Daily Devotional – April 5

Biology

Have you considered that birds like gannets and blue-footed boobies dive into the water at high speeds and do not break their necks! How do birds survive a dive like that? These birds come equipped with their own built-in “air bags”!

Gannets and blue-footed boobies like to go fishing. They flock together high in the sky, usually hovering over schools of herring, menhaden, or other fish. Then one of the gannets will single out a certain fish, tuck his wings close to his side and dive from heights of 100 feet. The gannet will slam into the water headfirst at 60 mph like a missile. What keeps his neck from breaking upon impact? Beneath the skin near the neck are air sacs that the bird fills by taking a gulp of air just before impact. This provides cushioning for the bird, just like the airbags in a car. Do we say that airbags started appearing in cars by chance? When we see an airbag, we know there must be an airbag designer. And who is the airbag designer in these birds? God our Creator. He designed the first airbags for the safety of birds like gannets.

For who in the heaven can be compared unto the Lord?...

~ Psalm 89:6

Source: "Pearls in Paradise" by authors Bruce Malone and Jule Von Vett

References for this devotional.