Nature

Nature – Morpho Butterflies

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Over 80 species of butterflies occurring in rainforest habitats from Mexico to South America belong to the genus Morpho. Not only are they some of the largest butterflies in the world, with wingspans reaching eight inches, but they are some of the most beautiful, coming in a variety of colors such as blue, green, orange, and white. The majority of the species come in various shades of blue and are known as blue Morphos. The adult butterflies feed mainly on the juices of fermenting fruit and tree sap while their larvae or caterpillars feed on toxic leguminous plants. Some caterpillars are cannibalistic. Morpho butterflies have few predators because of poisonous compounds stored in their bodies from their diet as caterpillars, but some birds such as jacamars and flycatchers are able to eat them in spite of their toxicity. Though mainly forest and canopy dwellers, the Morphos will come out into clearings to warm themselves in the sunlight. Males are very territorial and will chase off other males that enter their territories. Their eyes are believed to be highly sensitive to UV light to enable them to see each other at great distances. Some species are colonial, living in groups.

Blue Morphos are famous for the brilliant, iridescent colors on their upper wings which are not the result of pigments but of the structural array of scales on their wings. Females are less vivid than the males who use their bright color to intimidate rival males that fly into their territories. The wings also have a wide angle of reflectability which maximizes their visibility as they fly about in the rainforest. Their under wings are brown with ocelli or eyespots which help camouflage them when their wings are closed. Blue Morphos use a “flashing” defense mechanism. Due to the slow beating pace of their wings, the iridescent upper wing color is flashed, then disappears as the wings are raised, revealing the brown undersides, only to flash again as the wings come down again a few moments later. This flashing causes predators to lose track of them in flight as the brown-patterned under wings blend them in with their forest habitat.

“If the youth could only see how much good it is in their power to accomplish, if they would make God their strength and wisdom, they would no longer pursue a course of careless indifference toward Him; they would no longer be swayed by the influence of those who are unconsecrated. Instead of feeling that an individual responsibility rests upon them to put forth efforts to do others good, and lead others to righteousness, they give themselves up to seek their own amusement. They are useless members of society, and live as aimless lives as do the butterflies. The young may have a knowledge of the truth, and believe it, but not live it. Such possess a dead faith. Their hearts are not reached so as to affect their conduct and character in the sight of God, and they are no nearer doing His will than are unbelievers. Their hearts do not conform to the will of God; they are at enmity with Him. Those who are devoted to amusements, and who love the society of pleasure seekers, have an aversion to religious exercises. Will the Master say to these youth who profess His name, Well done, good and faithful servants, unless they are good and faithful?” Testimonies, vol. 2, 235.

“We are not here to be butterflies and to gratify self, but we are here to be lights to a crooked and perverse nation. We are to be loyal to God and heaven.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 9, 257.

David Arbour writes from his home in De Queen, Arkansas. He may be contacted by e-mail at: landmarks@stepstolife.org.

Nature – The Amazing Orchids

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The Orchid family contains some of the most beautiful flowers known. For this reason they are very popular among horticulturists. Close to ten percent of all seed plants are orchids. There are around 22,000 currently accepted species, and there may be as many as 25,000 species in the world, as 800 new species are described every year. In addition, horticulturists have developed more than 100,000 hybrids and cultivars of orchids. Orchids occur in almost every habitat except for deserts and glaciers. They even occur above the Arctic Circle and on Macquarie Island close to Antarctica. But the majority of species occur in the tropics of Asia, and Central and South America.

Most orchids are perennial epiphytes growing upon or attached to the trunks and limbs of trees. A few are lithophytes which grow on rocks. Others are terrestrial, growing in soil, and include nearly all temperate species. Some orchids lack chlorophyll and are myco-heterotrophs, meaning that they have a symbiotic relationship with a soil fungus from which they acquire their nutrients instead of through photosynthesis. A few epiphytic species, like the Ghost Orchid, lack leaves and depend on their green roots for photosynthesis. Epiphytic orchids have modified aerial roots up to several meters long which contain a spongy epidermis for absorbing humidity. Some store water and nutrients in specialized thickened stems for dry periods. Some terrestrial orchids have two subterranean tuberous roots, the extra one being used as a food reserve.

