- Series:Animals, Transcript English
Isaiah 28:5
“In that day shall the LORD of hosts be for a crown of glory, and for a diadem of beauty, unto the residue of his people.”
In 1835, when scientists first saw Peru’s most unusual hummingbird, they were so overcome with its beauty that they gave it the name “Marvellous”.
This little bird treats the eye to iridescent green, yellow, orange, and purple feathers. But its most unusual feature is its tail. While most birds have eight to twelve tail feathers, the Marvellous hummingbird has only 
four. Two of these are long, pointed, thorn-like feathers that don’t seem to help much in flying or landing. The other two feathers are truly marvellous. They are six inches long, three times the length of the bird’s two-inch body. On the end of these two long narrow feathers are large feather fans that nearly equal the surface area of its wings.
Astonishingly, the Marvellous hummingbird has complete control of these feathers. At rest, the bird perches with these two feathers hanging down an inch or so from its body, and then crossing them until they are horizontal. In flight and landing, they provide remarkable maneuverability. During mating, the hummingbird moves them as semaphores. Interestingly enough, evolutionists admit that they are stumped as to why these unusual feathers should have evolved.
One look at our creation clearly shows that our Creator appreciates beauty. But even the beautiful Marvellous hummingbird is but a poor and cloudy hint of the beauty of our Creator Himself.
Prayer:
Dear Father, help me treat the beauty You have created as You would have me to do. Let me be filled with thanksgiving to You for it, and let it remind me that You are the source of all that is truly beautiful. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
Notes:
Crawford H. Greenewalt. “The Marvellous Hummingbird Rediscovered.” National Geographic, Vol. 130, No. 1, pp.. 98-101. Photo: Illustration of Loddigesia mirabilis by John Gould.
