chap. i. ver. 16: "Make thee bald, and poll thee for thy delicate
children; enlarge thy baldness as the eagle; for they are gone into
captivity from thee." It is evident that in this passage reference is
made, not to the eagle, whose head is thickly covered with feathers,
but to the Vulture, whose head and neck are but scantily sprinkled
with white down. Some commentators, not aware that the word _nesher_
should have been rendered as "vulture," have explained the passage by
saying that the prophet referred to the moulting-time of the eagle;
but the reader will see that such an explanation is at the best a
forced one, whereas the reference to the bald head of the Vulture is
both simple and natural.
The voracity of the Vulture, and its capacity for discovering food,
are both mentioned in Job xxxix. 27-30: "Doth the eagle (_nesher_)
mount up at thy command, and make her nest on high?
"She dwelleth and abideth on the rock, upon the crag of the rock, and
the strong place.
"From thence she seeketh the prey, and her eyes behold afar off.
"Her young ones also suck up blood: and where the slain are, there is
she."
See also Hab. i. 6-8, in which the prophet speaks of the Chaldeans,
"that bitter and hasty nation, which shall march through the breadth
of the land, to possess the dwelling-places that are not theirs.
"They are terrible and dreadful: ... and their horsemen shall spread
themselves, and their horsemen shall come from far; they shall fly as
the eagle that hasteth to eat."
There is also a curious passage in the Book of Proverbs, chap. xxx.
ver. 17, which alludes to the carnivorous nature of the bird: "The eye
that mocketh at his father, and despiseth to obey his mother, the
ravens of the valley shall pick it out, and the young eagles shall eat
it."
Allusion is made in several passages to the swiftness of the Vulture,
as well as its voracity. See, for example, a portion of David's
lamentation over the bodies of Saul and Jonathan, who, according to
the poet's metaphor, "were lovely and pleasant in their lives, and in
their death they were not divided; they were swifter than eagles, they
were stronger than lions."
The "bitter" people--namely, the Chaldeans--are again mentioned in a
very similar manner by the prophet Jeremiah: "Our persecutors are
swifter than the eagles of the heavens; they pursued us upon the
mountains, they laid wait for us in the wilderness" (Lam. iv. 19).
There is something peculiarly appropriate in employing the Vulture as
an image of strength and swiftness when applied to warriors, the bird
being an invariable attendant on the battle, and flying to the field
of death with marvellous swiftness. All who had ever witnessed a
battle were familiar with the presence of the Vulture--the scene of
carnage, and the image which is employed, would be one which commended
itself at once to those for whom it was intended. And, as the earlier
history of the Jewish nation is essentially of a warlike character, we
cannot wonder that so powerful and familiar an image should have been
repeatedly introduced into the sacred writings.
The wonderful powers of sight possessed by this bird are mentioned in
the passage from Job xxxix. which has already been quoted.
Here it may be as well to say that, piercing as is the vision of the
Vulture, its visual powers have been much exaggerated. It certainly
does possess a vision of no ordinary capacity, which is able to assume
either a telescopic or a microscopic character, by means of a complex
and marvellous structure, which can alter the whole shape of the organ
at the will of the bird.
Not only can the eye be thus altered, but it changes instantaneously,
so as to accommodate itself to the task which it is to perform. A
Vulture, for example, sees from a vast height the body of a dead
animal, and instantly swoops down upon it like an arrow from a bow. In
order to enable the bird to see so distant an object, the eye has been
exercising its telescopic powers, and yet, in a second or two, when
the Vulture is close to its prey, the whole form of the eye must be
changed, or the bird would mistake its distance, and dash itself to
pieces on the ground.
To describe this beautiful piece of mechanism would be outside the
scope of the present work; but the reader can find it in every good
work on comparative anatomy, and is strongly advised to make himself
master of the means by which a result so apparently impossible is
secured.
By means of its powerful eyes, the Vulture can see to an enormous
distance, and with great clearness, but neither so far nor so clearly
as is popularly supposed. It is true that, as soon as a carcase is
discovered, it will be covered with Vultures, who arrive from every
side, looking at first like tiny specks in the air, scarcely
perceptible even to practised eyes, and all directing their flight to
the same point. "Where the carcase is, there will the vultures be
gathered together." But, although they all fly towards the same spot,
it does not follow that they have all seen the same object. The fact
is, they see and understand each other's movements.
A single Vulture, for example, sees a dead or dying sheep, and swoops
down upon it. The other Vultures which are flying about in search of
food, and from which the animal in question may be concealed, know
perfectly well that a Vulture soars high in the air when searching for
food, and only darts to the earth when it has found a suitable prey.
They immediately follow its example, and in their turn are followed by
other Vultures, which can see their fellows from a distance, and know
perfectly well why they are all converging to one spot.
In this way all the Vultures of a neighbourhood will understand, by a
very intelligible telegraph, that a dead body of some animal has been
found, and, aided by their wonderful powers of flight, will assemble
over its body in an almost incredibly short space of time.
