“Great is our Lord, and of great power.... He giveth to the beast his food, and to the young ravens which cry.” Psalm 147:5-9
There are thirty-six kinds of jays in North and Central America. Some that inhabit scrub oak trees are known as scrub jays. An interesting member of this group is the Florida scrub jay. Its vivid blue and gray feathers and long, slender tail are similar to the common blue jay, but it doesn’t have the crest on its head like the blue jay. It is an intelligent and inquisitive species.
These aggressive birds are about the size of a crow (a distant relative) and among the noisiest of birds. Lacking a real song, their calls are harsh.
Scrub oak trees are part of the Florida landscape where there are old sand dunes. The scrub jay is the only bird that makes its permanent home there, with the exception of hawks and a few other flesh-eaters. The scrub jay has almost completely taken over every spot where the scrub oaks grow, claiming individual territories and forcefully keeping other birds out. They can do this because the climate of that part of the country stays warm year-round, so they do not migrate. They are social birds and like to have other scrub jays nearby, so their colonies are noisy but happy.
A pair of adults raises just one brood each spring. The female does all the incubating of the eggs and feeding of the baby birds, but the male guards them carefully and provides much of their food. They eat a wide variety of acorns, seeds, peanuts, insects, tree frogs, turtles, snakes, lizards, and young mice. However, he seems to feel it beneath his dignity to feed the young birds so turns his offerings over to the mother and lets her feed them. Sadly, even in an emergency, the father bird doesn’t change, and if the mother should die, the young birds soon starve to death.
If the young ones have not found mates and made nests of their own by the time new brothers and sisters hatch out the following spring, they also help bring food to the mother and keep an eye on the nest when both parents are away. Some of them also help the father defend the home territory if strangers try to move in.
Since there are so many birds in the world, do you think God, the Creator of all of them, pays any attention to the many lowly scrub jays on the dunes of Florida? He certainly does, as the Bible often tells us. Look up these verses and see for yourself: Genesis 1:30, Psalm 50:11, Jeremiah 8:7, Matthew 10:29, and Luke 12:24. Then turn to Psalm 145:18-19 and see how He invites you to experience His love and preserving care, which are much greater to boys and girls than to birds and animals.
ML-08/25/2013