Wing Chat

The researchers conducting the study observed one bird fluttering its wings at its mate when arriving at their nest. The second bird then entered the nest first, leading the researchers to believe that wing fluttering is a way for the birds to say, “After you.”

One of the scientists on the study, Toshitaka Suzuki, says, “There is a hypothesis that language evolved from gestural communication . . . so, these studies can help us understand the evolution of complex communication, including our own language.”

During creation week, God made each kind of creature with its own language. As part of our call to be good stewards of creation, we can study the ways animals communicate, but there’s no reason to search for connections to the way humans communicate because we didn’t evolve from animals. God created us in his image with complex language abilities far surpassing gestures and grunts (Genesis 1:27).

This article is from Answers magazine, July–September, 2024, p. 18.