Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible (1898)
BIS mother-bird, though her young might be taken. The common mode of taking birds was with a snare. Ps 124:7; Prov 7:23; Am 3:5. A speckled bird, Jer 12:9, probably means a vulture (in Hebrew), which, as is well known, other birds are accustomed to pursue and attack. Some authors find etymological reasons for reading "hyena" instead of "speckled birds" in Jer 12:9. Many of the birds of Palestine are similar to our own, but, strictly speaking, there is but one species common to both countries.
The house-sparrow (Passer domesticus), which we have received from England, is found in the towns along the coast. Of 322 kinds obtained by Mr. Tristram in the Holy Land, 172 are also found in England, 260 in Europe, and 26 are peculiar to Palestine.
✦ Scripture References 4 references