The Wonders of God’s Creation
You may never have heard of the pretty sandpiper-like birds called phalaropes, but there are great numbers of them that travel thousands of miles every year, mainly between the cold Arctic lands of the North and the warm tropical countries of Central and South America. Some travel even farther south to West Africa, New Guinea and the coasts of Arabia. Those that make the longest trips fly as much as 15,000 miles each year in their round-trip migrations!
There are three species of this rather strange bird. One is known as the gray (but sometimes called the red); another has the name of red-necked (also called the Northern), and the largest of them all, with just one name, is the Wilson’s.
The gray (red) travels in early summer up into the Arctic tundra areas where great quantities of food await it; the red-necked (Northern) prefers to have its summer home a little farther south, sometimes as far down as Canada. The Wilson’s variety chooses farther south yet, nesting in southern Canada and along the northern border of the United States.
Because the Wilson’s phalarope spends part of its time in California where it can be observed closely, more is known about it than the others, so we will pretty much limit our study to that species in this article.
The coloring of all these birds is different in summer than in winter. The one called gray (red) has gray and white plumage in winter, but is bright red in summer. The Wilson’s, on the other hand, is also a very pretty bird in summer; its wings, neck and top of head are a combination of blue, orange and deep red with the rest of its body white. In winter its coloring changes, giving it brown wings, legs and crest atop its head, but plain white over the rest of its body.
These birds are equipped by the Creator with long legs and partially webbed feet, as well as long beaks, all of which are useful as they wade around shorelines looking for insects and food particles. But they are also good swimmers and have been given thick water-proof feathers that help them float high on water.
With most birds the male has the outstanding colorful feathers, but with these it is just the opposite, especially during the nesting period when the females are actually the prettiest and like to show off their colorful feathers when trying to attract a mate. The mother bird is also a little larger than her companion (just the opposite of most other birds) and has some strange ways about her, which we will look at in the following issue.
Meanwhile let us never forget that “all things were made by Him [the Lord God]; and without Him was not anything made that was made.” John 1:33All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. (John 1:3).
(To be continued)
ML-06/05/1988