Bible Dictionary
Cuckoo
“Cuckoo” is the traditional rendering of a bird named in the dietary lists of Leviticus and Deuteronomy. The Revised Version identifies it as the seamew, and other proposed identifications include a petrel or shearwater.
Definition
“Cuckoo” is the traditional rendering of a bird named in the dietary lists of Leviticus and Deuteronomy. The Revised Version identifies the bird as the seamew, while other proposals include the petrel and shearwater.
Biblical Usage
The bird appears only in Leviticus 11:16 and Deuteronomy 14:15, where it belongs to the list of birds addressed by Israelite dietary regulations.
Historical Background
The Hebrew name is associated with a root meaning “to be lean” or “slender.” The common cuckoo winters in Palestine and is found in Asia, Africa, and Europe, but the supplied material also identifies the biblical bird with larger Mediterranean petrels.
Scripture References
Historical Bible Dictionaries
Easton's Bible Dictionary
(Heb. shahaph), from a root meaning “to be lean; slender.” This bird is mentioned only in Lev. 11:16 and Deut. 14:15 (R.V., “seamew”). Some have interpreted the Hebrew word by “petrel” or “shearwater” (Puffinus cinereus), which is found on the coast of Syria; others think it denotes the “sea-gull” or “seamew.” The common cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) feeds on reptiles and large insects. It is found in Asia and Africa as well as in Europe. It only passes the winter in Palestine. The Arabs suppose it to utter the cry Yakub_, and hence they call it _tir el-Yakub; i.e., “Jacob’s bird.”
Smith's Bible Dictionary
(Leviticus 11:16; 14:15) the name of some of the larger petrels which abound in the east of the Mediterranean.