Well known for the many structural variations in their flowers, many orchids have only a single flower, but most have their flowers in groups or clusters. Orchids have highly specialized pollination systems which greatly decrease their chances of being pollinated. Therefore, to increase their odds of being pollinated, they remain receptive to pollination for very long periods. The Eurasian genus Ophrys is an extremely specialized group of orchids in which the labellum (petal) mimics, by color, shape, and odor, a receptive female insect. Pollination happens as the attracted male insects attempt to mate with the flowers. Many orchids are pollinated by bees. Some bees gather from certain orchids volatile chemicals they require to synthesize pheromonal attractants. The Eastern Underground Orchid in Australia never sees the light of day and depends on ants and other terrestrial insects to pollinate it.

The seeds of orchids are almost microscopic and are very numerous, with some species producing over a million per capsule. Seeds are dispersed by wind like spores. All orchid seeds lack endosperm and must enter a symbiotic relationship with various fungi which provide them the necessary nutrients to germinate. The chances of an individual seed meeting the proper kind of fungi is small, so only a small fraction of all the seeds released will germinate.

Just as the orchid seed must enter into a relationship with a fungus to germinate, so we must enter into a relationship with Christ for the germination of our spiritual life. “The seed has in itself a germinating principle, a principle that God Himself has implanted; yet if left to itself the seed would have no power to spring up. … There is life in the seed, there is power in the soil; but unless infinite power is exercised day and night, the seed will yield no return. … The life which the Creator has implanted, He alone can call forth. Every seed grows, every plant develops, by the power of God. … The germination of the seed represents the beginning of spiritual life, and the development of the plant is a figure of the development of character. There can be no life without growth.” God’s Amazing Grace, 197.

Nature – The Mountain Boomer

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The Collared Lizard is a North American lizard with a large head and powerful jaws that can reach a length of 14 inches. Black bands around the neck and shoulders give this lizard a collared look, hence its name. The mature males of this brightly colored species are green with the head often being yellow. They also have brightly colored throats of blue, green, or orange and may have blue patches on the belly. The females are generally duller with orange or salmon-colored bars or speckling on sides when gravid. Found from Missouri to Texas and west to the Pacific states and Mexico, Collared Lizards prefer hilly, rocky areas. They are diurnal, and are especially active during warm sunny weather. They bask on the warm rocks to regulate their body temperature. When the rocks get too hot they move into the shade to cool off.

Collared Lizards feed mainly on insects but will take small vertebrate prey, including mammals and other lizards, and occasionally some fruit and vegetable matter. When stalking their prey they often wave their tail like a cat. Males are very territorial toward other males and usually sit on a high rock to guard their territories and watch for danger. They go through a series of head-bobbing and push-up displays to intimidate other males that trespass and to impress passing females. Several females may live in and around a male’s territory. Females lay 4-8 eggs in loose sand or in tunnels under rocks or boulders.

The Collared Lizard is the state reptile of Oklahoma where it is fondly known as the “Mountain Boomer”. This name came from the early days when this lizard was mistakenly thought to emit a booming sound that was often heard echoing through the hills where these lizards were common. The real source of these booming sounds was probably the Barking Frog which often lives under the same rocks where the lizards bask. When fleeing predators, Collared Lizards have the ability to run bipedal on their hind legs, with their tails raised off the ground to reduce drag, making them look like tiny T-rex dinosaurs. They are relatively fast sprinters with recorded speeds of up to 16 miles per hour. When unable to outrun a predator, Collared Lizards will take shelter under large rocks and in rock crevices where they will inflate their body with air to wedge themselves tightly to prevent removal. If cornered they will threaten with open mouth revealing a black mouth lining. When captured they can bite hard and it is difficult to get them to let go. There is a regional saying that they won’t let go until it thunders.

Just as the Mountain Boomers depend on the rocks for shelter and protection, so should we Christians live in faith and depend on our rock, Christ. “He is the rock … Centuries before the advent of Christ, Moses pointed to Him as the rock of Israel’s salvation; the psalmist sung of Him as ‘my redeemer,’ ‘the rock of my strength,’ ‘the rock that is higher than I,’ ‘a rock of habitation,’ ‘rock of my heart,’ ‘rock of my refuge.’ … Isaiah describes Him as the ‘rock of ages,’ and ‘the shadow of a great rock in a weary land.’ That I May Know Him, 24. “The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; The God of my rock; in him will I trust: [he is] my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my refuge, my saviour; thou savest me from violence.” II Samuel 22:2, 3.

