American Woodcock

Well camouflaged bird, that walks slowly along the forest floor. It probes for bugs in the forest soil with its long beak.

The unusual placement of their eyes permits them to keep watch for danger in the sky while they have their heads down searching for food.

The newly hatched chicks leave the nest a few hours after hatching and rely on their mother for food for only a week.

People are on the other end of the scale. We rely on our parents for 20 years or more. The more help you get, the better prepared you are for problems that lay ahead.

Proverbs 15:22 

"Without consultation, plans are frustrated,

But with many counselors they succeed."

Father, I look to You for guidance in my life. And to give me good friends to help me also.

Ostrich

Males have black feathers and females have brown. They grow up to 9' tall and 320 pounds. Their diet consists of plants and bugs, locusts, snakes, lizards and rodents. Like all birds they eat sand and pebbles to digest their food.

They don't need to drink water. The plants they eat provide the water they need. But if they come to a watering hole they will drink from it.

Ostrich birds are the largest. They can't fly. Their bodies are built for running. They have been known to sprint up to 43 miles an hour and can maintain a run of 31 miles an hour.

They don't bury their head in the sand as fables have noted. But they do lie down with their head on the ground which may look like it is buried.

Isaiah 13:21 "But desert creatures will lie down there, And their houses will be full of owls; Ostriches also will live there, and shaggy goats will frolic there."

This verse refers to the destruction of Babylon. Ostriches show up where the land is desolate of civilization. As a type, the Ostrich represents desolation. Babylon was destroying Israel. God will support Israel and He will support us. We can trust God to come to our aid when the enemy strikes.

Father, lead me from desolation to the light of life.

Peacock