Birds

Continued from page 3

With all the bird does, there is continuous wear and tear on the feathers, so they must be replaceable. That’s why birds molt on a regular basis. Molting is a precise process, triggered in the least severe season. The feathers are discarded usually in pairs (one from the right side and the corresponding one from the left). And never so many that the bird can’t fly, although it may be weakened. To compensate the new feathers grow in very fast.

None holds the birds in the air except God

God holds them in the air. God gives them the

physical construction to fly, the use of wings. They can raise and lower the wings, can move them forward or back, they can reduce the wing area, can rotate the wing at the shoulder, can twist the wings. Then God gives them the instincts to know how to do it. Birds don’t study the laws of gravity but they use them.

From great heights, they’ll tuck their wings and fall straight down, then pull out the wings to provide resistance to slow down and land. They make it look easy.

Hummingbirds can fly backwards. Penguins, who don’t fly, use their wings like a powerful oar to move quickly through the water. Hawks can turn upside down in full flight to catch smaller birds trying to escape, then right

themselves and fly on without missing a beat.

Birds use the wind with great skill, as if they studied science. Some birds use land drafts to soar and glide, like an eagle using the currents in a canyon. Over water, seabirds are incredibly adept at using drafts. Gulls also have the instinct to use obstacles, like ships, which create extra updrafts. They’ll follow motionless, looking as if they’re tied like a kite on a string.

The structure of the bird and the miracle of flight are signs from God if we choose to see them. This is a proof for people who believe.

God willing, Part II of the “Birds” will cover the incredible phenomenon of migration.

Lydia Kelley