Kite (Heb. ‘ayyâh, a name reminiscent of the bird’s cry; dâ’âh and dayyâh, “vulture”*). Bird of prey related to eagles and hawks (Lev 11:14; Job 28:7, DHH). The KJV translates ‘ayyâh as “kites” in Deu 14:13 and Lev 11:14, but “vulture” in Job 28:7. Since the text alludes to visual acuity, a characteristic of falcons, the translation of “falcon”* for ‘ayyâh would be justified. The bird is not fit to eat, Job declares that there are some paths in nature that not even this bird can distinguish (28:7). Driver identifies ‘ayyâh with one of the most common species of falcons, and dâ’âh and dayyâh with the black kite. Bib.: GR Driver, PEQ 87 (1955):20.
Source: Evangelical Bible Dictionary
see BIRDS
Source: Hispanic World Bible Dictionary
Bird of prey, diurnal, of the same family as the falcon. It feeds on small mammals, small birds, reptiles and amphibians, fish, insects and worms. It was not fit to eat (Lev 11:14; Deu 14:13). Scientific name: Milvus sp.. †¢Animals of the Bible.
Source: Christian Bible Dictionary
(Heb. ´ai·yáh, “black kite”; da·´ah, “red kite”; and perhaps dai·yah, “kite”).
The kite is a bird of prey that also feeds on carrion. Both the black kite and the red kite, the varieties found in Palestine, were unclean birds according to the Law. (Le 11:13, 14; De 14:12, 13) The Deuteronomy list reads ra·ʹah instead of da·´ah, as in Leviticus, but this is probably because the scribes changed the Hebrew letter ד (d) to ר (r), two characters that closely resemble each other.
The Hebrew name ´ai·yáh is believed to mimic the piercing cry of the black kite (classified by ornithologists as Milvus migrans).
The original meaning of the Hebrew noun da·ʹah is not certain, but it is believed to indicate a “swooping or swift flight”, as in the expression “he came flying swiftly on the wings of a spirit” (Ps 18:10 ), and in references to the †˜pounce†™ action of the eagle. (De 28:49; Jer 48:40; 49:22) Thus, that name identifies a bird of prey, and Koehler and Baumgartner (Lexicon in Veteris Testamenti Libros, Leiden, 1958, p. 198) are of the opinion that it is the red kite (Milvus milvus).
The Hebrew term dai·yah, found only in the list of unclean birds at Deuteronomy 14:13, has been said to be derived from a verb meaning “pounce” or “rush.” Most modern scholars associate the Hebrew word dai·yáh with the common name “kites” applied to various birds of prey, although the identification is uncertain. Four Hebrew manuscripts, as well as the Samaritan Pentateuch and the Greek Septuagint, omit dai yah at Deuteronomy 14:13. Some scholars believe that it may be a scribal annotation that was originally in the margin, but eventually found its way into the text. However, the plural form (dai·yohth) appears at Isaiah 34:15 to refer to the birds that would gather at the ruins of Edom after its desolation.
Job holds up the black kite as an example of keen and penetrating vision, when he shows that ingenuity and the pursuit of riches lead man down subterranean paths that even birds of prey, with their far-sightedness, cannot see. (Job 28:7.)
Most Black Kites cross Palestine on their way to Africa, where they spend the winter. The number of them wintering in Israel is increasing. They build their nests in the forks of tall trees and store food in the nest before laying eggs. The red kite, a rare winterer in Palestine, is a bird with reddish plumage with black stripes and a greyish head.
black kite; according to Mosaic law, his meat could not be eaten
Source: Dictionary of the Bible