Birds of the Bible - Nighthawk (by Lee Dusing)

The Night Hawk is part of the Chordeilinae family which are nightjars. Here in North America, the Lesser, Common, and Antillean Nighthawks, are joined by the Common Pauraque, Common Poorwill, Chuck-Will's Widow, and the Whip-Poor-Will to round out the family. They have long wings, short legs, and very small bills. All of these are late evening, early morning, and night hunters of insects. God created them with coloration that helps them blend in with the tree or leaves around them and most perch horizontal to the limbs instead of across them like most birds. This also helps hide them in the daytime. Even though they have the name "Hawk", they do not resemble what most would think of hawks. The term is more of the fact of 'hawking or catching" insects while in flight. Most fly low over the ground in search the moths and large flying insects. They range from 7 to 13 inches long with wingspans from 11 to 24 inches.

All Nighthawks listed in the New World are the Band-tailed Nighthawk, Plain-tailed Nighthawk, Nacunda Nighthawk, Rufous-bellied Nighthawk, Short-tailed Nighthawk, Antillean Nighthawk, Lesser Nighthawk, Common Nighthawk, Least Nighthawk, Sand-colored Nighthawk

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UPDATE: AUG 30, 2008: Upon further investigation, the night hawk mentioned in the verses is most likely a type of owl that feeds at night. I will make a new article soon. Enjoy this anyway. (Lee)

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They are again in our list of birds that are "unclean." Both verses are identical in the KJV.

And the owl, and the night hawk, and the cuckoo, and the hawk after his kind, (Lev 11:16)
And the owl, and the night hawk, and the cuckoo, and the hawk after his kind, (Deu 14:15)

See Nighthawks for more information.

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Empty Things (by Stephen Simpson)

In 1 Samuel 12 the prophet Samuel is addressing the nation of Israel. Towards the end of the chapter he warns them to not turn aside from the following the Lord. In verse 21 Samuel says, "And do not turn aside after empty things that cannot profit or deliver, for they are empty." (ESV) This verse was such a rebuke to me as I read it because there are so many 'empty things' that I turn aside after, empty things that have no lasting value.

For example, I will gladly stay up late watching the most meaningless Olympic events. Yet, I never stay up late for some extra Bible study time or for extra time in prayer. When you stop and think about it, who really cares who won the semifinal of the men's 200m race? Talk about something that does not "profit or deliver!"

So, examine your life. Are there some 'empty things' that are demanding your time and energy? Let's all work diligently at identifying those things in our life which are empty and replace them with things that are full of value and worth.

Birds of the Bible - Hoopoe (by Lee Dusing)

The Hoopoe is mentioned in the list of "unclean" things not to eat in Leviticus and Deuteronomy. I am sort of revisiting my Birds of the Bible - Lapwing which uses the same references. Depending on which copy of Scripture one uses it is translated Lapwing in some and Hoopoe in others. The Hoopoe is an interesting and pretty bird, so I will describe it in today's blog.

the stork, the heron after its kind, the hoopoe, and the bat. (Lev 11:19 NKJV)
the stork, the heron after its kind, and the hoopoe and the bat. (Deu 14:18 NKJV)

• The Hoopoe is in the same order as Bee-eaters, Rollers, and
  
  Kingfishers.
• 
  
  They are found in Asia, Europe, and North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa and Madagascar.
• They migrate to the tropics in the winter.
• In 2008, the Long-Billed Hoopoe became the national bird of Israel. See Article in Jerusalem Post.
• Their diet consists of mostly worms and insects, which they find while spending most of their time on the ground.
• "The nest is in a hole in a tree or wall. Like those of its relatives, the kingfishers, the nest tends to contain copious amounts of faeces and smell very foul as a protection against predators^[2]."(Wikipedia)
• "The song is a trisyllabic "oop-oop-oop", which gives rise to its English and scientific names."(Wikipedia)

Links to check out:

Wikipedia - Hoopoe

Bird Families of the World - Hoopoes

William Kwong's Gallery (Photos used with his Permission)
Hoopoe - Photos & Videos

It Has Always Been the Soldier

Here's the video that we showed in church on July 6th. Enjoy.

Birds of the Bible - Falcons (by Lee Dusing)

Today we introduce another bird family that has been worderfully created by God. The Falcon is in the Family "Falconidae" which are birds of prey. Worldwide there are over 60 species in the family. Falcons, Caracara, Forest-Falcons, Kestrels, Falconets, Pygmy-Falcons, and Hobbies make up the family. For an interesting list of the birds and videos of them, see Internet Bird Collection. These are the birds seen in North America according to Thayer’s Birding software:

