Bird nests come in a great variety of sizes and shapes. Small hummingbirds, for instance, build tiny ones only an inch or so across. Compare them with those of some eagles. A new eagles’ nest may be only three feet across, but they add new material every year they use it, so that an old one may be 10 or even 20 feet across. Storks add new material to their large nests every year too. A lady told of hanging a pair of men’s socks outside to dry, and when she went to get them later, she found a bird was using one of them for a nest and had already laid two eggs in it. And a farmer who found his lost ball of string which had an opening in its center, discovered that it had been made into a nest with three baby wrens inside.
Many seabirds lay their eggs on bare, rocky ledges in cold northern areas and sit over them most of the time until the baby birds hatch. Another unusual nesting arrangement is that of some penguins. The female lays just one egg right on the bare ice. Standing over it, she scoops it between her overlapping webbed feet, then turns it over occasionally. The male takes his turn too. When the little one finally hatches it is kept warm in the same spot on their feet until it develops enough feathers to come out in the open.
Cliff swallows make their nests out of mud. They plaster one beakful of mud at a time against the side of a barn, or a smooth rocky wall, or the bare cement of an overhanging bridge.
Flamingos also use mud to make their nests. A big area of mud flats alongside a seashore will often be covered with hundreds of their high-walled nests. They are all close together and look exactly alike, but the birds never get mixed up. They always find their own. The female makes her nest while sitting in the mud with legs folded under her. Then beakfuls of mud are placed in a circle just a few inches wider than herself. She eventually forms a circular wall all around herself that looks like a tiny open-top mountain. After this hardens she lays just one egg in it. Both parents take turns incubating it for about a month until the little one hatches.
There are hundreds of other kinds of nests, all speaking of the wonders of God’s creation. He is the One who has provided birds with both instincts and abilities to build just the right kind for their individual needs.
The Lord God, the Creator of all things, watches over everything He has created. The Bible often tells of His care of birds. One verse gave special instructions to the children of Israel: “If a bird’s nest chance to be before thee... in any tree, or on the ground... thou shalt not take the dam [mother bird] with the young.” Deuteronomy 22:66If a bird's nest chance to be before thee in the way in any tree, or on the ground, whether they be young ones, or eggs, and the dam sitting upon the young, or upon the eggs, thou shalt not take the dam with the young: (Deuteronomy 22:6). Did you know He watches over you all the time too?
ML-04/26/1992