Northern Pygmy Owl
Riley Ranch Nature Preserve, Bend, OR
Proverbs 3:7 ESV
Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord, and turn away from evil.
Ancient Greek, Roman, and European cultures have long associated the owl with wisdom. One theory suggests the round, glasses-looking, pensive eyes of an owl along with the bird’s natural silence created the aura of wisdom. In 1875, the nursery rhyme, Wise Old Owl was published.
There was an owl liv’d in an oak
The more he heard, the less he spoke
The less he spoke, the more he heard.
O, if men were all like that wise bird.
This seemed to solidify the attribute of wisdom to the owl and was even used as an American wartime poster. Owls indeed are silent and lethal hunters eating an estimated 5,000 rodents a year. Those round tunnel-like eyes do not move so owls have no peripheral vision. That is why owls need the ability to rotate their heads 270 degrees. Proverbs reminds us to seek God as the source of our wisdom instead our limited acumen. Like a wise owl, the less we speak, the more we will hear from God, and He will guide us safely away from any evil. We have earthly tunnel vision whereas God has not just a 270-degree view, but an omnipotent 360-degree view.
