How many times is bird mentioned in the Bible?
The word bird appears 28 times in the King James Version, in 24 verses. Counting every form (bird, birds, bird's), it appears 54 times in 49 verses across 22 of the 66 books. The World English Bible uses bird 42 times (133 with every form).
The KJV's usual word for birds is fowl or fowls (86 uses, as in "the fowl of the air", Genesis 1:26), which this page does not count. The World English Bible says birds in those places, so its count is more than double.
Bird in the King James Version and the World English Bible
Each form of bird counted in each translation.
| Form | KJV | WEB |
|---|---|---|
| bird | 28 | 42 |
| birds | 25 | 90 |
| bird's | 1 | 1 |
| Total | 54 | 133 |
Which books mention bird most
Bird appears in 22 books of the 66 in the King James Version. Leviticus has the most (13), then Proverbs (5) and Jeremiah (5).
Also in: Daniel (1), Amos (1), Luke (1), Romans (1), 1 Corinthians (1), James (1), Revelation (1).
First and last mention of bird
They, and every beast after his kind, and all the cattle after their kind, and every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind, and every fowl after his kind, every bird of every sort.
And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.
The verse that uses it most is Leviticus 14:6, 3 times:
As for the living bird, he shall take it, and the cedar wood, and the scarlet, and the hyssop, and shall dip them and the living bird in the blood of the bird that was killed over the running water:
Where the two translations differ
2 verses match in the KJV but not in the World English Bible, and 79 verses match only in the World English Bible, usually because the other translation chose a different word there.
Proverbs 26:2: counted in the KJV only
As the bird by wandering, as the swallow by flying, so the curse causeless shall not come.
Like a fluttering sparrow, like a darting swallow, so the undeserved curse doesn’t come to rest.
Song of Solomon 2:12: counted in the KJV only
The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land;
The flowers appear on the earth. The time of the singing has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land.
Genesis 1:20: counted in the World English Bible only
And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.
God said, “Let the waters abound with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the open expanse of the sky.”
Genesis 1:21: counted in the World English Bible only
And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good.
God created the large sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarmed, after their kind, and every winged bird after its kind. God saw that it was good.
Verses with bird on our topic pages
20 verses that use bird in the World English Bible are in our topic collections.
God blessed them. God said to them, “Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the sky, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
“But ask the animals, now, and they shall teach you; the birds of the sky, and they shall tell you.
On: What Does the Bible Say About Dinosaurs? 26 Verses, Animals, Nature
God created the large sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarmed, after their kind, and every winged bird after its kind. God saw that it was good.
On: What Does the Bible Say About Dinosaurs? 26 Verses, Animals
God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the sky, and over the livestock, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
Out of the ground Yahweh God formed every animal of the field, and every bird of the sky, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. Whatever the man called every living creature became its name.
On: What Does the Bible Say About Dinosaurs? 26 Verses, Animals
Consider the ravens: they don’t sow, they don’t reap, they have no warehouse or barn, and God feeds them. How much more valuable are you than birds!
To every animal of the earth, and to every bird of the sky, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food;” and it was so.
On: Animals
The fear of you and the dread of you will be on every animal of the earth, and on every bird of the sky. Everything that moves along the ground, and all the fish of the sea, are delivered into your hand.
On: Animals
and with every living creature that is with you: the birds, the livestock, and every animal of the earth with you, of all that go out of the ship, even every animal of the earth.
On: Animals
If you come across a bird’s nest on the way, in any tree or on the ground, with young ones or eggs, and the hen sitting on the young, or on the eggs, you shall not take the hen with the young.
On: Animals
who teaches us more than the animals of the earth, and makes us wiser than the birds of the sky?’
On: Animals
I know all the birds of the mountains. The wild animals of the field are mine.
On: Animals
Common questions
How many times is bird in the Old Testament and the New Testament?
In the King James Version, counting every form, 47 of the 54 uses are in the Old Testament and 7 in the New Testament. Bird appears in 22 books of the 66 in the King James Version. Leviticus has the most (13), then Proverbs (5) and Jeremiah (5).
Where is bird first mentioned in the Bible?
The first use in the King James Version is Genesis 7:14: "They, and every beast after his kind, and all the cattle after their kind, and every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind, and every fowl after his kind, every bird of every sort." The last is Revelation 18:2.
Read the full collection: Bible Verses About Animals (32 Verses).
More word counts: sparrow, dove, eagle, daughter, treasure, evil, world, beloved, or all 680 words.
Counted by Bible Says About from the full public-domain text of the King James Version (1769 edition) and the World English Bible. Verse text only: headings and psalm titles are left out. A word is a run of letters: a hyphenated name like Beer-sheba counts as two, and an apostrophe stays inside its word (LORD'S is one). Matching ignores capital letters. Data compiled 2026-10-26.