Heron

( Leviticus 11:19 ; 14:18 ) a common large, wading, unclean bird. Nearly all of the species known in English ornithology are found in the vicinity of Palestine. Canon Cook and others think the bird intended is the plover (Charadrius aedicnemus ), a greedy, thick kneed, high-flying migratory bird, very common in the East, on the banks of rivers and shores of lakes. --ED.