Page 90 - Magnificence Everywhere

INTELLIGENT TACTICS OF
BEE-EATERS

Although it seems impossible, some birds can even dig through stones. The only
instrument they use while breaking into hard stones is their beaks. The bee-eater is
one these birds.
The bee-eater makes its nest on the surface of sandstone cliffs or by constantly
hitting its beak on rough mud and making holes along the riverside. It continues to
excavate until the hole becomes a narrow tunnel stretching 90-100 cm (3 feet) long.
The short, strong claws of the bee-eater also help this digging work to open the
sides of the nest. It pours out the deposited soil particles with the help of its claws.
Several species of these bee-eaters live in colonies made up of 1,000 or more birds.
Scientists are at a loss for an explanation as to how each bird locates its own nest
among these mass, teeming colonies. 29
Another interesting characteristic of bee-eaters is their specialization in bug
hunting. These birds feed on bees. This is somewhat surprising because it could be
fatal for other birds to eat bees. However, the bee-eaters are not affected at all by the
bees' venom. These birds first rub the hunted bee's abdomen against a branch of a
tree and wear it away. Thus, its venom is discharged harmlessly into the air. 30
The other body features of bee-eaters are also suitable for making catching the
insects easy. For example, it has a beak 4.5 cm (1.8 inches) long. This length is im-
portant since, if this bird's beak were shorter, the insects could harm it while it tried
to hunt. In addition, the sharp tip of its beak enables it to catch its prey from the part
between the chest and stomach. In this way it can empty the bee's venom more eas-
ily.
Certainly, a bird's knowledge of how to deactivate the poison of an insect is not
a behavior that he can learn and perform on its own. No one can claim that the bird
might have discovered such a solution and risking fatal danger in the process by the
trial-and-error method. A bird's employment of such rational tactics shows that it
was born onto this Earth with this piece of knowledge innately acquired. Moreover,
Magnificence Everywhere ing process is an evident indicator that this creature was created in a way that en-
the fact that all the bird's bodily features have a structure ideally suited for the hunt-

ables it to hunt bees. Bee-eaters, like all other living things on Earth, have been
created along with their existing features by Allah.

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