Page 168 - For Men of Understanding

differentiate seasonal changes. However, the answer that "birds have body
clocks with which they understand the time of migration" is an unscientific
answer. What kind of clock is it, which organ of the body does it work with,
and how did it come into being? What would happen if this clock were out of
order or stayed behind?
Considering that the same system holds true not only for a single migrato-
ry bird, but for all migratory animals, more importance must be attributed to
these questions.
As is well known, migratory birds do not start migration from the same
place, as none of them are found at the same place when the time for migra-
tion arrives. Most species first meet at a particular location and then migrate
together. How do they arrange such timing? How are these "body-clocks", that
birds allegedly have, so harmonious? Is it possible that such a systematic order
could come into being spontaneously?
It is impossible for a planned action to take place spontaneously. In addi-
tion, neither in birds nor in other migratory animals is there a clock of any kind.
All migratory living things do this every year at times determined by them, but
they do not do it by observing a body clock. What some people call
a body clock is Allah’s control over these living beings.
Migratory animals follow Allah’s orders just like everything in
the universe.

USAGE OF ENERGY

Birds consume great energy in flight. For this reason, they
need more fuel than all sea-dwelling and land-dwelling animals.
For instance, in order to fly the 3,000 km distance between
Hawaii and Alaska, a humming bird, weighing a few grams, has to
beat its wings 2.5 million times. Despite this, it can remain in the air for
as long as 36 hours. Its average speed during this trip is approximately 80 km
per hour. During a flight as arduous as that, the quantity of acid in the bird’s
blood increases excessively and the bird faces the danger of fainting because
of its rising body temperature. Some birds deal with this danger by landing.
How, then, can those that migrate over enormous oceans save themselves?
Ornithologists have observed that under such circumstances, birds spread their
wings as wide as possible and so cool down by resting in this manner.
The metabolisms of migratory birds are strong enough to put up with this
task. For instance, the metabolic activity in the body of a humming bird, the
smallest bird of passage, is 20 times more than that in an elephant. The body
o
temperature of the bird rises to 62 C.

166 For Men of Understanding