Nature – Rattlesnakes

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Occurring only in the New World, thirty-two species of rattlesnakes are found from Canada to Argentina, with the greatest variety of species being found in the southwestern U.S. Rattlesnakes belong to the class of venomous snakes known as pit vipers which are named for the heat sensing pits they have on their face between their eyes and nostrils. Rattlesnakes range in size from the large Eastern Diamondback, which reaches 8 feet and weights of up to 10 lbs., to the tiny Ridge-nosed Rattlesnake, which only reaches 12 inches and weighs only 3 to 4 ounces. Unlike most snakes, rattlesnakes do not lay eggs but retain the eggs in their bodies until they hatch, then giving live birth.

The heat-sensing pits of a rattlesnake are very sensitive, allowing them to detect prey that is as little as a tenth of a degree warmer than their surroundings. Rattlesnakes kill their prey by injecting venom with a quick strike and bite. They defend themselves in the same manner, though they tend to inject less venom when defending themselves than when killing prey. Approximately 1/3 of all rattlesnake defensive bites are “dry,” with no venom being injected. The venom of most rattlesnakes is a hemotoxin which destroys tissue, degenerates organs, and disrupts blood clotting. Most tropical rattlesnakes and the Mojave rattlesnake of the southwestern U.S. have neurotoxic venom which affects the nervous system, interfering with the function of the heart and paralyzing the lungs. When delivering a bite, rattlesnakes can strike up to 2/3 their body length.

Rattlesnakes are most famous for their rattles, which are located at the tips of their tails. The rattle is used as a warning device when threatened with being stepped on or predated. When threatened, the snake vibrates its tail, producing a buzzing sound. The rattle is hollow and composed of interlocking rings of keratin which are actually modified scales. Each time a snake sheds it skin, a new segment is added to the rattle. The snakes can shed their skins several times a year, depending on food supply and growth rate. Older rattlesnakes tend to have longer, louder rattles unless some of them have broken off. There is one species of rattlesnake, the Santa Catalina Island Rattlesnake, which does not have a rattle.

Just as the rattlesnake’s rattle warns of danger, so the Lord, through His word, warns His church of impending dangers. “Jesus is guarding his hearers from deceptions that would endanger their souls; and he warns them to beware of false teachers, who are wolves in sheep’s clothing. He would have every one for whom his precious blood is a ransom, constantly on his guard, comparing every man’s pretentious claims with the great standard of righteousness. The question is, ‘What saith the Scriptures?’ Human lips may utter perverse things, lying doctrines that have no foundation in God’s word, and souls may be sincere in accepting these erroneous doctrines; but will their sincerity save them from the sure and disastrous result? The Bible is the standard of truth and holiness. If they were carefully and prayerfully living by this word, they would not be deceived.” Signs of the Times, October 29, 1885. “God’s Word warns us that we have manifold enemies, not open and avowed, but enemies who come with smooth words and fair speeches, and who would deceive if possible the very elect. Thus Satan comes. And again, when it suits his purpose, he goes about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Man’s will, unless kept in subjection to the will of God, is as often on the enemy’s side as on the Lord’s side. Therefore watch unto prayer; watch and pray always.” Review and Herald, July 7, 1910.

David Arbour writes from his home in De Queen, Arkansas. He may be contacted by e-mail at: landmarks@stepstolife.org.

Nature – Katydids

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katydidRelated to crickets and grasshoppers, katydids are members of the long-horned grasshopper family. There are more than 6,400 species worldwide with the majority of species being found in the tropics. Katydids are broad-sided, leaf-like insects which live in trees and shrubs where they are well camouflaged from their numerous predators. Green is the usual color of katydids but occasionally they are brown, red, or, rarely, pink. Katydids are mostly nocturnal and arboreal (tree-dwelling), and range in size from 1 ¼ to 5 inches long. Their diet consists mainly of leaves but they will also eat flowers, bark, seeds, insect eggs, slow insects like aphids, and even carrion. Some species in the tropics are exclusively predatory, feeding on other insects, snails, and even small vertebrates such as snakes and lizards.

