I have no idea what kind of bird this is, where it is from, or who shot the photograph. I'd love to give credit for all three. But I do know Who created the bird. What a magnificent Artist!
The tree which thou sawest which was high and strong, whose height reached to the skies, and the sight thereof into all the earth: And the branches thereof were most beautiful, and its fruit exceeding much, and in it was food for all, under which the beasts of the field dwelt, and the birds of the air had their abode in its branches.
It is thou, O king, who art grown great and become mighty: for thy greatness hath grown, and hath reached to heaven, and thy power unto the ends of the earth. (Daniel 4:20-22)
Which brings to mind this passage from St. Paul's letter to the Colossians,
For in him were all things created in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones, or dominations, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him and in him. And he is before all, and by him all things consist.
And he is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he may hold the primacy. Because in him, it hath well pleased the Father, that all fullness should dwell; And through him to reconcile all things unto himself, making peace through the blood of his cross, both as to the things that are on earth, and the things that are in heaven.
Thanks be to God.
UPDATE: Thanks to reader Ramona, the bird has been identifed (and the photographer as well)! That is a Fomosan Blue Magpie (Urocissa caerulea), in Taiwan, photographed by John Fish. A Bravo Zulu for Ramona, and a link to her blog.
