“[Yes], the sparrow [has] found a house, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young.” Psalm 84:33Yea, the sparrow hath found an house, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, even thine altars, O Lord of hosts, my King, and my God. (Psalm 84:3)
We have been looking at birds’ eggs and some of the unusual nests built by birds in various parts of the world. With most nesting birds, the female picks the spot and starts to build the nest by herself. The male bird may help by bringing material she needs. In some species, male and female work together, while in others, the male builds the nest as part of trying to win a mate. If a female accepts him, she might add more material to the nest.
Some birds do not make nests. In last week’s article we looked at the seabirds that lay their eggs on bare rocks. Others, like the royal tern, just make a slight bowl-shaped spot in the sand where one egg is laid. We have also learned about birds like the European cuckoo that are too lazy to build their own nest and raise their own young. These mothers lay their egg in another bird’s nest for that mother to take care of.
By contrast, perhaps the softest nest of all is made by the eider duck in some of the coldest shorelines of the world. The mother duck pulls enough down from her own body to make a soft, warm, comfortable lining for her eggs and the ducklings that will eventually hatch.
The Lord has given wisdom to most birds to build a nest in a way suitable to its surroundings. One bird that builds a huge nest is the dusky scrubfowl of Indonesia. Its nest is a mound made of earth mixed with leaves, sticks, sand and gravel, and it can measure as large as 36 feet wide by 16 feet tall. This plain-looking but industrious bird is only 16 inches long. Interestingly, their chicks hatch completely ready to live on their own. Some of the species are even able to fly the day they hatch.
We can learn some good lessons from the birds. For example, which mother bird do you admire more ... the cuckoo, which is too lazy to care for its own chicks, or the eider duck, which pulls off its own feathers to provide cozy warmth for its chicks? I think most of us would admire the eider duck over the cuckoo. The Lord gives us a picture in these two birds of two kinds of people: those who are lazy and selfish, who let other people (perhaps their parents) do the work they should do, and those who are willing to give everything they can to help and serve others. The Lord came to give His life to save us, and He wants us to follow in His steps, living like He lived, and learning to give of ourselves for the good of others. Are you like a cuckoo or an eider? “Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that [you] should follow His steps” (1 Peter 2:2121For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: (1 Peter 2:21)).
Did You Know?
The eider duck pulls off its own feathers to build its nest.
Messages of God’s Love 1/26/25