The World of Animals (9)

ELEGANT SWANS

White swans swim proudly with their elegant, slender necks and big bodies. Everybody admires the nobility of their appearance. Since they are so beautiful, they are like ornaments on the creation.

You might have heard the tale of the ugly duckling. As is told in this tale, young swans are very ugly when they hatch. They have a brown or cream colour. Newly hatched young swans - called signets - have short necks and are covered with dense feathers. Within a couple of hours of the eggs cracking open, they can run and swim. Their parents look after them meticulously for a couple of months. Finally, the ugly duckling turns into a magnificent swan. These baby swans' ability to swim in such a short time and their transformation into beautiful creatures is possible only because of the perfection of Allah's artistry in creation. As we are informed by Allah in a verse; "He who has created all things in the best possible way!". (Surat as-Sajdah: 7)

"The trumpeter" is a kind of swan that sits on her developing eggs to keep them warm. Occasionally she stands up and turns her eggs. This way, she ensures that the heat disperses everywhere equally. Certainly, it is Allah Who inspires swans with the kind of care their eggs need.

Owing to the ability Allah has bestowed on them, swans move very fast both in water and in the air. Swans feel more comfortable in water and can swim very fast, thanks to their webbed feet.

Swans start to migrate when the weather becomes cold, and they fly at high altitudes, lining up in a row. On their route, to puncture the strong wind currents they encounter, they fly in a "V" formation. By means of this wise formula, they fly much faster and move along without becoming so tired. Of course, it is impossible for swans to discover such a method, which would require an advanced knowledge of aerodynamics (aerodynamics is the study of forces and resulting motion of objects through the air) and physics. They fly so because Allah, Who possesses the knowledge of everything, has inspired them so. .

Have they not looked at the birds above them, with wings outspread and folded back? Nothing holds them up but the All-Merciful. He sees all things. (Surat al-Mulk: 19)

Swans feed on the plants they find at the bottoms of swamps, creeks and ponds. Their long necks help them to reach food. Like ducks, they can plunge into the water and encounter no difficulty in short dives. There is a useful side to swans' plucking plants: Some plants grow and mature as soil is puffed up. As swans scrap at the bottom of the water to find food, they make plants grow abundantly. Thus, by the Will of Our Lord, they cause the growth of ample amounts of plants. This way, by making use of swans, our Lord ensures the growth of plants.

OSTRICHES (SO BIG THAT THEY CAN'T FLY!)

Ostriches are the biggest birds in the world. They are taller than us. An ostrich is approximately two and a half metres (98 inches) tall and weighs 120 kilograms (264 pounds).

These birds, which live in colonies in Central Africa, can't fly. Instead, Allah has given them a different ability so that they can escape from their predators: They run very fast with their long legs. They run so fast that no man can keep up with them. Ostriches are the fastest two-legged animals in the animal kingdom and they reach speeds of 70 kilometres (43 miles) per hour. And now let us tell you something very interesting. Do you know that ostriches have only two toes on their feet? What is more, one of these toes is considerably bigger than the other. And ostriches run only on their big toes.

Besides that, thanks to their long legs enabling them to run fast, ostriches are very good warriors. To protect themselves against their enemies, they kick their predators.

The egg of the biggest bird in the world is also the biggest bird egg in the world. They dig a very deep hole in the sand and place all their eggs in it. But when they lay more than 10 to 12 eggs, they need to adjust the size of the hole accordingly. If the ostrich dug this hole in soil instead of sand, this would take a longer time, causing the birds to consume more energy. Indeed, digging sand is much easier than soil. You may even dig sand with your hands whereas you need a shovel to dig soil. For this reason, ostriches, by the inspiration of Allah, prefer digging in the sand rather than in soil and thus consume minimal energy. Then they cover their eggs with sand again without difficulty.

Another interesting piece of information about ostriches is that the care of all eggs in a flock is undertaken by a single female ostrich. But, since the nest can shelter only a limited number of eggs, the female ostrich gives priority to her own eggs. Ostriches distinguish their own eggs by the air pores on the egg shells.

