Page 84 - The World of Animals

chance to take a break and rest. How birds maintain their direction
during their thousands of kilometres long flights still remains a

mystery. Each year, birds migrate to their destinations without losing
their ways. This holds true for young birds as well as adults.

It is interesting that birds' legs, so slender and little in comparison to
their bodies, can carry their entire bodies. It is amazing that so many

muscles, veins and nerves can exist in such a slender leg! If birds' legs were
thicker and relatively more bulky, it would be more difficult for them to fly.

Almost all birds sleep on one leg. This does not upset their balance
since their body weight is concentrated on this one leg. Allah has

created birds with the features that enable them to maintain such a
delicate balance.

82 One of the best sensory organs of birds is their eyes. Apart from the
ability to fly, Allah has also granted birds superior sight, because,

flight, which is itself a miracle, becomes extremely dangerous unless it
is supported by superior sight. Birds can see objects at a distance much

better than human beings and have a wider angle of vision. Noticing
the dangers beforehand, they accurately determine their speed and the

direction of their flight.
Birds' eyes remain fixed in the

eye sockets, that is, they can't
move their eyes as human beings

can. However, they can widen the
angle of vision by rapidly turning

their heads and necks.
Furthermore, night birds such as

owls have very large eyes. Some