Pelican
Archimandrite Nikifor’s Biblical Encyclopedia
(Deut. 14:17; Lev. 11:18; Isa. 34:11; Ps. 102:6)—this remarkable bird is found in large numbers on the lakes and broad rivers of western Asia, especially on the Dead Sea and the Seas of Galilee and Antioch. It lives chiefly among coastal shrubs and reeds. Sometimes, after fishing all day, pelicans gather in flocks toward evening and fly to an island or open plain where the grass is low. There they form circles with their heads pointing outward, keeping watch against jackals and other beasts of prey.