The baby ostriches emerging from the eggs are utterly defenceless. At any moment, they could be attacked by a predatory bird. Yet, when new-born ostriches feel endangered, they lie on the ground and act as if dead. This way, their predators, assuming they are dead, do not attack them. Without exception, all baby ostriches employ this defence mechanism.

It is impossible for a new-born chick to think up such a tactic or to learn how to employ it! So, how could a baby bird that has only recently opened its eyes to the world act as if dead? The answer is obvious. Our Lord, the One Who teaches and educates every living being, has also taught these little babies such an effective defence mechanism, so that they can protect themselves.

THE RESPLENDENT PEACOCK
(THE MOST ELEGANT BIRD IN THE ANIMAL KINGDOM)

If you have ever been to a zoo, you must certainly have seen a peacock with its magnificent plumage. The most important characteristic of peacocks is that they have a tail adorned with colours of unimaginable beauty. Yet, only male peacocks have such a magnificent tail.

With its blue head and neck, the peacock also has gilded green feathers on its tail. These beautiful feathers, called "the peacock's train", have round tips with small spots.

However, you cannot always witness this magnificent sight. You have to wait for the peacock's breeding season. The male peacock only opens his tail like a fan and displays its beauty in order to attract the female peacock's attention.

Here, we need to ponder over the following: How can a male peacock, who is unable to see himself, be so sure that he will look beautiful and attractive when he displays his tail? Someone must have taught him this; is that right? No doubt, our Lord, Who has created such beauty, has also inspired the peacock on how to use it.

Could such a perfect appearance come into existence by the effort of the peacock himself? Or, could this awe-inspiring colour harmony occur by coincidence? Surely, that is unlikely. Would you believe a friend of yours who tells you that the picture hanging in your room was painted spontaneously, by the accidental splashing of paints? You would certainly not believe him! Therefore, the peacock's tail, incomparably more beautiful than any painting, could not have come into existence by accident. There is no one who would not be astonished by the harmony of colours in a peacock's tail since the One Who creates this perfection is Allah.

A BIRD WHICH MIMICS: THE PARROT

Parrots are colourful birds that live in tropical regions. They lead a very social life. It is really interesting that the parrot shows the generosity of sharing its food with other parrots. In tropical forests, flocks of parrots fly screaming over the treetops. From the answer another flock gives, they find the location of fruit-bearing trees.

Parrots hold their food with their feet and bite it, as if eating a sandwich. Their favourite food is the sunflower seed, which is something we also enjoy. With the help of their curled tongues, they readily divide the seed shell in two - which is a bit troublesome to crack open - and eat the seed.

They lay two to eight eggs per year. During the incubation period (that is, when the embryos are still in the eggs) male and female parrots sit on the eggs in turn. When the young parrots hatch, they are featherless and feed on the digested foods their parents provide them.

The most important feature of parrots is their ability to imitate sounds. They can pronounce words they hear repeatedly. However, they don't comprehend these words; they only repeat the sounds they hear. They can even imitate a doorbell or the ringing of a telephone. Therefore, if you have a parrot at home, you may frequently assume that the doorbell is ringing.

If these bright coloured, talkative animals had not been created, we could not even imagine that such a creature might exist. That is, we wouldn't even be able to wish that such a colourful bird, which imitates the way we talk, existed. We cannot conceive anything that Allah has not taught us. Allah is the Originator of everything and He creates everything uniquely. This fact is related in the Qur'an as follows:

He is Allah - the Creator, the Maker, the Giver of Form… (Surat al-Hashr: 24)

As is the case with parrots, Allah creates many beautiful things for us. He shows us His miracles and signs everywhere at every moment. In return for all these, Allah only wants us to recognise the infinite beauties in His creation and be grateful to Him - to thank Him- and to keep ourselves occupied with His remembrance.

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