PELICAN
(Heb. “Ka’ath” probably meant “one who vomits”) (Is. 34:11; Zeph. 2:14).
According to the Law, it is an unclean bird (Lev. 11:18; Deut. 14:17).
He lived in the desert (Ps. 102:7), in the ruins (Is. 34:11; Zeph. 2:14).
It was possibly the common pelican, “Pelecanus onocrotalus”, white, with light pink tints, although it frequents rivers and lakes in preference to ruins, unless they are surrounded by swamps.
A palmiped bird, it has legs admirably suited to the aquatic environment, although it can also perch on trees.
It has a long beak whose lower part has a membranous bottom, where the bird transports the fish to feed its chicks. The height of the pelican varies from 1.50 to 1.80 m.; Its wingspan, which generally exceeds 3.5 m, sometimes reaches 4 m.
This bird, rare in the Sea of Galilee, is found scattered along the banks of the Nile and in the shallow-water Egyptian lakes.