A bird’s feather is the lightest object in the world for size and toughness. It provides not only flight, but warmth and distinctive coloring as well. Most birds do not have feathers when they are hatched, but have soft, fluffy fuzz called down. They do not get feathers until later. What a wonderful provision of the Creator to give this nice, soft, warm coat to them before their feathers grow.
A feather is made up of a hollow but strong main shaft, called a quill, which tapers to a point. Each quill has about 600 little branches, called barbs. Each of the barbs in turn has about 800 smaller branches, called barbules. The barbules of most birds have tiny hooks, called barbicels, on the feather’s underside and corresponding flanges on the upperside. A single feather on a large bird might have about 30 million barbicels. A strong microscope is necessary to see these tiny parts. If you could count all of the barbicels on all of the feathers of one bird, you would find several hundred billion! Isn’t that astounding? Did you ever think a bird’s feather could be so complicated? Do you wonder why all these hooks are there?
When birds lift their wings to fly, the feathers hook one to another, making a firm fan. It actually looks like a zipper. Yet, as the bird flies through the air, to enable certain moves these hooks cannot remain hooked. When the hooks on one or more feathers let loose, the bird can carry out a sudden turn or perfect dive. The bird does not think about this. God created it so these actions are automatic and immediate.
The tail feathers are different from the other feathers and do not hook together. Some birds have only about a dozen tail feathers, but others have as many as a thousand. Whatever the number, all are rooted in a “pincushion,” with a separate muscle for each feather so the feather can pivot in any direction.
God has also provided each bird with a pigment (color) system so the species of all remain true in color and design. This helps the birds recognize their own kind, and they will not mate with others. He created “every winged fowl after his kind,” and they have been obedient to this rule throughout the years - never changing from one kind to another, as evolution teaches.
Thinking of the wonders of creation makes us want to join in the Bible verse, “Praise Him [God] for His mighty acts: praise Him according to His excellent greatness” (Psalm 150:22Praise him for his mighty acts: praise him according to his excellent greatness. (Psalm 150:2)). We do indeed praise Him for these mighty acts of creation, but when we know Him as our Saviour we can praise Him even more: “By Him therefore let us offer . . . praise to God . . . the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name” (Hebrews 13:1515By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name. (Hebrews 13:15)). Can you join in this praise?
APRIL 16, 1995
ML-04/16/1995