FOREWORD

Each and every species on Earth has been created with miraculous characteristics and wondrous skills. Even in one single living species, we can find abundant proof of God's magnificent creation.

According to one verse of the Qur'an:

There is no creature crawling on the Earth or flying creature, flying on its wings, who are not communities just like yourselves-We have not omitted anything from the Book-then they will be gathered to their Lord. (Qur'an, 6:38)

This verse draws our attention to birds which, of all living creatures, are worthy of special consideration and observation.

There are approximately ten thousand different species of birds, many of which have miraculous characteristics. Wherever we live, we may encounter many of these creatures and can admire the different aspects of each variety. They exhibit countless examples of the evidence of creation, through their aesthetic appearance, their perfect flying mechanisms, their expertise in migration, their nest-making skills and their self-sacrificing behavior.

Meanwhile, other species of birds are created with a special aptitude for forming social groups. Many varieties live together as a community, warn one another of danger, work collectively to find food and shelter, and make various sacrifices to help each other out in any number of ways. (For detailed information, see Harun Yahya, Devotion Among Animals: Revealing the Work of God). As God pointed out in the Qur'an, these creatures are capable of establishing their own form of communication and performing in cooperative ways the duties inspired in them by God.

Some birds distinguish themselves by their superior intelligence and special talents. These particular species are the subject matter of this book and which we may define as birds that can imitate sounds, include the parrots, songbirds, and hummingbirds. Many of us have heard about, seen on television or even personally witnessed these birds' ability to talk. However, we may not have considered what a great miracle it is that these creatures can mimic in this way, or to the perfection of the way in which God has created them.

This book explains how these creatures' being hatched with their ability to talk or imitate sounds is one of the miracles of creation and, at the same time, how this very ability invalidates the claims of evolutionary theory. And so, we will display the magnificence of God's creation for all to see.