The name “katydid,” originated in North America where there are about 255 species. Male katydids have sound-producing organs on the hind angles of their front wings. Their songs are made by scraping a toothed file-like edge on the base of the left fore wing across a hard knife-like edge on the right fore wing. These sounds in some species were thought to resemble the words “Katy did, Katy didn’t”; hence, the name. The male katydid’s song is given at night and is used to attract females with which to mate. The females will usually answer the male’s song with chirping sounds. Katydids hear each other through structures on their legs that act as ears. Males in close proximity to each other will frequently call in unison and harmony creating a loud, resonating chorus. The speed of their calls is determined by temperature. On warm nights they sing fast, and on cool nights they sing slower. Katydids in temperate regions typically call from mid-summer through fall.

Female katydids are usually larger than males and have a long, sharp, lance-like organ at the end of the abdomen called an ovipositor. After mating, the ovipositor is used to deposit their eggs into the ground or into plant tissue. The eggs hatch in the spring, and the young resemble the adults, except for their smaller size and lack of wings. The young go through several molts before reaching full size. On their last molt they obtain their wings and become adults. Species in temperate regions live only for a year or less, while species in the tropics can live for several years.

Just as the male katydids sing together in unison and harmony, so we can sing the same way with heavenly musicians while here on earth. “When human beings sing with the spirit and the understanding, heavenly musicians take up the strain and join in the song of thanksgiving. He who has bestowed upon us all the gifts that enable us to be workers together with God, expects His servants to cultivate their voices, so that they can speak and sing in a way that all can understand. It is not loud singing that is needed, but clear intonation, correct pronunciation, and distinct utterance. Let all take time to cultivate the voice, so that God’s praise can be sung in clear, soft tones, not with harshness and shrillness that offend the ear. The ability to sing is the gift of God; let it be used to His glory.” Messages to Young People, 294. “Music forms a part of God’s worship in the courts above, and we should endeavor, in our songs of praise, to approach as nearly as possible to the harmony of the heavenly choirs. The proper training of the voice is an important feature in education, and should not be neglected.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 594. [Emphasis is original]

David Arbour writes from his home in De Queen, Arkansas. He may be contacted by e-mail at: landmarks@stepstolife.org.

Nature – Blue Violets

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Violets, also known as pansies and heartsease, are flowers in the genus Viola and family Violaceae. There are 400+ species distributed around the world with most being found in temperate regions of the northern hemisphere. A few are also found in the Andes of South America, Australasia, and Hawaii. Violets typically are small and have heart-shaped scalloped leaves but some have palmate leaves or other shapes. The vast majority of violets are herbaceous, but a few are small shrubs, and most are perennial.

Their flowers consist of five petals, four fan-shaped petals with two per side and one broad, lobed lower petal pointing downward which often has a spur. The flower color of violets is most commonly violet or blue but also can be yellow, white, or cream, and some are bicolored, often blue and yellow. Most violets are spring blooming and pollinated by insects, but many species also have closed forms in which the flowers lack petals, do not open, and are self pollinating. These closed form individuals flower in the summer and fall. After flowering, fruit capsules are produced that split open by way of three valves and the seeds are often spread by ants.

Violets are common bedding and pot plants worldwide where they are commonly referred to as “violas” by gardeners. There are literally hundreds of cultivars that have been developed. The modern garden pansy, for example, is a plant of complex hybrid origin involving at least three species. In 2005 in the U.S., violas, including pansies, were one of the top three bedding plant crops, producing $111 million for the bedding flower market. Violets also have culinary uses. The flowers are used to decorate salads and are used in stuffings and desserts, while the leaves are used raw or cooked as a leaf vegetable. The flowers, leaves, and roots are used for medicinal purposes too, being high in vitamins A and C, and containing a type of antioxidant called anthocyanin. Recent research has detected a natural aspirin in violets which substantiates its use for centuries as a remedy for headache, body pains, and as a sedative. It also has other constituents that show promise for the treatment of cancer, AIDs, and much more. One species, the Sweet Violet, is used for a source of scents in the perfume industry.

