OWL. KJV trs. five different Heb. words “owl,” and it is found sixteen times. In RSV “owl” appears only seven times; all but one are common to KJV, but sometimes differently qualified: e.g., Deuteronomy 14:16, “the little owl and the great owl” (KJV, RSV); but Isaiah 34:15 “There shall the owl (RSV) great owl (KJV) nest.” The most important variation is that Heb. (בַּ֣ת יַּעֲנָ֔ה) is tr. “owl” (KJV), but “ostrich” (ASV, RSV). Some attempt was made by J. G. Wood, Bible Animals (1869) to identify the various owls and he had already come to this conclusion about ostrich while regarding the other KJV tr. as generally correct. The only attempt at scientific analysis of this group seems to be by G. R. Driver in “Birds in the OT; I Birds in Law” PEQ (1955) 5-20. He identifies no less than eight species in the lists of unclean food in Leviticus and Deuteronomy. These are tabulated as follows:

These identifications are reasoned by Driver at some length from philology and natural history, but are only tentative. There are some minor inaccuracies in the biological data; a more important objection to this list is that these owls are largely nocturnal birds, some migratory or rare, and it is most doubtful whether they would be known well enough to have individual names in Pal., far less in the desert, where the lists were proclaimed. These birds are discussed in more detail under their KJV and ASV names. The following brief note concerns the species of owls known in Pal. today. The eagle owl, in a number of races, is the world’s largest species and may be nearly twenty-eight inches long. It ranges through much of Europe and Asia, including Pal., where a beautiful sandy-colored desert race is found, as well as a woodland form. This species is resident. The short-eared owl, more diurnal than most kinds, passes through on migration. The long-eared owl lives in forests and goes to Pal. only for the winter. The tawny or wood owl is some fifteen inches long; it has a wide distribution, in many races, and lives in woods, feeding mostly on rodents. The fishing owl is prob. absent from Pal. itself but is well known from the Nile valley and Iraq; it feeds like the osprey, snatching fish from near the surface of the water. The screech or barn owl is the palest of all, with areas of white or cream plumage; through its wide range it normally is associated with farms and buildings, and easily recognized by its long drawn screech in flight and strange snoring and hissing noises at the nest. The little owl is now the commonest kind and breeds in most regions other than the desert; it often is seen perching near the roadside by day and is more useful than harmful to man. The scops owl is even smaller, only seven and one half inches long; it is a summer visitor to Pal. and well-known from its monotonous single whistle note, though seldom seen.

Bibliography For general list see Bird Migration.