Birds of the Holy Land

Birds of the Holy Land

A cross reference of birds in sites of the Holy Land.

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This web page summarizes the sites that feature birds which relate to Biblical verses or subjects.

Contents:

Overview:

Israel is a birding superpower, with 500 million birds of over 500 species crossing Israel twice a year between Europe & Africa.

As an agriculture society, the Israelites were intimately connected with nature in general, and in birds in particular. The Bible uses the birds in numerous texts - approximately 300 references from Genesis to Revelation.

Bird themes are also found in ancient art - illustrated on the mosaic floors during the Roman and Byzantine periods.

Sites with Birds:

The following table lists the sites with birds that are featured in BibleWalks.

Click on the site's name to see more information, or on the photo to view it in higher resolution.

Bird's name in English (and Hebrew)	Biblical & Historical References	Featured Site (click & go)	Photo (click to view)
Bird Watcher	Bird watchers come here from all over the world.	Gamla
Eagle (Nesher)	Jeremiah 48 40: "For thus saith the Lord; Behold, he shall fly as an eagle, and shall spread his wings over Moab".	Gamla
Glossy Ibis		Afek
White Storks	Zechariah 5,9: "... and the wind was in their wings; for they had wings like the wings of a stork: and they lifted up ... between the earth and the heaven".	Hittim
Dove?	Birds carved on the facade and sides of burial tomb	Shefaram
Pelican	In this carving is a mother pelican with its young birds standing on her left and right; they are picking her heart, eating her flesh and sucking her blood. Symbolizes Jesus and his sacrifice to his disciples, as in Matthew 26: "Take, eat; this is my body.... Drink ye all of it; For this is my blood of the new testament...".	Last Supper
Water birds	Mosaics with scenes of water plants and water birds, scenes that are typical of the swamps of north-east area of the Sea of Galilee and Chula lake.	Tabcha
Griffon Vulture (Gypus Fulvus)	The vulture soars above the small crater in the Negev desert. Job 28 7: "There is a path which no fowl knoweth, and which the vulture's eye hath not seen":	Small Crater
more will be added

Biblical references:

These are dozens of references to birds in the Bible, either in a general form ("bird" or "birds") or in the name of the specie (such as "eagle"). Here are some samples -

Song of Solomon 2:12: "The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing [of birds] is come,

and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land";

Psalms 104:17: "Where the birds make their nests: [as for] the stork, the fir trees [are] her house".

Proverbs 1:17: "Surely in vain the net is spread in the sight of any bird".

Proverbs 26:2: "As the bird by wandering, as the swallow by flying, so the curse causeless shall

not come".

Proverbs 27:8: ""As a bird that wandereth from her nest, so [is] a man that wandereth from his place".

Photos of Birds:

A large collection of Birds is on display in our new daughter site - IsraelPhotoStore.com. A sample of these unique pictures, captured by photographer Yechiel, is shown in the flash viewer below.

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Etymology (behind the name):

Zippor - Hebrew: Bird

Baal Kanaf - Hebrew: Has wings.

Jonah (Yonah) - Hebrew for "dove".

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