Blue violets have symbolized “faithfulness” since medieval times. The Bible tells us that the Lord is faithful! His great faithfulness extends to the clouds and endures to all generations. “Thy mercy, O Lord, [is] in the heavens; [and] thy faithfulness [reacheth] unto the clouds.” Psalm 36:5. “Thy faithfulness [is] unto all generations: thou hast established the earth, and it abideth.” Psalm 119:90. “Great [is] thy faithfulness.” Lamentations 3:23. “The Lord calls upon us for confession of His goodness. … Our confession of His faithfulness is Heaven’s chosen agency for revealing Christ to the world. We are to acknowledge His grace as made known through the holy men of old; but that which will be most effectual is the testimony of our own experience. We are witnesses for God as we reveal in ourselves the working of a power that is divine. Every individual has a life distinct from all others, and an experience differing essentially from theirs. God desires that our praise shall ascend to Him, marked by our own individuality. These precious acknowledgements to the praise of the glory of His grace, when supported by a Christlike life, have an irresistible power that works for the salvation of souls.” God’s Amazing Grace, 277.

David Arbour writes from his home in De Queen, Arkansas. He may be contacted by e-mail at: landmarks@stepstolife.org.

Nature Nugget – The Pinyon Pines

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The Pinyon Pines and their Avian Planters

There is a group of eight closely related species of pines growing in the southwestern United States and northern Mexico that are known as pinyon, or piñon, pines. They are short and scrubby trees, most commonly found growing in association with junipers. Pinyon pines generally grow at elevations between 4,500 and 6,500 feet above sea level. This elevation span is above the deserts, grasslands, and sagebrush, but below mountain forests, into which these trees merge. In the southern Rockies, they can sometimes be found growing as high as 9,300 feet above sea level on the warmer, south-facing slopes. Annual precipitation where the pinyon pine grows is 12 to 18 inches. Pinyon pines are rarely more than 20 to 30 feet tall and often much less. They are slow growing and may reach 100 years before producing cones. Their average lifespan is 350 to 450 years, with a few achieving 1,000 years!

Pinyon pines are most famous for their seeds or pine nuts, as they are called. Being 50 percent fat and 25 percent protein, a single pea-sized seed can yield as much as 20 calories. This is important to the wildlife that depends on them for survival through the winter. Many species of wildlife—such as black bears, mule deer, turkeys, porcupines, squirrels, chipmunks, wood rats (pack rats), mice, and many species of passerine birds—feed on the seeds.

The seeds are also important as a staple to many Native American tribes who extensively collect them throughout the pines’ range. The seeds are of immense cultural and economic importance to the tribes who often own the seed harvest rights in many areas. The seeds are sometimes robbed from pack rat nests where they have been stored up in large quantities.

There is a unique relationship between the pinyon pines and several species of jays. The whole pinyon pine ecosystem is dependent upon these relationships. These birds function as types of foresters or tree planters. The most famous of these birds is the pinyon jay. Not only do they love to eat the pinyon pine seeds, but they plant the seeds also.

The jays can carry up to 56 seeds in an expandable pouch in their throats. Pinyon jays occur in large flocks in the fall and winter. A flock of 200 jays can harvest, in minimal time, 10,000 or more seeds from a stand of pinyon pines, especially if the trees are producing a bumper crop of seeds, which they typically do about every six years. The jays quickly eat their fill and start burying seeds in the soil for future needs. They hide many more seeds than they will be able to refind and eat. These overlooked seeds sprout to produce the next generation of pinyon pines.

In one study done on pinyon jays, during a bumper crop year, it was estimated that one flock of 250 jays buried about 4.5 million seeds from September through January. In Arizona, a Clark’s Nutcracker, a close relative of the pinyon jay, was seen to carry 95 pinyon pine seeds in its cheek pouch for 14 miles. Approximately a ton, or four million seeds, can be cached by 150 nutcrackers!

Just as the jays and nutcrackers plant pinyon pine seeds abundantly, even carrying them to far away places, we are to be planting the seeds of truth. “You are to sow the seeds of truth in every place. Wherever you can gain access, hold forth the word of God. Sow beside all waters. You may not at once see the result of your labors, but be not discouraged. Speak the words that Christ gives you. Work in His lines. Go forth everywhere as He did during His ministry on the earth.” Testimonies, vol. 7, 36.

David Arbour writes from his home in DeQueen, Arkansas. He may be contacted by e-mail at: landmarks@stepstolife.org.

Nature Nugget – Electric Fishes

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In marshes and stagnant areas of the Amazon Basin of South America lives a fish called the Electric Eel. Though not a true eel, but closely resembling one, its internal organs are found in a small area just behind the head with the remaining seven-eighths of its body being tail. Reaching lengths of six to nine feet, Electric Eels are obligate air-breathers, requiring a breath of air every few minutes.

