"And he inspected the birds." Qatadah said: It was mentioned to us that Solomon intended to traverse a desert, so he summoned the hoopoe to ascertain for him the distance to water. He had been endowed with a vision for that which no other bird had been given. Al-Kalbi said: He would guide him to water when the people stopped, informing him how many cubits were between him and the water.
﴿وتفقد الطير﴾ قَالَ قَتَادَة: ذكر لنا أَن سُلَيْمَانَ أَرَادَ أَنْ يَأْخُذَ مَفَازَةً فَدَعَا بِالْهُدْهُدْ لَيَعْلَمَ لَهُ مَسَافَةَ الْمَاءِ، وَكَانَ قَدْ أُعْطِيَ مِنَ الْبَصَرِ بِذَلِكَ مَا لَمْ يُعْطَهُ غَيْرُهُ مِنَ الطَّيْرِ، وَقَالَ الْكَلْبِيُّ: كَانَ يَدُلُّهُ عَلَى الْمَاءِ إِذَا نَزَلَ النَّاسُ، فَيُخْبِرُهُ كَمْ بَيْنَهُ وَبَين المَاء من قامة
