Egyptian Vulture
Archimandrite Nikifor’s Biblical Encyclopedia
(source form Sip) (Lev. 11:18)—a bird that older naturalists grouped with eagles but depicted as a vulture. It has dark flight feathers, a bare head and neck, and feeds upon carrion and refuse. It was common in Arabia, Palestine, and Syria. Revered as sacred in ancient Egypt and treated there as an emblem of compassion and maternal care, it was not harmed and consequently was numerous. The source quotes the naturalist Hasselquist’s highly unfavorable description of its wrinkled bare face, large eyes, hooked beak, grasping feet, and filthy diet.