According to most encyclopedias there are about 9000 species of birds.  They inhabit every zone, terrain, country, and town.  They live from the dry deserts to the tropical rain forests, and range from the Arctic to the Antarctic.  They come in every size and shape and with every type of feather.  They have nearly every type of diet  from meat to fruits and vegetables.   

  The smallest bird is the Bee Hummingbird on the island of Cuba which measures about 2 inches long from tail feathers to beak.  The largest, the grounded Ostrich, can weigh close to 400 pounds.  The largest flying bird is the Wandering Albatross with a wingspan of 12 feet (World Book Encyclopedia).  Of the 9000 species, the most any bird watcher has claimed to have seen is 8000. 
    Only one Person has seen them all (Gen. 1:20-21).   God says He knows them all (Psa. 50:11).   It is a pleasure to study the creation because God’s works are great and are studied by all who delight in them, says the Psalm 111:2.  God tells us to “go to the ant and learn from it (Prov. 6:6-8).  Is there anything we can learn from the birds?  Jesus used birds to teach us.  He said, “Look at the birds…(Matt:6:26 NAS).  Another way of saying it is:  “Watch birds…”  
    But here’s the lesson:  “…they do not sow, nor reap, nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.   Are you not worth much more than they?” (v.26).   In the KJV we read, “Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself”(v.34).  This translation may give some a wrong impression.  It should read, “Take no anxious thought…”   We must take thought for the future.  We are told to go to the ant which prepares for the future (Prov. 6:6-8).  We must provide for our own relatives and immediate family or we are considered worse than a unbeliever (1Tim. 5:8).  How embarrassing that animals do better by instinct than you and I do by conscious choice!
    Another misunderstanding from this passage is that God will protect us always.   In the passage (Matt. 6:26-34) Jesus did not mean that God’s children are guaranteed protection from all accidents.  Even sparrows fall but with God’s awareness. People also fall.  Sometimes airplanes fall.  God does not suspend the law of gravity.
    Commenting on the "Sermon on the Mount," Martin Luther wrote: "You see, he is making the birds our school masters and teachers.  It is a great and abiding disgrace to us that in the Gospel a helpless sparrow should become a theologian and a pareach to the wisest of men.  We have as many teachers and preachers as there are little birds in the air.  Their living example is an embarrassment to us.  Whenever you listen to a nightingale, therefore, you are listing to an excellent preacher.  It is as if he were saying, 'I prefer to be in the Lord's kitchen.  He has made heaven and earth and He himself is the cook and host.   Everyday he feeds and nourishes innumerable little birds out of His hand.'"
   God feeds the birds but not like you feed your dog.  He provides food but they must gather it up (Psa. 104:27-28).  Jesus was specific in naming one type of bird -- the Raven.  He said, "Consider the ravens..." (Luke 12:24).    The raven has played a part in Biblical history from the time of Noah (Gen. 8:6-7) all the way through to the miracle at the time of Elijah (1Kings 17:1-6).  But the ravens must go and collect the food that God provides (Job 38:41; Psa. 147:9).
  We have faith but we must do our part.  The birds show us that faith and works can and do go together.  Thus, It is right to trust God for healing, but it is wise to seek a competent health professional for treatment.  We thank God for our food, but we are still dependent on the farmer and fisherman or the tilling of our own soil.     We trust God  in faith  but we must take appropriate right action.