Are European Crows Evolving?
Genesis 1:21
“And God created ... every winged fowl after his kind...”
A recent report on the Science Alert website discussed the evolution of two species of crow in Europe. The two species concerned are the carrion crow, which is black, and the grey-hooded crow. These crows are very different in appearance. They both populate continental Europe, with the grey-hoods in the East and the carrion crows in the West. Their boundary appears to be approximately where Germany’s Elbe River is. At this overlap point, it is possible for birds of the two species to interbreed. The hybrid birds are themselves fertile, which, while unusual for hybrids, is by no means unknown.
Evolutionary researchers have found that these birds are almost genetically identical, differing only in the genes that cause coloration. In both species, it appears that there is a preference among birds to mate with those of the same plumage. So these researchers have concluded that the two populations were originally one species which split into two.
As creationists, we can affirm that everything these evolutionary researchers are saying is correct – though we would use different terminology. A lead researcher said, “Defining speciation as the buildup of reproductive isolation, carrion crows and hooded crows are in the process of speciation.” This is certainly correct but is not evolution in the Darwinian sense. What is happening is natural selection from an existing gene pool. Darwinian evolution would require new genetic information to have been created and then selected. In fact, this research is consistent with biblical principles, and not with Darwinism.
Prayer: Thank You, Lord, for men and women of science who push back the frontiers of knowledge. Thank You that true science is always consistent with Your word. Amen.
Author: Paul Taylor
Ref: < https://www.sciencealert.com/two-species-of-crow-are-evolving-before-our-eyes-in-europe >, accessed 3/30/2019.
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