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BIRDS FOUND IN PALESTINE,
WITH A REFERENCE TO THOSE NAMED IN SCRIPTURE.
N.B.–V.L. = Van Lennep; H. = Houghton; T. = Tristram.
English Name. | Hebrew and Greek. | Specimens found by Palestine Explorers. | Where Found. | Remarks. |
---|---|---|---|---|
Avocet. |
|
Recurvirostra avocetta. |
Sur. |
|
Bat. (Lev. xi. 19.) |
Atalleph. *** |
Vesperugo Kuhlii. |
|
Bats are included in the Bible amongst "birds," and also "creepers on all fours." See Quadrupeds, p. 76. |
Bee-eater. |
|
Merops apiaster. |
Anti-Libanus. |
A summer migrant. |
Bittern. (Zeph. ii. 14.) |
Kippôd. *** |
Botaurus stellaris. T. |
|
See Quadrupeds, p. 76. |
Ardeola minuts. |
(?) |
Bought at Jerusalem. |
||
Blackbird. |
|
Merula. |
|
Found in Palestine; not migratory. V.L. |
Blackcap. |
|
Silvia atricapilla. |
Jericho. |
|
Blue Jay. |
|
|
|
Blue jay still found in Palestine. V.L. |
Bulbul. |
|
Ixus xanthopygius. |
Beit Atab. |
Peculiar to Syria. The nightingale is so called, as also a titmouse. V.L. |
Chat. |
|
Saxicola libanotica. |
Bethlehem. |
|
|
Pratincola rubicola. |
|||
|
Dromolæa leucopygia. |
Ain Feshkah. |
||
Cock. (Mark xiv. 30.) |
*** |
|
|
|
Cormorant. (Lev. xi. 17.) |
Shálâk.. *** Kâath. *** |
Phalacrocorax carbo. |
|
Probably kâath is the "pelican" (see marginal reading): but the common cormorant frequents the coast, comes up the Kishon, and is found on the Sea of Galilee and on the Jordan; and this is probably the shálák. T. |
Corn-Bunting. |
|
Emberiza miliaria. |
Ain Fasail. |
|
Cretchmaker's Bunting. |
|
Emberiza cæsia. |
Ain Fasail. |
|
Crane. |
Âgûr. *** |
Grus cinerea. T. |
|
Some think the "crane" should be "stork." Others agree with A. V. Cranes flock to wilderness of Beersheba in winter. T. |
Cuckoo. (Lev. xi. 16.) |
Shachaph *** |
Cuculus canorus. |
Jordan Valley. |
Some translate shachaph "seagull" (as the LXX.). |
|
Oxylophus glandarius. |
Ain Fasail. |
Summer migrant to Palestine. |
|
Crow. |
'Oreb. *** |
Corvus umbrinus. |
|
Ordinary cinereal crows are very common scavengers, and are identified with the "ravens" that fed Elijah. V.L. But the term includes the whole tribe of crows, e.g. rooks, jackdaws, &c., all of which are very numerous. T. |
Dove. |
Yonah. *** |
|
|
See Pigeon. |
Dunlin. |
|
Tringa cinclus. |
|
|
English Name. | Hebrew and Greek. | Specimens found by Palestine Explorers. | Where Found. | Remarks. |
---|---|---|---|---|
Ducks. |
Ducks, wild and domestic, everywhere. |
|||
Eagle. |
Nesher. ***. |
Circaetus gallicus. Gyps fulvus. T. |
Yebua. |
Feeds on reptiles. The Arabic nissir, i.e. griffon, great vulture. Found in Palestine and Egypt. |
Eagle, Gier. |
Racham. *** |
Neophron percnopterus. |
Gier" is "Egyptian vulture," or "Pharaoh's hen," common in Asia and Africa, to Cape of Good Hope; migratory from Palestine in the winter. |
|
Fowl, fatted. |
Barburim. Abusim. |
"Fatted fowl," probably "geese," which abound all over Palestine, as do domestic fowls, whose native country is Asia, but which were not imported into Palestine till after the Captivity. V.L. |
||
Glede. |
Raah. *** |
Buteo ferox. |
Probably the "buzzard," of which there are three kinds in Palestine, of which the commonest is the large red, resembling a small eagle. T. |
|
Goldfinch. |
Carduelis elegans. |
Bethlehem. |
||
Grakle. |
Amydrus Tristrami. |
Mar-Saba. |
Dead Sea and Jordan Valley. |
|
Grouse. |
Pteroels Senegallus. |
Desert. |
Also in Jordan Valley. |
|
Harrier. |
