Lineated Cuckoo, Plate 18 from Birds of Western AfricaSwainson, William · 1830s
Cuckoo
/KOOK-oo/
Summary
A bird listed among the uncleananimals the Israelites were forbidden to eat, possibly the sea gull rather than the cuckoo proper.
☩Biblical Reference
The cuckoo appears in the list of unclean birds. The Hebrewword (shachaph) may refer to the sea gull or a similar bird rather than the European cuckoo.
