Let’s examine two Pacific coast water birds. The Ousel, is a very friendly little bird that lives near mountain streams. It can usually be found where the water is swift-flowing and splashy. This buoyant bird will be floating along, apparently weightless, and then suddenly sink to the bottom like a piece of lead. There he walks around picking up bits of food on the streambed. After taking his fill, he goes over to the bank, shakes himself, and mysteriously sets himself afloat again like a wisp of smoke.
It has been discovered that this strange bird has some special equipment—a muscular apparatus that can instantly exhaust every bit of air from its body, letting it sink down; then when it walks out, it can take in air again and float off once more. Hashem provided this particular bird as He did because He saw that it needed this for survival.
Another kind of bird found on the Pacific coast called a Long-billed Curlew, lives on a diet of large worms that live in holes in the sand. Because this worm is down at the very bottom of its hole, the bird must go down to get the worm out. It so happens that, although its beak is exactly the right length to reach into the hole, the narrow hole keeps the beak squeezed shut. What a predicament—to be able to see and reach a luscious worm but not be able to open his beak to pick it up! Do you know what Hashem arranged for this particular bird? He created a tiny flap much like a surgeon’s forceps at the bottom of the beak. The end of the beak has separate muscles to control it, and acts like a finger. With this special organ the bird can pick up the worm, back out of the hole, and gobble it down!
Isn’t it wonderful that Hashem thought of a little bird and made something special so it could get its food conveniently? Just as He loves the little birds and provides the things to make their existence comfortable, so is He willing to provide everything that we might need.
Love the wonders in nature? Join us on December 26th at Etz Chaim for an amazing animal show appreciating the miracles in nature. More info at achim.org