The resting-place of the Griffon Vulture is always on some lofty spot.
The Arabian Vulture will build within easy reach, the eagle prefers
lofty situations, but nothing but the highest and most inaccessible
spots will satisfy the Vulture. To reach the nest of this bird is
therefore a very difficult task, only to be attempted by experienced
and intrepid cragsmen; and, in consequence, both the eggs and young of
the Griffon Vulture cannot be obtained except for a very high price.
The birds are fond of building in the rock-caves which are found in so
many parts of Palestine, and in some places they fill these places as
thickly as rooks fill a rookery.
The fondness of the Vulture for such localities is more than once
mentioned in Holy Writ. One of these passages, which occurs in Job
xxxix. 29, has already been quoted, and another, and equally forcible
one, is to be found in the Book of the Prophet Jeremiah: "Thy
terribleness hath deceived thee, and the pride of thine heart, O thou
that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, that holdest the height of
the hill: though thou shouldest make thy nest as high as the eagle
(_nesher_), I will bring thee down from thence, saith the Lord" (Jer.
xlix. 16).
In Mr. Tristram's "Land of Israel," there is a very graphic
description of the Griffon's nests, and of the difficulty experienced
in reaching them. "A narrow gorge, with limestone cliffs from five
hundred to six hundred feet high, into which the sun never penetrates,
walls the rapid brook on each side so closely that we often had to
ride in the bed of the stream. The cliffs are perforated with caves at
all heights, wholly inaccessible to man, the secure resting-place of
hundreds of noble griffons, some lämmergeiers, lanner falcons, and
several species of eagle.... One day in the ravine well repaid us,
though so terrific were the precipices, that it was quite impossible
to reach any of the nests with which it swarmed.
"We were more successful in the Wady Hamâm, the southwest end of the
plain, the entrance from Hattin and the Buttauf, where we spent three
days in exploration. The cliffs, though reaching the height of fifteen
hundred feet, rise like terraces, with enormous masses of _débris_,
and the wood is half a mile wide. By the aid of Giacomo, who proved
himself an expert rope-climber, we reaped a good harvest of griffons'
eggs, some of the party being let down by ropes, while those above
were guided in working them by signals from others below in the
valley. It required the aid of a party of a dozen to capture these
nests. The idea of scaling the cliff with ropes was quite new to some
Arabs who were herding cattle above, and who could not, excepting one
little girl, be induced to render any assistance. She proved herself
most sensible and efficient in telegraphing.
"While capturing the griffons' nests, we were re-enacting a celebrated
siege in Jewish history. Close to us, at the head of the cliffs which
form the limits of the celebrated Plain of Hattin, were the ruins of
Irbid, the ancient Arbela, marked principally by the remains of a
synagogue, of which some marble shafts and fragments of entablature,
like those of Tell Hûm, are still to be seen, and were afterwards
visited by us.
"Hosea mentions the place apparently as a strong fortress: 'All thy
fortresses shall be spoiled, as Shalman spoiled Beth-arbel in the day
of battle' (Hos. x. 14). Perhaps the prophet here refers to the
refuges in the rocks below.
"The long series of chambers and galleries in the face of the
precipice are called by the Arabs Kulat Ibn Maân, and are very fully
described by Josephus. These cliffs were the homes of a set of
bandits, who resided here with their families, and for years set the
power of Herod the Great at defiance. At length, when all other
attempts at scaling the fortress had failed, he let down soldiers at
this very spot in boxes, by chains, who attacked the robbers with long
hooks, and succeeded in rooting them all out. The exploit was familiar
to us by an engraving of the _Penny Magazine_ of old, and little did
we dream that we should one day storm those very caves in a similar
way ourselves. We could not but regret that Herod had neglected to
leave his chains and grappling-irons for our use.
"The rock galleries, though now only tenanted by griffons, are very
complete and perfect, and beautifully built. Long galleries wind
backwards and forwards in the cliff side, their walls being built with
dressed stone, flush with the precipice, and often opening into
spacious chambers. Tier after tier rise one after another with
projecting windows, connected by narrow staircases, carried sometimes
upon arches, and in the upper portions rarely broken away. In many of
the upper chambers to which we were let down, the dust of ages had
accumulated, undisturbed by any foot save that of the birds of the
air; and here we rested during the heat of the day, with the plains
and lake set as in a frame before us. We obtained a full zoological
harvest, as in three days we captured fourteen nests of griffons."
Although these caverns and rocky passages are much more accessible
than most of the places whereon the Griffons build, the natives never
venture to enter them, being deterred not so much by their height, as
by their superstitious fears. The Griffons instinctively found out
that man never entered these caverns, and so took possession of them.