The most unique thing about the Electric Eel is that it has the capability of emitting an electric discharge of up to 650 volts and a current of up to 1 ampere. It has been known to kill humans and to knock down a horse crossing a stream from 20 feet away. The main functions of these high intensity electric discharges are for stunning or killing its prey and for defense from predators. It also produces low intensity discharges in the 5 to 10 volt range for sensory perception (electro-location), allowing it to navigate and find its prey in muddy water and to communicate with others of its kind. The Electric Eel’s body is similar to a battery with the tail end having a positive charge and the head region a negative charge.

Another electric fish is the Electric Catfish, which is found among rocks and roots in dark, freshwater rivers and lakes of Western and Central Africa and the Nile River. Electric Catfishes are nocturnal and feed on smaller fishes, worms, crustaceans, and insects. Attaining a maximum size of around three feet in length, they can live for up to 15 years. Like the Electric Eel, they can produce an electric shock, but at only about half the volts (about 300–350 volts), which is also used for stunning prey and for defense. The Arabs and Egyptians used Electric Catfishes for medicinal purposes.

Another electric fish, the Torpedo Ray, found in the Mediterranean Sea, was also used for medicinal purposes. Discharging up to 220 volts and 120 amperes of current, the Torpedo Rays were used by Roman physicians as shock therapy to treat gout, mental illness, and headaches. The Greeks used the Electric Ray, a smaller, less potent relative of the Torpedo Ray, to treat headaches. They did this by wrapping the ray around the head of the patient.

The electric organs of electric fishes are composed of multiple stacks of coin-shaped cells, derived from neuromuscular tissue, called electroplaques. Nervous stimulation of each cell produces a small electrical flow from one face of the coin-shaped cell to the other. Simultaneous stimulation of many electro-plaques arranged in a column and all oriented with their innervated side up will produce a strong net current. These electroplaque columns are like batteries aligned in series; the more in a line, the greater the voltage produced. Also, the more stacks aligned in parallel, the greater the amperage.

All these fishes are capable of producing power in the form of electricity for defense against their enemies; likewise the Christian is capable of having power against his enemy, Satan, through the shed blood of Jesus Christ. “Reach up and grasp His hand, that the touch may electrify you and charge you with the sweet properties of His own matchless character. You may open your hearts to His love, and let His power transform you and His grace be your strength.” Testimonies, vol. 4, 63.

David Arbour writes from his home in DeQueen, Arkansas. He may be contacted by e-mail at: landmarks@stepstolife.org.

Nature Nugget – The Ivory-billed Woodpecker

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On February 11, 2004, an Ivory-billed Woodpecker was seen in the Big Woods region of eastern Arkansas on the Cache River National Wildlife Refuge. Over the next 12 months, it was seen several more times and captured on video. This find is significant, because the Ivory-billed Woodpecker was last officially seen in North America in 1944 in northeast Louisiana.

One of six species of birds officially declared to be extinct in North America north of Mexico, the Ivory-billed Woodpecker shook the scientific community with its reappearance. How many individuals may be surviving in this area is unknown, and to find out, researchers have already started expeditions into this vast area of bottomland hardwoods. The finding of this bird has given hope that other remote woodlands of the south may be harboring other individuals as well.

Up to 21 inches in length and having a wingspan of 30–31 inches, the Ivory-billed Woodpecker is the largest woodpecker in North America north of Mexico and the third largest woodpecker in the world. This black and white woodpecker sports a large, ivory-white, chisel-tipped bill and bright yellow eyes. Males have a red crest, while the female’s crest is black and often curved forward.

Native to the southeastern United States and the Mississippi River alluvial plain as far north as St. Louis, Missouri, and with a subspecies (last seen in 1988) occurring on the island of Cuba, the Ivory-billed Woodpecker is a bird of remote wilderness areas, preferring virgin forests of hardwoods, cypress swamps, and pine savannahs. Never occurring in high densities, an Ivory-billed Woodpecker pair requires about ten square miles of old-growth forests to survive—more if the habitat is degraded. Their diet consists mainly of beetle larvae, which they find by using their chisel-like bills to remove the bark of recently dead trees, but they also eat seeds, berries, and fruits.

