Last week we learned a few things about the Mallee-fowl of Australia and their huge mounds of dirt. We have no way of knowing if the name Adam gave them, referred to in the above verse, was changed, but we have a clue to their present name — they are of the species known as “megapodes,” which means mound-builder or incubator bird.
After completing the mound (described last week) each male bird picks a spot on the top, scoops out a hole about three-feet deep in which he places green leaves, grass, flowers and plant stems, then covers it all with the dirt he has just dug out. The bird follows God-given instincts in what it does and seems to realize the covered vegetation will soon decay under the dirt, producing much heat. In fact, he stays nearby and each day checks on the nest until he feels the temperature rising. Then he again digs into the hole and calls several females (hens), to come and lay their eggs in it, which are then covered with the material he has just scooped out.
At that point the hens consider their responsibility ended and disappear, apparently not caring or thinking of what will happen to the eggs or the chicks that will hatch from them. But the father bird stays on the job, checking every day by digging his beak into the nest to make sure there is plenty of heat to keep the eggs well incubated. If not, he scrapes hot sand over them and may do all this over and over for several weeks. Did you ever hear of such a busy, faithful father bird?
The male is so faithful in his care that if rain threatens, he will pile additional sand on top to absorb the moisture, and when the storm is over he will scrape it all off again. Finally, the chicks hatch, climb up through the dirt, and wobble weakly off to the brush where they learn to take care of themselves.
Sometimes, instead of digging nests at the top of the pile the male makes a tunnel into the side until he finds a spot where the temperature is just right, then he guides a hen to that spot to deposit her eggs and, like the others, he watches over them until the chicks hatch and work their way to the outside.
These unusual birds remind us of the wonders of all God’s creation and the pleasure He had in forming them all. We might wonder how these birds ever thought of such an unusual way to incubate and hatch their eggs, but then we realize they didn’t have to learn how to do this, for the Lord God arranged it for them when He first placed them on the earth and provided instincts that have been followed ever since. God loves and cares for you, too. Have you ever thanked Him for this?
ML-08/23/1987