Gier eagle
Heb. raham = "parental affection," Lev. 11:18; Deut. 14:17; R.V., "vulture"), a species of vulture living entirely on carrion. "It is about the size of a raven; has an almost triangular, bald, and wrinkled head, a strong pointed beak, black at the tip, large eyes and ears, the latter entirely on the outside, and long feet." It is common in Egypt, where it is popularly called "Pharaoh's chicken" (the Neophron percnopterus), and is found in Palestine only during summer. Tristram thinks that the Hebrew name, which is derived from a root meaning "to love," is given to it from the fact that the male and female bird never part company.
Passages cited in this entry
M. G. Easton, Illustrated Bible Dictionary, 3rd edition (1897). Public domain; text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library. A nineteenth-century Protestant reference: its dates, archaeology and judgements reflect the scholarship of its time and are not Imago Dei's editorial position.