Ugly Feathers

One of the lessons I conducted tonight for my English classes is the Story of the Peacock and the Crane. This caught my attention and impressed a good moral lesson to me so I decided to write something about it. To start with, the name "Peacock" is commonly used as the name for a peafowl bird of the pheasant family. But in fact "peacock" is the name for the colorfully plumaged male peafowl only. The females are called peahens, they are smaller and grey or brown in color. Nevertheless, whenever we hear the word PEACOCK, we think of nothing but this majestic bird with vibrant plumage. The physical attributes of this bird can be summed up in one word: fabulous!

The way a peacock (male peahowl) moves show confidence and pride.

If only a peacock can talk, he would say: Look at me, I'm so beautiful.

A peacock walks graciously and proudly flaunting it's fringe of colorful feathers.

In this picture, a peacock ( how I wish this is for female peahowls) looks like a queen, with its long flowing gown.

So the story goes like this:

There was once a peacock living near the lake. He likes to look at himself's reflections in the water and say " I am the most beautiful bird.". The peacock has also a habit of looking down at other birds and telling them, "You are so ugly." One day, a crane came to the lake. The peacock said "Your feathers are so ugly." The crane answered, "I can use my ugly feathers to fly for a long time. Can you use your beautiful feathers to fly like me." The peacock said nothing.

While it may be true that the feathers of the crane may be nothing compared to that of the peacock, these feathers are use to fly for a long time.
Some species of cranes can travel for approximately 500 miles in a day while searching for food!

The average lifespan of the crane in the wild is 20-30 years. The oldest crane which survived for the longest span was a Siberian crane named Wolf. It lived for 83 years in captivity!
History indicates that cranes spend their entire life with the same mate, but a recent scientific study found out that they change their mate in their lifetime.

So what is the moral of the story? You don't look down and make tactless comments on others  whose anatomy doesn't look the same as yours. You may be blessed with a good physique but others possess unique traits which you don't have. It's not all about the physical appearance, most of the time it's all about ability and robustness, flexibility and genuine character.  Peacocks may have amazing plumage but they can't fly very far or very high in one go. I would suppose that their size and tail and small wings (relative to body) hinders them from flying too much. While the crane, though it may not be that attractive but it can fly for miles. Cranes have been clocked flying 72 kilometers (45 miles) per hour. See?!

The highest-flying are Eurasian cranes, flying over the Himalayas at altitudes up to 10,000 meters (32,800 feet) — that’s cruising altitude for jetliners!

The Crane sleeps on one leg with its head under its wing and its other leg drawn up to its body.These remarkable birds have a vast vocal communication system. Each species has its own tone and volume, from the soft honks of crowned cranes to the flutelike call of Siberian cranes. Cranes also use body language for communication.

Cranes are opportunistic feeders that change their diet according to the season and their own nutrient requirements. They eat a range of items from suitably sized small rodents, fish, amphibians, and insects to grain, berries, and plants.

We’ve all heard it countless times: Certain species of birds mate for life, including geese, swans, cranes, and eagles. It’s a true statement, for the most part, but it’s only part of the story. Lots of monogamous bird species cheat, and some “divorce”—but at rates much lower than humans.

About 90 percent of bird species are monogamous, which means a male and a female form a pair bond. But monogamy isn’t the same as mating for life. A pair bond may last for just one nesting, such as with house wrens; one breeding season, common with most songbird species; several seasons, or life.

This story also teach us how to appreciate others for who they are and learn from them on how they do things with art and beauty. Humility is a priceless virtue. 

Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it's thinking of yourself less. 

-Rick Warren