Job 39:13 [Gavest thou] the goodly wings unto the peacocks? or wings and feathers unto the ostrich?
Ver. 13. Gavest thou the goodly wings unto the peacocks?] Alam exultandam, the wings and tail to the peacock, wherein he so prideth himself and taketh such pleasure, being all in changeable colours. So are some great promises (the peacock here hath his name from his loud and shrill voice), as often changed as moved. A beautiful bird it is, and preciously clothed by God. They were wont to say here, that peacocks, hops, and heresy came first into England in one and the same ship. They say, he most of all spreads his fair tail when he is most beheld by men, and praised. His feathers are good for little else but only to please children. But that he pulleth down his fair plumes, and setteth up his harsh note, when he looketh down upon his ill favoured feet, is an old wive's tale; let those who wish to believe it.
Or wings and feathers unto the ostrich?] And so by a synecdoche, to all other fowls of the air; in the admirable variety of whose colours, tunes, and tastes, 1 Corinthians 15:39, much of God's power and wisdom, yea, of his goodness also, may be seen; and therefore the loss of these creatures (good for food, for physique, and for delight, as the companions of our lives) is threatened as a judgment, Jeremiah 4:25; Jeremiah 9:10. Some for the ostrich render the stork, and some a night bird of an ill note; but the following description agreeth best with the bustard or ostrich, which is between a beast and a fowl, having so thin feathers and so heavy a body that be cannot fly, but only lifteth up his wings, and runneth very swiftly. Aelian saith, that he is almost as big as a camel, being, therefore, called Struthio-camelus. Pliny saith that he is higher than a horseman on horseback, and can outrun him; but is so foolish, that being pursued, if he can hide his head only in some hole or thicket, and can see nobody, he thinks himself safe, and that nobody seeth him; though his great bulk be all in sight, Cum interim tota corporis mole promineat. Other effects of his folly follow in the next words.