In Matthew 6:26, the Bible states, “Look at the birds of the air.” The ostrich, kiwi and penguin are notable examples of flightless birds but the vast majority of birds are amazing in their ability to fly with ease. For centuries mankind has been attempting to imitate the flight of a bird. It has only been in the 20th century that we have had some success. We still study the birds to learn more about aerodynamics. The bird has been wonderfully created for flight.

• Strong breastbone muscles – The bird has two strong sets of breast bone muscles. One set for down-strokes and another set for up-strokes.
• Feathers – Birds are the only animal to have feathers. They provide insulation from the sun’s heat, protection from the cold, waterproof the body and create wing and tail surfaces necessary for flight. Each feather is connected to a nerve and controlled by a muscle. This helps the bird balance in the air, steer and brake when slowing down to land.
• Air-filled bags between organs – These are connected the lungs and this rapidly feeds oxygen to the bird whilst also keeping it light in the air. A bird’s lung is unlike any other. A bird can fly for hours and when it lands you won’t see it’s chest heaving! It is an indicator of how efficient an internal engine they have!
• Migrating long distances – The Arctic Tern goes from the North Pole down to the South Pole and back, every year! We can do that in an airplane. However, the tern doesn’t need all those controls or ground control. It is packed into one small part of it’s brain. The next time someone calls you bird-brain – say thank you!

Birds provide a unique role for mankind. Some keep down the number of insects, weed seeds and other pests. The cost of fighting these pests without the help of birds would make some foods more costly to produce. Others remove dead carcasses. Birds provide food for humans as most birds can be eaten. The more tasty being quail, grouse. pheasant, chicken, ducks, geese and turkeys. Yet we are of more value than many sparrows. See Matthew 10:29.

Categories: Animals