"And out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam." Gen. 2:19.
There are about 100 species of kingfishers, ranging in size from six to eighteen inches and divided into two groups—the water and the forest types. Many of the forest types never go near water and live on insects, small rodents, snakes and lizards.
The water kingfishers, which are more often seen, make their homes in hollow trees or dig burrows in a bank where the little ones hatch and develop before going outside to learn to fish on their own. The parents stay together year after year. The Creator, watching over all His creation, has given these birds unusual coloring—many are strikingly pretty with high crests on their heads. For instance, the common, which is the smallest, has colors that change according to the angle of light reaching it. At times it appears sky blue, but as it turns on its perch it becomes a beautiful emerald green with a variety of colors on its head, throat and other places.
By contrast, the largest is the African giant which is not as brightly colored as the smaller ones—more of a speckled gray above and light brown beneath. One from Ethiopia, the malachite, is a small bird, its speckled-gray head topped with a crest of a dozen feathers. White patches behind its ears and on its neck blend with a rust-colored beak and legs. A soft orange breast and underparts, and pretty purple feathers on its back, wings and tail, top it all off.
In America the most commonly seen is the belted, about a foot long. You may have seen one on a bare branch near a stream, patiently waiting until suddenly it dives headfirst into the water and returns with a fish in its beak. Incidentally, kingfishers do not spear fish with their beaks as we might think, but grasp them with open mouths, then hold them tightly in their closed beaks.
Perhaps millions of these birds live in various parts of the world most of them never, or only occasionally, seen by people. But there is One who always watches over them. He has told about His care over lowly sparrows (true of kingfishers as well). In Luke 12:66Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before God? (Luke 12:6) He said, "not one of them is forgotten before God." Then He adds, "Ye are of more value than many sparrows."
Now the reason the Lord spoke these things was to let everyone know of His love and care over every person in the world and to give His invitation, "Whosoever shall confess Me before men, him shall the Son of man [Himself] also confess before the angels of God."
To "confess the Lord before men" means to confess Him as your Lord and Savior. When this is done with a true heart, not only will He let the angels know you are His, but your name will also be written in the Book of Life and will never be removed. Have the angels been told your name? Is it written in the Book of Life?