Reference: BIRDS
American
Birds, like other animals, were divided by Moses into clean and unclean; the former might be eaten, the latter not. The general ground of distinction is, that those which feed on grain or seeds are clean; while those which devour flesh, fish, or carrion, are unclean. Turtledoves, young pigeons, and perhaps some other kinds of birds, were prescribed in the Mosaic law as offerings,
There is great difficulty in accurately determining the different species of birds prohibited in Le 11:13-19; De 14:11-20, and the proper version of the Hebrew names. The information we have respecting them may be found under the names by which they are translated in our Bible.
Moses, to inculcate humanity on the Israelites, ordered them, if they found a bird's nest, not to take the dam with the young, but to suffer the old one to fly away, and to take the young only, De 22:6-7.
Cages for singing birds are alluded to in Jer 5:27; and snares in Pr 7:23; Ec 9:12. Birds of prey are emblems of destroying hosts, Isa 46:11; Jer 12:9; Eze 32:4; Re 19:17-19; and the Lord comes to the defense of his people with the swiftness of the eagle, Isa 31:5.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
" 'If {he cannot afford a sheep}, he shall bring [as] his guilt offering [for] what he sinned two turtledoves or two {young doves} for Yahweh, one for a sin offering and one for a burnt offering. He shall bring them to the priest, and he shall present that which [is] for the sin offering first, and [the priest] shall wring its head off {at the back of its neck}, but he must not sever [it], read more. and he shall spatter {some of} the sin offering's blood on the altar's side, and the leftover blood must be drained out on the altar's base; it [is] a sin offering. The second [bird] he must prepare [as] a burnt offering according to the regulation, and the priest shall make atonement for him for his sin that he has {committed}, and he shall be forgiven.
" 'And these you must detest from the birds; they must not be eaten--they [are] detestable: the eagle and the vulture and the short-toed eagle, and the red kite and the black kite according to its kind, read more. every crow according to its kind, and {the ostrich} and the short-eared owl and the seagull and the hawk according to its kind, and the little owl and the cormorant and the great owl, and the barn owl and the desert owl and the carrion vulture, and the stork, the heron according to its kind and the hoopoe and the bat.
then the priest shall command, and he shall take two living, clean birds and {cedar wood} and {a crimson thread} and hyssop for the one who presents himself for cleansing. Then the priest shall command [someone] to slaughter one bird over fresh water in a clay vessel. read more. He must take the living bird and the {cedar wood} and {the crimson thread} and the hyssop, and he shall dip them and the living bird in the bird's blood slaughtered over the fresh water. And he shall spatter [the blood] seven times on the one who presents himself for cleansing from the infectious skin disease, and he shall declare him clean, and he shall send the living bird {into the open field}.
"All [of] [the] birds [that] [are] clean you may eat. Now these [are] the ones you shall not eat {any of them}: the eagle and the vulture and the short-toed eagle, read more. and the red kite and the black kite or {any kind of falcon}, and any [kind] of crow according to its kind, and the {ostrich} and the short-eared owl and the seagull and the hawk according to its kind, the little owl and the great owl and the barn owl, and the desert owl and the carrion vulture and the cormorant, and the stork and the heron according to its kind and the hoopoe and the bat. And [also] all [of] {the winged insects}; they [are] unclean for you; you shall not eat [them]. You may eat any clean bird.
"If a bird's nest is found {before you} on the road in any tree or on the ground, [and there are] chicks or eggs, and the mother [is] lying down on the chicks or the eggs, you shall not take the mother along with the young; you shall certainly let the mother go, but you may take the young for yourselves; [do this] {so that it may go well} for you and {you may live long in the land}.
until an arrow pierces his {entrails}, like a bird rushing into a snare, but he does not know that {it will cost him his life}.
For man does not know his time. Just as fish are caught in a cruel net and like birds who are seized in a snare, so also {humans} are ensnared at a cruel time when it falls suddenly upon them.
Like birds flying [overhead], so Yahweh of hosts will protect Jerusalem; he will protect and deliver [it]; he will pass over and rescue [it].
who calls a bird of prey from [the] east, the man of his plan from a country from afar. Indeed I have spoken; indeed I will bring it [to being]. I have formed [it]; indeed I will do it.
Like a cage full of birds, so their houses [are] full of fraud. {Therefore} they have become great, and they have become rich.
The lair of [the] hyena [is] my inheritance to me, the birds of prey [are] all around her. Go, gather all of the animals of the field, bring [them] {to come and devour}.
And I will throw you on the ground; on the surface of the open field I will hurl you, and I will cause every bird of the heaven to dwell on you, and I will satisfy the animals of all of the world from you.
and to offer a sacrifice according to what was stated in the law of the Lord, "a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons."
And I saw one angel standing in the sun, and he cried out with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly {directly overhead}, "Come! Assemble for the great banquet of God, in order that you may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of military tribunes, and the flesh of the powerful, and the flesh of horses and those seated on them, and the flesh of all [people], both free and slave, and small and great!" read more. And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies assembled to make war with the one who is seated on the horse and with his army.
Morish
These are employed as symbols of evil agents: as, in the dream of Pharaoh's baker, the birds ate the bakemeats he was carrying on his head, Ge 40:17; and in the parable of the Sower the fowls or birds which devoured the seed by the wayside are interpreted by Christ to signify 'the wicked one.' Mt 13:4,19. In the parable of the Mustard Seed the kingdom of heaven becomes a great system with roots in the earth, under the protection of which the birds of the air find shelter. Mt 13:31-32. The Greek is ????????, the same in the two parables.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
And in the upper basket [were] all sorts of baked foods for Pharaoh, but the birds were eating them out of the basket upon my head."
and while he was sowing, {some seed} fell on the side of the path, and the birds came [and] devoured it.
[When] anyone hears the word about the kingdom and does not understand [it], the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is what was sown on the side of the path.
He put before them another parable, saying, "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a man took [and] sowed in his field. {It} is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it is grown it is larger than the garden herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the sky come and nest in its branches."
Smith
[SPARROW]
See Sparrow