The clearing of old growth forests for timber and agricultural development is the single main cause for the decline of this species. Since the cutting of the last of the old-growth forests during the 1940s, scientists have proclaimed the Ivory-billed Woodpecker extinct, and the scientific community met sightings after 1944 with skepticism. Learned men of the scientific community reasoned that the Ivory-billed Woodpeckers could no longer survive because of the lack of old-growth forests, and numerous sight reports over the past 60 years, even very well described sightings by reliable people, were ridiculed. One sighting even produced photos, which were promptly rejected as a hoax. Because of this, some sightings were probably never reported for fear of losing one’s credibility.

Learned men of science have been saying for years that there is no way the Ivory-billed Woodpecker still survives. Even the current world authority on this species say that if any are surviving, Arkansas has the least potential habitat for it of all the possible states in which it might still occur.

God, through the survival of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker into the twenty-first century, has shown how learned men of science are not infallible. In Noah’s day, learned men of science said there could never be a flood and scoffed at Noah’s warning. “The most difficult and humiliating lesson that man has to learn is his own inefficiency in depending upon human wisdom, and the sure failure of his efforts to read nature correctly.” Testimonies, vol. 8, 257. “God and heaven alone are infallible.” Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, 30.

Nature Nugget – Bird Migration

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For survival, birds require food, water, protective cover, and a sheltered place to nest. Unfortunately, many bird habitats are suitable for them for only part of the year. Changing seasons can transform a comfortable, food-rich environment into an unlivable one where temperatures are freezing, food is scarce, and vegetative cover has vanished. In order to survive, birds have to either adapt to these changes or leave for fairer parts.

Most birds, in temperate areas of the world, adapt by taking up migrations to areas with less harsh winters or to areas with tropical climates. Some even migrate to temperate areas on the opposite side of the globe to enjoy their second spring and summer seasons for the year. When spring rolls around again, they return to their original home to nest and to take advantage of the abundance of food and cover that the warm season brings to these areas.

People living in the Northern Hemisphere are used to the birds flying south for the winter every fall and back north again in the spring to nest. In the Southern Hemisphere, it is just the opposite; birds fly north in the fall and south in the spring. When it is winter in the Northern Hemisphere, it is summer in the Southern Hemisphere and vice versa.

One of the more famous examples of bird migration involves the return of the swallows of Capistrano. Every year, around March 19, Cliff Swallows return to nest at the Mission San Juan Capistrano in Capistrano, California. So regular and reliable is their arrival around that date that the people of this town have been holding a festival to honor the return of these birds since the late 1700s. After spending the summer in Capistrano, the swallows leave around October 23 to fly south for their wintering grounds in and around Goya, Argentina. Around February 18, they leave Goya, and 7,500 miles and 30 days later they arrive back at Capistrano.

The longest migration of any bird is undertaken by the Arctic Tern, which flies from its breeding grounds in the Arctic to winter in the Antarctic, a round trip of 20,000 miles. The highest-flying migrating birds ever recorded were Bar-headed Geese at an altitude of 29,000 feet over the Himalayan Mountains.

“The swallow and the crane observe the changes of the seasons. They migrate from one country to another to find a climate suitable to their convenience and happiness, as the Lord designed they should. They are obedient to the laws which govern their life. But the beings formed in the image of God fail to honor him by obeying the laws of nature. By disregarding the laws that govern the human organism, they disqualify themselves for serving God.” Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 189, 190.

“God’s laws for nature are obeyed by nature. . . . So the birds fulfill God’s purpose as they make their long migrations from land to land, guided through trackless space by the hand of infinite power.

“Can it be that man, made in the image of God, endowed with reason and speech, shall alone be unappreciative of His gifts and disobedient to His laws? . . .

“God desires us to learn from nature the lesson of obedience. ‘Ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee; And the birds of the heavens, and they shall tell thee: Or speak to the earth, and it shall teach thee; And the fishes of the sea shall declare unto thee. Who knoweth not in all these, That the hand of Jehovah hath wrought?’ ‘With God is wisdom and might; He hath counsel and understanding.’ Job 12:7–9, 13, A.R.V.” Testimonies, vol. 8, 327, 328.

David Arbour writes from his home in DeQueen, Arkansas. He may be contacted by e-mail at: landmarks@stepstolife.org.