Circus æruginosus. |
Dead Sea. |
||
C. cineraceus. |
Jericho. | |||
Hawk. |
Netz. *** |
Accipiter nisus. |
Netz is generic, including the whole kestrel tribe. T. |
|
Hawk, Night. (Lev. xi. 16.) |
Tachmâs. *** |
Caprimulgus (?). T. |
Doubtful; perhaps "night-jar." Some say, a kind of owl. |
|
Hen |
See Fowl. |
|||
Heron. (Lev. xi. 19.) |
Anâphah. *** |
Ardeola comata. Ardea cinerea. T. |
Jordan Valley. |
White, blue, and brown herons are found; also the "buff-backed," often called the "ibis," especially about the Waters of Merom. H. |
Hoopoe. |
Dukipath. *** |
Upupa epops. |
Bludan. |
Summer visitant to Palestine; very common, especially in woods and near rocky water-courses. It is a very filthy feeder, so unclean. T. |
Jar. |
Caprimulgus Europæus. |
Beit Atab. |
||
Kestrel. |
Netz. ***. |
Tinnunculus alaudarius. |
Beit Atab. |
Abounds in all southern Palestine. T. |
T. Cenchris. |
Ramleh. |
|||
Kingfisher. |
Alcedo ispida. |
Jericho. |
||
Ceryle rudis. |
||||
Alcyon Smyrnensis. |
Found in Asia Minor. |
|||
Kite. (Lev. xi. 14.) |
Ayyah. *** |
Milvus regalis. |
Ayyah is a generic term for "keen-sighted" birds; regalis very common in winter. |
|
Lark. |
Galerida cristata. |
Jaffa. |
More abundant in species and individuals than in England. T. |
|
Otocoris penicillata. |
Anti-Libanus. |
Found only on mountain tops of S.W. Asia. |
||
Lapwing. (Lev. xi. 19.) |
Dukipath. *** |
No doubt the hoopoe, since the Arabic term is the same; in size similar to the thrush, but crested. See Hoopoe. |
English Name. | Hebrew and Greek. | Specimens found by Palestine Explorers. | Where Found. | Remarks. |
---|---|---|---|---|
Magpie. |
|
|
|
One of the most valuable scavengers of Syria, relieving cattle of flies and vermin. |
Nuthatch. |
|
Sitta Syriaca. |
Anti-Libanus. |
|
Owl. |
Bath-haya-'anah. |
|
|
Many agree with the LXX., and regard it as an ostrich. |
Owl, great. (Lev. xi. 17.) |
Yanshooph. *** Kippos. *** |
Bubo Ascalaphus. |
Jericho. |
Kippos and lilith are both found there. The former could scarcely be the "ibis," which could not live among the ruins of Petra; but kôs is called by Arabs mother of ruins." Kôs (a cup) is translated by some "pelican," from its pouch. T. Some translate kippos, "arrowsnake." |
Owl, little. (Lev. xi. 17.) |
Kôs, *** |
Athene meridionalis. |
Bethlehem. |
|
Owl, of desert. (Ps. cii. 6.) |
||||
Owl, screech. |
Lilith. *** |
Otus vulgaris. |
Jericho. |
|
Osprey. (Lev. xi. 13.) |
Asniyah. *** |
Pandion haliaëtus. |
|
Fish-eating eagle, never plentiful, on account of the scarcity of its food; but the term includes also the "short-toed" eagle, by far the most common in Palestine. |
Ossifrage. |
Peres. *** |
Gypaëtus barbatus. |
|
The Lämmer-geier, most magnificent of vulture species; found sparingly in most rocky ravines. Both the Hebrew and English names mean "bone-breaker." T. |
Ostrich. |
Ya'anah. *** |
Struthio camelus. |
|
Still found in the wilderness of Sinai. |
Partridge. |
Korè *** |
Caccabis Græcus. |
Jericho. |
Found everywhere in Palestine and Egypt, especially the rock partridge. |
Partridge. |
|
Ammoperdix heyii. |
Peculiar to the Jordan Valley. |
|
Peacock. (1 Kin. x. 22.) |
Tucciyim. *** |
Pavo cristatus. |
|
Not native; imported by Solomon from Malabar coast, or Ceylon; extinct. The name is not Hebrew, but Tamil, togeï, and they are still called by it in Ceylon. |
Pelican. (Ps. cii. 6.) |
Kâath. *** |
|
|
Spends the winter in Palestine; migrates in the summer to Russia. |
