“He sendeth the springs into the valleys.... By them shall the fowls of the heaven have their habitation, which sing among the branches.” Psalms 104:10,12.
There are about 75 species of barbets, all having colorful and powerful bills which make them look like miniature toucans. In relation to their size, these birds have large heads and are short-tailed. The smallest variety is about three inches long and the largest close to twelve inches. They are tropical birds which do not migrate. They live in the forests of Africa, Central and South America and other parts of the South Pacific.
All barbets have bright colors mixed with white and dark, and many bird lovers consider them the most beautiful of all birds. Each species bears a descriptive name, but we have space to mention only two. One is called the crimson-throated. It is strictly a fruit eater and is especially fond of wild figs. Another is called red and yellow, although it is almost entirely green except for a red crest on its head, a blue throat and yellow on the sides of its neck. All the others, of course, are equally interesting.
The Creator has provided barbets with strong legs and feet having sharp claws, enabling them to climb and hold securely to the side of a tree while feeding or digging a nest out of a rotten area of the trunk. Males and females work together, their big beaks pulling out the rotten wood. They make a nest with a small opening, but large enough inside for both of them and their young, which usually number four. They are tidy housekeepers and promptly discard all foreign objects that get into the nest.
The lives of almost all barbets are spent in the trees, and they seldom go to the ground. Resting after a search for insects, lizards, rodents and fruit, they often sit on a limb for hours without moving. There they call back and forth to one another in sharp, ringing tones which have no real melody. It is “just everybody for himself,” and it is amusing to hear their happy but discordant notes when a pair sits cozily side by side, bursting into ringing chirps, not being at all concerned that they do not harmonize.
These lovely birds remind us of the Lord’s pleasure in His creation; as a Bible verse says, “He path made His wonderful works to be remembered: the Lord is gracious and full of compassion.” Psalms 111:4. That gracious compassion is toward everything He has created, but is especially extended to all the people of the earth. Jeremiah, one of the Bible prophets, wrote, “It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is [His] faithfulness.... Therefore will I hope in Him.” Lamentations 3:22-24.
Have you accepted Him as your personal Saviour?
ML-11/17/1985