Why do birds sing? Birds sing “because they can and because they must,” says David Rothenberg, a professor at the New Jersey Institute of Technology. “Songs are used to attract mates and defend territories, but the form is much more than function. Nature is full of beauty, and of music.”

Birds sing because they have a syrinx instead of a larynx. The syrinx is the bird’s voice box, an organ that lies deep in a bird’s chest and is uniquely fashioned for song. That, at least, is the natural explanation for their gift.

But I ask again, why do birds sing? Because their Creator put a song in their hearts. Each bird is “heaven’s high and holy muse,” said John Donne, created to draw our hearts up to our Creator. They are reminders that He has given us a song that we may sing His praise.

So when you hear God’s little hymn-birds singing their hearts out, remember to sing your own song of salvation. Lift up your voice—harmonious, hoarse, or harsh—and join with them in praise to our Creator, Redeemer, and Lord.

The birds of the air “sing among the branches,” Israel’s poet observes. “[Therefore] I will sing to the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have my being” (Ps. 104:12,33).

  — David H. Roper