"Great is our Lord, and of great power.... He giveth to the beast his food, and to the young ravens which cry." Psa. 147:5,9.
There are 36 types of jays in North and Central America. Some, preferring to make their homes in stunted oak trees, are known as scrub jays. An interesting member of this group is the Florida scrub jay. Its vivid blue and gray feathers and long, slender tail are similar to the common blue jay, but it doesn't have the crest on its head that marks most of its relatives.
These aggressive birds are about the size of a crow and among the noisiest of all birds. Lacking a real song, they resort to harsh calls, chattering away to their neighbors. The Bible does not mention jays by name, but our opening verse applies to them, too.
Scrub oak trees are part of the Florida landscape where there are old sand dunes, and the scrub jay is the only bird that makes its permanent home there, with the exception of hawks and a few other flesh-eaters. Some snakes and a small number of bobcats and various rodents are also resident of these areas.
The scrub jay has almost completely taken over every spot where the small oaks grow, claiming individual territories and forcefully keeping others out. Long ago they divided up all available property on these dunes and have prohibited entrance to others outside their own families ever since. They can do this because the climate of that part of the country stays warm year-round, so they do not migrate south in the winter as their northern cousins do. But, socially inclined, they like to have other scrub jays nearby, and their colonies are noisily happy together.
A pair of adults raises just one brood each spring. The female does all the incubating and feeding of the little ones, but the male guards them carefully and provides much of their food. However, he seems to feel it beneath his dignity to feed the youngsters, so turns his offerings over to the mother to pass along. Sad to say, the father bird can't seem to change, even in an emergency, so if the mother should die, her little ones soon starve to death.
If the young ones have not found mates and made nests of their own by the time new brothers and sisters hatch out the next spring, they also help bring food to the mother and keep an eye on the nest when both parents are away. Some of them also help the father defend the home territory if strangers try to move in.
Since there are so many birds in the world, do you think God, the Creator of all of them, pays any attention to these lowly scrub jays on the dunes of Florida? He certainly does, as the Bible often tells us. Look up these verses and see for yourself: Gen. 1:30, Psa. 50:11, Jer. 8:7, Matt. 10:29, and Luke 12:24. Then turn to Psa. 145:18,19 and see how He invites you to experience His love and preserving care, which is much greater to boys and girls than to birds and animals.