Reference: Birds, Clean and Unclean
Morish
A list of the unclean birds is given in Le 11:13-20; De 14:12-18. In the A.V. the unclean are called the Bat, Cormorant, Cuckoo, Eagle, Gier Eagle, Glede, Hawk, Heron, Kite, Lapwing, Night Hawk, Ospray, Ossifrage, Owl great and little, Pelican, Raven, Stork, Swan, Vulture, and 'fowls that creep, going upon all four.' This leaves for the clean birds the Bittern, Crane, Dove, Ostrich, Partridge, Peacock, Pigeon, Quail, Sparrow, and Swallow. Of these the Ostrich is supposed to be among the unclean under the name of Owl; the Peacock was not a native bird of Palestine; and the Bittern and Crane were inhabitants of the marshy ground among the reeds, and were probably classed with the unclean under some of the above names. We do not read of the ordinary domestic fowl in the O.T. See under each of the above names.