Pigeon. |
Yonah. ***
|
|
|
Called "dove" in A.V. Blue or black, with patches of white; common and migratory. There are the wood, rock, and wild pigeons. V.L. |
Pigeon. (Gen. xv. 9.) |
Gozâl. *** |
|||
Plover. |
|
Charadrius hiaticula. |
Jaffa. |
|
Quail. (Ex. xvi. 13.) |
Selav. *** |
Coturnix vulgaris. |
|
Like a small partridge; migratory for breeding in spring from Africa to high plains of Asia Minor, Turkey, and S. Russia. They alight on Red Sea shore for rest before passing over the mountains; and are found by the Dead Sea. Their flesh is a delicacy. |
Raven. |
'Oreb. *** |
|
|
See Crow. |
Redstart. |
|
Ruticilla phœnicura. |
Jordan Valley. |
Summer migrant to Palestine. |
Ruticilla Tithys. |
Bludan. |
|||
Robin. |
|
Erythæus rubicula. |
Jericho. |
Winter migrant to Palestine. |
Ruticilla Suecica. |
||||
Coracias garrula. |
Gaza. |
English Name. | Hebrew and Greek. | Specimens found by Palestine Explorers. | Where Found. | Remarks. |
---|---|---|---|---|
Sandpiper. |
|
Tringoides hypoleucos. |
Solomon's Pools. |
Same as English species. |
Shrike. |
|
Lanius lathora. |
Jericho |
Very much larger toes and feet than the English species. |
Lanius auriculatus. |
Jordan Valley. |
|||
Lanius nubicus. |
||||
Sparrow. (Ps. cii. 7.) |
'Tzippor. *** |
Passer salicarius. |
Ain Fasail. |
The word occurs forty times in the Bible; and is always, with two exceptions, translated "bird," or "fowl." Sparrows swarm in the Plain of Gennesaret, and are trapped and sold for very little; but are very sparse and solitary in Judæa. H. |
|
Fringilla patronia. |
Jericho. |
||
Starling. |
|
Sturnus vulgaris. |
Jericho. |
|
Stork. (Jer. viii. 7.) |
Khasidâh. *** |
Ciconia alba. |
|
The black stork is constantly seen building in fir trees, and the common stork on the roofs of houses, and mosques; they migrate to Egypt. Forbidden as food by the Mosaic law. |
Sun-Bird. |
|
Cinnyris osea. |
Jericho. |
Peculiar to the Jordan Valley. P.E. |
Swallow. |
Deror. *** |
Hirundo rustica. |
Jordan Valley. |
Agûr is thought to be a mistranslation for "crane," and sûs in the same passage is the "swift." Several species in Syria; some frequent rivers, some crags. The common swallow abounds in the Mosque of Omar, and its Haram. They save the country from a plague of flies. V.L. |
Swallow |
Âgûr *** |
|
|
|
Swan (Lev. xi. 18.) |
Tinshemeth. *** |
|
|
Swans, white and gray, come down to the lakes in winter. |
Swift. |
Sis, sûs. *** |
Cypsellus melba. |
Jordan Valley. |
|
Swift |
|
Cypsellus apis. |
|
Found everywhere in summer. T. |
Swift |
|
Cypsellus affinis. |
|
Found all the year; it resembles the house martin. T. |
Thrush |
|
Petrocincta cyanus. |
Mar-Saba. |
Sedentary. P.E. |
Trateropus chalybeus. |
Jericho. |
Peculiar to Jordan Valley. P.E. |
||
Tit, great. |
|
Parus major. |
Beit Atab. |
|
Turtledove. |
Tor-yonah. *** |
Turtur auritus. |
Yebua. |
Summer migrant to Palestine; very common and abundant. See Pigeon. P.E. The palmdove and ringdove are sedentary. |
Turtur risorius. |
Jericho. |
|||
Vulture (Lev. xi. 14..) |
Dââh. *** |
|
|
Vultures are very plentiful, and are the chief scavengers for the removal of the dead bodies of animals. V.L. See Eagle. |
Vulture (Ex. xix. 4.) |
Racham. *** |
|||
Wagtail. |
|
Motacilla alba. |
Ramleh. |
|
Motacilla sulphurea. |
Jericho. |
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Water-rail. |
|
Rallus aquaticus. |
Jericho. |
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