Tradition / Region: Israeli Mythology
Alternative names: Renanim, Sekwi, Son of the Nest
Category: Bird
The Myth
The Ziz is a colossal bird that rules over all the birds of the world, just as Leviathan rules the creatures of the sea. Its body is so immense that its feet stand upon the earth while its head reaches the heavens. When it spreads its enormous wings, they are said to darken the sun and shield the world from the destructive southern winds.
Travelers once saw what they believed was an ordinary bird standing in the sea, with water reaching only to its knees. Thinking the water was shallow, they prepared to bathe, but a heavenly voice warned them to stay away. An axe had fallen into those waters seven years earlier and had still not reached the bottom. The bird before them was the Ziz.
The Ziz’s eggs are equally gigantic. On one occasion, a rotten egg fell from its nest and burst upon the earth, flooding sixty cities and crushing three hundred cedar trees. Normally, however, the Ziz gently lowers its eggs into the nest, making such disasters extremely rare.
The bird is also called Renanim, the celestial singer, and Sekwi, the seer. Another tradition calls it the Son of the Nest, because its young emerge directly from the nest without being hatched by their mother.
Jewish tradition also teaches that, at the end of time, the flesh of the Ziz will be served together with that of Leviathan as a feast prepared for the righteous.
Sources
“Ziz.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Accessed July 27, 2026. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ziz