Bittern: Is found three times in connection with the desolations to come upon
Babylon, Idumea, and Nineveh
(Isaiah 14:23; 34:11; Zephaniah 2:14) This bird
belongs to the class of cranes. Its scientific name is Botaurus
stellaris. It is a solitary bird, frequenting marshy ground. The
Hebrew word (kippod) thus rendered in the Authorized Version is
rendered "porcupine" in the Revised Version. But in the passages
noted the kippod is associated with birds, with pools of water, and
with solitude and desolation. This favours the idea that not the
"porcupine" but the "bittern" is really intended by the word.
