Christmas holidays are known to be the “giving season''. To share whatever you have with others is wonderful for both giver and receiver.
One gift that humans give during the winter is seed to the birds. We give seed for a variety of reasons. We “give” because we care about birds and would lose so much if there were no birds. Wealso“receive”joyfromwatchingthem.Personally,Iclaimallthesereasonsastowhy I give to birds.
A few weeks ago, I moved several feeders that were in a secluded area closer to my house. Dennis told me he thought they liked the secluded area better. But I said, “I can’t see them if they are hidden away! If I am going to spend money on seeds, I want to see and photograph them.”
I laugh about it, but my birds don’t get a free ride. They must pose for photos occasionally to earn their keep! “If a man will not work, he shall not eat.” 2 Thessalonians 3:10. Well, in this case “a bird must work in order to eat!”
But, seriously, my thoughts went to “Do birds give gifts?” I have heard that birds are givers, but I haven’t researched it until today.
Bird parents gather and give food to their fledglings to help them grow. Other birds find choice food items as gifts for a possible mate during mating season. These gifts are given unselfishly as signs of caring for their fellow birds.
Some birds are known for being givers. Morebirds.com says, “Ornithologists and scientists have found that we humans aren’t the only experts at giving the perfect gift. There are several bird species, particularly among the corvidae family, who are known for their gift giving skills. In fact, birds in the corvidae family are the only bird species known to “gift humans” or one another.”
What group of birds make up the “corvidae family” you might ask...I did. The corvidae family are crows, magpies, ravens and jays - to name just a few. These birds are very smart birds. I once wrote an article about “bird brains” and these birds have been studied and they are one of the few birds that use tools. They use tools in problem solving to open doors and whatever else they might need to open so that they can get a desired item, such as food.
Crows are the most famous gift giver birds. There are several internet stories of people becoming close to crows. The crows bring gifts to their human caregivers to show their appreciation for the attention and kindness given to them.
Magpies, though they aren’t found in our area, can often build trust with humans that feed them and are known to come close to them. They even allow their offspring to come near instead of flying away. They often work in garden areas right along with humans digging in the garden.
Audubon.org tells of Stuart Dahquist of Seattle who fed a family of American crows for 4 years. One day when he stepped out of his sliding glass backdoor, he found a short pine sprig left with a Coke tab threaded on the stem. He always left the crows dried cat food by that door. The next day he found another pine sprig done the same way with the Coke tab left at his door. He and his wife checked the neighborhood and found no other explanation other than the crows had left him these gifts. Stuart took photos of these “artsy” bird gifts and posted them on Twitter. The photos and story went viral.
We don’t need to allow birds to outdo us. We always have something that we can give - whether it’s time, talent or a traditional gift. As we “Look at the birds of the air...” Matthew 6:26, let us gain wisdom from these gift giving birds.
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