Instinct

A recent post examined the vulnerability of birds. They are frail creatures. However, God has not left birds defenseless. He has given them what science can describe only as natural instinct. Instinct includes the strategies, tactics, practices, built-in tendencies, and characteristic behaviors designed by God for each bird. These instincts contribute to the birds’ protection, well-being, and survival.

A common saying is “Birds of a feather flock together.” Is this true? The Bible agrees. “Yes, the hawks will be gathered there, every one with its kind” (Isaiah 34:15). Birders will attest to this habit of birds to congregate with others of their own kind. On breeding grounds or feeding grounds, different species gather in their "assigned” area. An informed naturalist can point out the various nesting areas in a wildlife refuge – terns here, ducks there, pelicans over there. Both over-wintering flocks and migrating flocks do the same.

This spring I was at a large lake when the ice finally went out, and the waterfowl had descended by the thousands. I scanned the lake from side to side, counting first one species, then another. Yes, there were some blurred lines and overlap between groups, but the for the most part the members of each species were clumped together – a blob of wigeons, a clump of redheads, an area of buffleheads, a section of teals, and so on.

Other birds do the same. Vultures and broad-winged hawks form kettles. In the fall, blue jays, robins, and crows fly in loose flocks. European starlings fly in a tight, and often very large, flock known as a murmuration. Geese and cormorants form their V's or lines in the sky. In fact, different species even coordinate their morning departure times. I’ve seen snow geese lift from the lake by the tens of thousands, seemingly all at once. A glance around reveals the remaining tundra swans, which will lift off a little later.

Birds of a feather definitely flock together. This is a helpful piece of information for identifying female and young birds. These harder-to-discern individuals are usually the same species as the males they are gathered with. Pairs of ducks often swim together, and the brightly-colored male helps confirm the identity of his plainer brown mate. In the woods or field, the confusing drab bird (perhaps a female indigo bunting or red-winged blackbird) is often the mate of the nearby males that are more easily identified.

But … never assume that every bird is a group is the same. Sometimes an odd bird will be mixed into a flock. Stray individuals will often “adopt” a friendly flotilla, and birders will report that there is one bufflehead, for example, that is swimming in the group of scaups. One of my birding strategies is to look for the one that is different, rather than quickly moving on from a group that appears homogenous at first glance.

By instinct, birds sometimes harass each other. “Is My inheritance like a speckled bird of prey to Me? Are the birds of prey against her on every side?” (Jeremiah 12:9). This verse hints that several birds are coming on the attack against a single bird. Birds are territorial and will defend their air (or ground or water) space. During migration, local raptors will sometimes harass the raptors that are migrating through their territory. Other birds are known for their boldness, even when significantly out-sized. The eastern kingbird is well-known for this brash behavior. It is appropriately named Tyrannus tyrannus. Red-winged blackbirds will do the same. Blue jays will gang up on a larger intruder to their territory, such as a hawk or an owl.

Instinct also makes birds wary. Birds can be tricked and trapped. However, this is less likely in the daytime or if the trap is obvious. “Indeed, it is useless to spread the baited net in the sight of any bird” (Proverbs 1:17). The birds won’t be caught unless there is something attractive or deceptive about the trap. “Does a bird fall into a trap on the ground when there is no bait in it?” (Amos 3:5).

Instinct for one species will not be identical to instinct for another species. God has made each one as He intended. God tells of His purposeful bestowing of a certain instinct to the ostrich. “For she abandons her eggs to the earth and warms them in the dust, and she forgets that a foot may crush them, or that a wild beast may trample them. She treats her young cruelly, as if they were not hers; though her labor be in vain, she is unconcerned; because God has made her forget wisdom, and has not given her a share of understanding. When she lifts herself on high, she laughs at the horse and his rider” (Job 39:14-18).

The ostrich, for whatever reason God chose, is unusual in the casual treatment of its eggs and young. Brown-headed cowbirds are another unusual species. They surreptitiously lay their eggs in the nests of other birds, leaving their young to be hatched and raised by strangers. Most other birds by instinct are much more protective and invested.

Instincts must be different among birds, because species vary in size, habitat, nesting practices, diet, migration status, and more. God instinctively made each bird with the knowledge of how it ought to act and of what it must do to survive.

Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE ®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.