Catbird

My Take

DiVoran Lites

Pixabay

I’m glad I never set out to learn bird calls. It would take a long time to learn them all. But, I do recognize most of the trillers that come to our yard. One time I heard a sound like a kitten mewing. I looked around and saw a catbird on a branch, and on that day, I made two discoveries.

1. A catbird was named catbird because it mews like a kitten.

2. The catbird wears a handsome pair of russet-colored feather shorts beneath his tail. 

Speaking of the calls of birds, have you ever read The Girl of the Limberlost by Gene Stratton-Porter published in 1909? One of the things I love in the book is that the heroine, Elnora, could play the sounds of the swamp on her violin. Wouldn’t that be something beautiful to hear? 

A catbird can sing the songs of many other kinds of birds, as can mockingbirds and others. Catbirds practice each new sound and then blend it into a concert of all the sounds he knows. I have only heard mockingbirds do that, but that’s enough to know it is a precious gift from God. 

As I study birds and writers, I become aware that many living creatures have gifts from God to share with the world.  The Holy Bible tells us that God’s people are blessed with gifts as well.  Our personal gifts can be wisdom, faith, healing, miracles, prophesy, discernment, languages, interpretations, and many other things. The same breath of God produces all the gifts, just as it creates the sounds of birds. There is one gift, however that outshines all the rest and that is the gift of Love. 1 Corinthians 13.  What a joy that is!

Here are some of the sounds

And

Here’s the love

DiVoran has been writing for most of her life. Her first attempt at a story was when she was seven years old and her mother got a new typewriter. DiVoran got to use it and when her dad saw her writing he asked what she was writing about. DiVoran answered that she was writing the story of her life. Her dad’s only comment was, “Well, it’s going to be a very short story.” After most of a lifetime of writing and helping other writers, DiVoran finally launched her own dream which was to write a novel of her own. She now has her Florida Springs trilogy and her novel, a Christian Western Romance, Go West available on Amazon. When speaking about her road to publication, she gives thanks to the Lord for all the people who helped her grow and learn.  She says, “I could never have done it by myself, but when I got going everything fell beautifully into place, and I was glad I had started on my dream.”

Tags: Backyard Birding, Catbird calls, The Girl of the Limberlost by Gene Stratton-Porter