• Aplomado Falcon (15-16.5” with 40-48” wingspan) Mexico to Central and South America, TX
• Gyrfalcon (20-25” with 50-64” wingspan – largest of the falcons) - Arctic tundra-winter seen in upper Midwest, Dakotas, Montana, Idaho and Washington – Flies close to the ground.
• Peregrine Falcon (16-20” with 36-44” wingspan – large falcon)
• Prairie Falcon (15.5-19.5” with 35-43” wingspan)
• Merlin (12” with 25” wingspan)
• Collared Forest-Falcon (21-25” with 30-37” wingspan) (Accidental-South Texas)
• American Kestrel (10.5” with 23” wingspan - Smallest falcon)
• Eurasian Kestrel (13.5”with 29” wingspan Hovers) – Mass, NJ, N Brunswick and Aleutian Islands of Alaska
• Prairie Falcon by DanCrested Caracara (23” with 50” wingspan) - TX and FL, Prairie region of central FL, open arid and semiarid scrublands, grassland w/ few trees, ranchland
• Eurasian Hobby (11-13” with 28-33” wingspan) - Europe and Asia, Africa (winters) very rare in North America Captures prey in the air.

A good article about the Falconidae Family is at the Handbook of the Birds of the World website. The Wikipedia had these comments:

"Falcons and caracaras are carnivores, feeding on birds, small mammals, reptiles, insects and carrion.",

"They have strongly hooked bills, sharply curved talons and excellent eyesight. The plumage is usually composed of browns, whites, chestnut, black and grey, often with barring of patterning. "

"They differ from other Falconiformes (Hawks, Eagles, Falcons, etc.) in killing with their beaks instead of their feet. They have a "tooth" on the side of their beak for the purpose."

The Falcon is another bird on the “unclean” list.

And these you shall regard as an abomination among the birds; they shall not be eaten, they are an abomination: the eagle, the vulture, the buzzard, the kite, and the falcon after its kind (Leviticus 11:13-14 NKJV)

the red kite, the falcon, and the kite after their kinds; (Deuteronomy 14:13 NKJV)
You shall fall upon the mountains of Israel, you and all your troops and the peoples who are with you; I will give you to birds of prey of every sort and to the beasts of the field to be devoured. (Ezekiel 39:4 NKJV)

Photos top to bottom: American Kestrel by AestheticPhotos, Praire Falcon by Dan, Peregrine Falcon by Jim Fenton

Click for the Falcons Photos and Videos pages.

Birds of the Bible - Quail (by Lee Dusing)

Our Bird of the Bible this week is not on the "unclean" list for a change. In fact, this bird can be eaten and is raised just for that purpose in many parts of the world. Searching the internet, you can find all kinds of recipes for quail. What has that got to do with our Quail?

The children of Israel were in the wilderness, doing their constant grumbling, and they asked for "more to eat". They were not satisfied with what God was providing. They wanted "more." So:

And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, "I have heard the complaints of the children of Israel. Speak to them, saying, 'At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread. And you shall know that I am the LORD your God.' " So it was that quails came up at evening and covered the camp, and in the morning the dew lay all around the camp. And when the layer of dew lifted, there, on the surface of the wilderness, was a small round substance, as fine as frost on the ground.(Exodus 16:11-14 NKJV)



Now a wind went out from the LORD, and it brought quail from the sea and left them fluttering near the camp, about a day's journey on this side and about a day's journey on the other side, all around the camp, and about two cubits above the surface of the ground. And the people stayed up all that day, all night, and all the next day, and gathered the quail (he who gathered least gathered ten homers); and they spread them out for themselves all around the camp. But while the meat was still between their teeth, before it was chewed, the wrath of the LORD was aroused against the people, and the LORD struck the people with a very great plague. So he called the name of that place Kibroth Hattaavah, because there they buried the people who had yielded to craving.(Numbers 11:31-34 NKJV)



The people asked, and He brought quail, And satisfied them with the bread of heaven.(Psalms 105:40 NKJV)

The commentaries on these Scriptures varied somewhat. Some suggested that these were not "quails" but "locusts". Most concede that they were "quails". Then, they debated about the "about two cubits above the surface of the ground." Were they piled two cubits high or were they flying around at that level? If they were piled deep, they would suffocate and die, making them uneatable according to their law. So, with these questions in mind, here is how the Quail behave:

"Rapid direct flight, series of several stiff wing beats followed by a short glide", "Escapes danger by running. Direct flight with rapid deep wing beats". "Small, chunky, short-tailed, round-winged, ground-dwelling bird", "Secretive. Squats and sits motionless when alarmed", and "keeping hidden in crops, and reluctant to fly, preferring to creep away instead. Even when flushed, it keeps low and soon drops back into cover." Sounds like they would be easy to catch.

"There are 130 species of quails worldwide. They are small, short-tailed game birds of the family Phasianidae (order Galliformes), resembling partridges but generally smaller and less robust. The 36 species of New World quail more nearly resemble Old World partridges", from From borealforest.org, "California Quail."

We have the California, Scaled, Mountain, Gambel's(The bird's average length is 11 inches (30 cm) with a wingspan of 14-16 inches (35-40 cm), Montezuma Quails and the Northern Bobwhite here in North America. Several have a head plume and many are quite colorful.

Photos in order top to bottom are: Chinese Painted Quail, Gambel's Quail, Northern Bobwhite, and Scaled Quail. (From Wikipedia.org)