Page 105 - Devotion Among Animals Revealing the Work of God

Selfless Devotion of Creatures Within the Family

Many species like the pelican prepare food for their offspring in their crops. As
seen here, a young pelican eats food from its mother's crop on her return.

produce this "milk," and many other species of bird produce similar
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substances.
Baby birds are totally dependent on their parents. They're able
only to open their beaks wide and wait for the parents to feed them.
Young herring gulls instinctively push their beaks towards a red
spot on the mother's bill. At the slightest vibration that could indi-
cate their parents' return, young thrushes, still blind, stretch their
necks upwards and open their beaks wide in anticipation, as if the
swollen yellow rims of these young birds' beaks were indicating
where their parents should deposit their food. The edges of their
gapes are quite sensitive. If a baby has its beak closed for whatever
reason, the slightest touch will stimulate it to open its beak.
The color and sensitivity of young birds' mouths, especially in
birds whose nests are located in deep down places, make life easier

all around. A mother can easily find the gapes of her young, even
when they're sitting in a dark corner of the nest.

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