Glede

the old English name for the common kite (milvu's afer), occurs only in De 14:13 (רָאָה, raah') among the unclean birds of prey. But in the parallel passage, Le 11:14, we find דָּאָה, daah', "vulture." That this difference has arisen from a permutation of the ד and the ר is evident, but which is the original form of the word is not certain. Bochart decides (Hieroz. 2:191) for daah on the ground that, assuming the bird to be the kite or glede, it is more probable that it would receive its name from דָּאָה, to fly swiftly than from רָאָה, to see; while others, presuming that it is the vulture, prefer the latter derivation, and the reading, consequently, raah, on account of the sharp sight of these birds. But both these qualities are marked traits of the vulture as well as the kite. Thus far the evidence is therefore equal, nor do the versions help us to a decision; for while the Sept. gives in both passages γύψ, vulture, the Vulg., has milvus, kite, in both. The Codex Samar., however, reads דאה in De 14:13, which favors the supposition that this is the proper reading; but it still remains uncertain whether by this term we are to understand the glede or the vulture. The A.V. makes it the one in the one passage and the other in the other. As the דאה is distinguished from the דיה (De 14:13), and as the latter is probably one of the vulture genus (comp. Isa 34:14), it is probable that the former belongs to the kites. The kite has, in comparison with its bulk, very long wings, and a forked tail extending beyond them. It is a species that rises to a towering height, hangs apparently motionless in the sky, and darts down with immense velocity; but the legs and claws being weak, it is cowardly, and feeds upon carrion, fish, insects, mice, and small birds. About Cairo kites are particularly abundant, mixing with the carrion vultures in their wheeling flight, and coming in numbers to the daily distribution of food awarded themun. But the question whether the kite of Europe and that of Egypt are the same species is not decided, though there is no want of scientific names for both species found i the valley of the Nile, one of which is certainly distinct from the European, and the other, if not so, is a strongly-marked variety. We find it noticed in various stages of plumage as Milvus Ictinus, Milvus Etolis, Savigny; Falco Agyptiacus and Falco Forskahlii, Gmelin; Falco cinereo-ferrugineus, Forskahl; Falco Arda, Savigny; probably, also, Falco parasiticus, Lath. The bill of this species is dark; head and throat whitish, with brown streaks; body above dark gray brown, pale ferruginous below; tail but slightly forked; legs yellow. It is found in hieroglyphic paintings, colored with sufficient accuracy not to be mistaken. The other species, which we figure below as Milvus ater, is the black kite, Falco melanoterus, Daudin; Elanus Coesius, Savigny; Falco Souninensis, Lath.; Le Blac, Le Vaill., and the Kouhich of the Arabs. It has the head, neck, and back dark rusty gray; scapulars bordered with rusty; wing-coverts and primaries black, the last-mentioned tipped with white; tail rusty gray above, white beneath; bill dark; legs yellow. The manners of both species are much the same; it is likely that they are equally abundant at Cairo, and spread into Palestine. SEE HAWK.