I. The Realm of Subrational Nature
God the Creator is often extravagant in the decorations with which He supplies His creatures. Of course, there are plenty of insects and beasts whose humble appearance enables them to hide effortlessly in the mud or among the rocks or vegetation in which they live. This kind of camouflage gives less scope to the artist’s paintbrush. But there are also organisms at the opposite extreme: the ones that are patently designed
to be noticed, even marveled at.[1] The zoologist Adolf Portmann has a lot of interesting things to say about such animal forms and patterns.
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| Peacock |
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| Marvellous Spatuletail |
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| Peruvian racquet-tailed hummingbird |
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| Frilled coquette hummingbird |
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| Lyrebird |
