bird of the week is that I haven’t been doing much bird photography. That I hope is about to change. I’m on my way to Vienna at the moment with the intention of spending a week birding with my sister Gillian in Slovakia en route to my nephew’s wedding in Ireland (her son Ian), so I hope I’ll have some interesting photos for you soon.
Greetings
Ian
Lee’s Addition:
And the stork, the heron after her kind, and the lapwing, and the bat. (Lev 11:19 KJV)
I was beginning to wonder where Ian had traveled to, because, like he said, no newsletter had been sent. Glad he is busy, but miss his newsletter adventures. What a beautiful Lapwing.
Like Ian, we haven’t done much birdwatching either. Now that our wintering birds have flown north, except for our locals, birdwatching has slowed down. There are plenty of tales to tell from previous unpublished adventures. So, stay tuned!
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“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.” (Galatians 5:22-23 KJV)
Inca Tern (Larosterna inca) waiting for fish. The others were rushing the trainer. By Lee at National Aviary
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“The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee, thou who dwellest in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high; that saith in his heart, Who shall bring me down to the ground?” (Obadiah 1:3)
Black Guillemot (Cepphus grylle) by Bob-Nan
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Crested Bunting (Emberiza lathami) by Nikhil Devasar
The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land; (Song of Solomon 2:12 KJV)
Our new family we start today is the Emberizidae – Buntings, New World Sparrows and allies. Since there are 181 species in the family, today we will introduce you to the Emberiza genus. It contains 42 Buntings and one Yellowhammer. These are small sparrow-sized birds with conical bills that gives the power to crack open many kinds of seeds. Seeds being their favorite food.
Golden-breasted Bunting (Emberiza flaviventris) ©WikiC
There is one more bunting, the Lark Bunting, that follows next after the Emberiza genus. “Lark buntings are small songbirds, with a short, thick, bluish bill. There is a large patch of white on the wings and they have a relatively short tail with white tips at the end of the feathers. Breeding males have an all black body with a large white patch on the upper part of the wing. Non-breeding males and females look similar and are grayish brown with white stripes.” (Wikipedia)
Lark Bunting (Calamospiza melanocorys) ©WikiC
There are many of these “Emberizidae buntings are boldly patterned on the face and head, or have colorful underparts.” (National Geographic Birds of the World,, p. 356) You will meet the other members of this family later. The Sparrows and others will be very familiar, many referred to as “little brown jobs”
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“That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.” (Ephesians 5:27 KJV)
“Triumphantly The Church Will Rise” ~ Faith Baptist Men’s Quintet
“That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.” (Ephesians 1:17-23 KJV)
Emberizidae – Buntings, New World Sparrows & Allies
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“ If thieves came to thee, if robbers by night, (how art thou cut off!) would they not have stolen till they had enough? If the grape-gatherers came to thee, would they not leave some grapes?“ (Obadiah 1:5)
White-fronted Amazon (Amazona albifrons) named Eugy, Eating Grapes ©WikiC
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Northern Barred Owl (Strix varia) Lowry Park Zoo by Dan 2014
CAN THERE BE DESIGN WITHOUT A DESIGNER?
“For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead…” (Romans 1:20a)
A new science called biomimetics is making news. In the past we have talked about how some of man’s designs are often similar to God’s which do the same job. However, in biomimetics, researchers actively seek to study the creation to learn of designs that will solve engineering problems.
Can There Be Design Without a Designer?We are all familiar with the story of how thistle seeds inspired Velcro. Engineers have used the design of the owl’s wing to make the structures that carry electrical current to trains. The result is a much quieter ride. The moth’s eyes’ ability not to reflect light helps make it harder to be spotted by birds. The same design has now been used to make a nonreflective film. The result is a film that can be used to help prevent windows from reflecting light. This film will soon be available commercially. Many dyes are toxic, yet many creatures manage to show off bright colors without using toxic substances. Materials engineers studied how the jewel beetle produces its color. The result is a film that seems to change color depending on the angle from which you view it.
No scientist can offer a rational explanation for how so many thoughtful and efficient designs could be generated in a mindless universe. These designs are fingerprints God left all over the creation so that man might seek Him out.
Prayer:
I thank and praise You, dear Father, for the excellence and wonder You have left as fingerprints in the creation. Amen.
Notes:
Nikkei Weekly, 2/22/10, p. 17, “Biomimetics yields life-inspired products.”
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Lee's Birdwatching Adventures Plus 