When the birds were fashioned by the Creating Word, they had personal counseling about their future roles. They were all told that only so many talents, abilities, and looks, could be available - but not everything in one package.
 |
| Peacock by Norma Boeckler |
The Peacock.
"You will be one of the most beautiful birds of all. People will collect your feathers. They will use your image as the symbol of color. They will put you in parks and admire you and photograph you."
"But?"
"You will not be very bright. You used up the quota with beauty and your ability to display it in such a spectacular way."
 |
| Starlings |
The Starling
"You will be very pretty with speckles and also very smart. You will imitate any sound you like. I am giving you a strong beak and a voracious appetite for bugs and seeds. You will use these qualities in flocks and develop vast armadas of birds."
"That sounds good. What is the downside?"
"You will be loathed for being so successful. Very few will appreciate your abilities, you IQ, your keen appetite for killing insect pests."
"I would rather have the talents shifted. I want to awe people like the peacock said he would."
"One more thing. You will get the murmuration. People will stand and stare at your ability to form enormous geometric patterns in the sky with your flock. They will video you and gape at the beauty of these flights."
 |
| Grackle in bright sunlight |
The Grackle
"You will be smart and talkative like your cousin, the starling. You will be even larger and look black. I am giving your a powerful beak for breaking into the soil and getting your food."
"That sounds rather humdrum, no offense meant."
"None taken. I decided to give you yellow eyes to contrast with your black feathers, and glistening head. When the sun falls on you just right, your head will be iridescent, even your body."
 |
| Bluebird - by Norma Boeckler |
The Bluebird
"You will be so popular that people will admire you more than they see you. You will be a brand name, part of famous songs, photographed, drawn, and painted. People will buy live and dried worms to attract you and build houses to attract you. Besides that, your song will be enchanting."
"What's the hitch?"
"You will be somewhat rare. You will do well where woods meet large lawns, so that will limit your population. But you will always be in demand, always popular. Don't tell the others, but no one will ever say - I spotted a grackle today."
 |
| Cardinals - by Norma Boeckler |
The Cardinal
"You will have a very powerful beak for eating seeds. Other birds will have to break open seeds with a great effort. You will sit at the feed and crack them open with ease. Your colors will be spectacular. The males will be bright red all year around. The females will be a delicate brown, not as showy but still elegant. People will name their sports teams and even their prelates after you ."
"That sounds good, but where are we going to be short?"
"Shy. You will be terribly shy most of the time. If the other birds are in the front yard bathing, you will be way in the back. And you will be terribly jealous of your reflection during mating season, always pecking at mirrors, thinking some other cardinal wants your girlfriend and your yard."
More later, upon request.
