What Turtles and Birds Have in Common
by Christine Maccabee
At first glance, turtles and birds have nothing in common. Birds fly and have feathers; turtles mostly crawl or swim and are featherless. However, even amphibians—such as frogs, toads, and salamanders, who are mostly earthbound—have less in common with turtles than birds do, though that can be debated.
I read a lot. Mostly, I enjoy non-fiction stories that reflect the amazing mysteries of life, as it is and has been. All present day creatures on earth come from an amazing reservoir of ancient—mostly now extinct—relatives. Of course, we humans are no exception. Natural history, especially pre-history, before anything was written down, is especially fascinating, the evidence for evolution being found in fossils, some of which are hundreds of millions of years old.
So, the first thing turtles and birds have in common is that they are both unusually ancient creatures, having survived the fall of the dinosaurs. As Dr. Carr wrote in his
Handbook of Turtles,“Turtles remained while the dinosaurs bellowed toward their doom in the Crustaceous, when the last Brachiosaurus laid down his fifty tons to rest.”
As for birds, yes, even the ones at our feeders, “they have more complex feathers specialized for flight than ancient dinosaurs did and are the sole remaining dinosaur lineage.”(According to a recent
National Geographic article, “Why Birds Matter.”)
Due to a bird’s ability to fly away from danger (with the exception of a few, such as penguins) and a turtle’s amazing armor to protect vital organs, they are equally amazing survivors. Everyone knows the land turtle’s ability to hibernate and then emerge in the spring, even after the coldest of winters. Of course, many birds fly thousands of miles as they migrate to warmer climes, while others hang around and hunker down during periods of freezing rain and snow in trees and shrubs, their downy feathers providing enough warmth to survive. Incredible. If you have not seen it, I highly advise getting the film,
The Great Migration, from the library. It depicts the awesome stamina and intelligence of migratory birds. Of course, turtles, in their own slow but sure ways, are mighty awesome as well.
Both birds and turtles are egg layers, but they deal with their offspring differently. As we all know, birds are fierce protectors and providers for their young, while baby turtles are totally on their own once hatched. Their eggs, however, are similarly in danger from egg-loving predators, such as snakes, birds, and humans (especially sea turtle poachers).
Both turtles and birds have no teeth. Birds use their beaks with great efficiency for catching and consuming prey. Similarly, turtles can tear an insect, fish, or plant apart easily with their sharp, horny bills. I avoid, at all cost, putting my fingers anywhere within reach of my turtles’ mouths, as they can indeed draw blood with a single bite.
One of the most distinguishing characteristics of turtles is their strong shell, or exoskeleton, which protects their soft flesh and their endoskeleton. Birds, on the other hand have only weightless, hollow, endoskeletons, allowing them to fly with the greatest of ease, unlike their brother, the turtle, who can only crawl or swim.
If there were to be a beauty show competition, because of their colorful plumage, birds would likely win over turtles. I would likely vote for the turtle, but then I am prejudiced. I have raised a variety of turtles over the years. As a child, I especially loved my map turtle, with its fascinating map-like markings. In the wild, the hawksbill sea turtle is wondrous to behold, with its impressive colors and designs all over its legs and head. Locally, the lowly male box turtles have gorgeous orange and yellow patterns, which distinguish them from the simpler females.
Both birds and turtles are precious entities and provide us mortals with inspiration and, hopefully, incentive enough to save them and their habitats, protecting them from plastic items that sadly now infest our oceans and waterways (affecting both birds and turtles that innocently consume them or become entrapped in them).
Not enough can be said for the need to protect these wonderful, ancient animals. As we protect them and their habitats, we are also protecting human life on this amazingly mysterious planet we all depend on to live.