As the young Griffons are brought up in these lofty and precipitous
places, it is evident that their first flight must be a dangerous
experiment, requiring the aid of the parent birds. At first the young
are rather nervous at the task which lies before them, and shrink from
trusting themselves to the air. The parents, however, encourage them
to use their wings, take short flights in order to set them an
example, and, when they at last venture from the nest, accompany and
encourage them in their first journey.
Even this habit has been noted by the sacred writers, and been
forcibly employed as an image of divine protection. See the Song of
Moses, in which the aged leader, whose forty years' work was at last
finished, recapitulates the mercies vouchsafed to the people of
Israel, and exhorts them against the sin of ingratitude: "For the
Lord's portion is His people; Jacob is the lot of His inheritance.
"He found him in a desert land, and in the waste howling wilderness;
He led him about, He instructed him, He kept him as the apple of His
eye.
"As an eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young,
spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her wings;
"So the Lord alone did lead him, and there was no strange god with
him" (Deut. xxxii. 9-12).
The strength of flight of the Vulture is also noticed by the sacred
writers. See, for example, Exod. xix. 4: "Ye have seen what I did to
the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles' (_nesherim_) wings, and
brought you unto myself."
This passage had a peculiar force when addressed to the Hebrews, the
Vulture being one of the chief emblems of Egyptian power, and its
outspread wings continually recurring on the grand monuments and
temples with which they must have been so familiar.
Strangely enough, in their second captivity, the Jews met with the
same emblem among the Assyrians. For example, their god Nisroch, whom
we find mentioned as specially worshipped by Sennacherib, was a
vulture-headed deity, bearing not only the head of the bird, but also
its wings. The vast wings of the Vulture were by the Assyrians used as
types of Divine power, and were therefore added, not only to human
figures, but to those of beasts. The human-headed and vulture-winged
bulls of Nineveh, with which we are now so familiar, are good examples
of this peculiar imagery.
The name Nisroch, by the way, is evidently the same word as _nesher_,
and bears even closer resemblance to the Arabic _niss'r_. This bird
was also the war standard of Assyria, just as the eagle is that of
France, and the metaphors used by Habbakuk and Jeremiah had therefore
a doubly forcible sense.
We find the same bird employed as a visible emblem of Divine
omnipresence and omniscience in the visions seen by Ezekiel and St.
John: "And every one had four faces; the first face was the face of a
cherub, and the second face was the face of a man, and the third the
face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle" (Ezek. x. 14).
Then, in the Revelation, chap. iv. ver. 6, 7, is the account of a
vision of very similar character: "In the midst of the throne, and
round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and
behind.
"And the first beast was like a lion, and the second was like a calf,
and the third beast had a face as a man, and the fourth beast was like
a flying eagle."
From these passages we shall see that the Griffon Vulture was not held
by the Scriptural writers in the contempt with which we are apt to
regard it. Not having any Vultures resident in our country, for the
simple reason that there is not enough carrion in the whole of England
to feed a single Vulture for a month, we have no practical knowledge
of them, and are apt to confound, under the common title of Vulture,
birds of most dissimilar aspect. Some of them, especially those which
inhabit the West Indies, are mean-looking, slouching, sneaking,
obscene birds, which, even when brought to this country, and nourished
on fresh meat, cannot be regarded without inspiring a feeling of
disgust.
But there are others which are really grand and noble birds, which
excite admiration instead of disgust, and one of the chief among these
is the Griffon Vulture. Scavenger though it be, it is not disgusting
in its habits, and may even be called a cleanly bird. It is
intelligent, after its way, and is quite as susceptible of human
teaching as the falcon or the cormorant. It is not quarrelsome, and,
even when feeding, does not try to drive away its neighbour, but feeds
alongside of him with perfect amity and quiet.
In common with other birds of its order, the Griffon Vulture is a very
long-lived bird, and even this characteristic is noticed in the
well-known passage, "Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His
benefits: ... who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy
youth is renewed like the eagle's" (Ps. ciii. 1, 5).
[Illustration: THE VULTURE, OR EAGLE OF SCRIPTURE.
"Wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered
together."--MATT. xxiv. 28.]
This passage has often been absurdly misinterpreted by commentators
who have not appreciated the metaphorical style of all Oriental
poetry. Taking the passage in its exact literal sense, and not knowing
that reference is made to the Vulture and not to the eagle,
they have taken for granted that the eagle had some mode of
renewing its youth, and, in fact, after becoming old, went through
some process by which it shook off the decrepitude of old age, and
became young again. Others, seeing that such an interpretation was
both strained and far-fetched, have thought that reference was made to
the annual moult of the eagle, which they fancied to be of a very
severe character, the whole of the feathers being shed at once, so as
to leave the bird naked and helpless, and then being restored with
added strength and beauty.
It is evident, however, that no such interpretation is needed, and
that the Psalmist, when using the expression "renewing the youth like
an eagle's," only employed a metaphorical expression significative of
longevity.
If we recapitulate the various passages in which the Nesher is
mentioned in the Scriptures, we shall find that the sacred writers
were thoroughly acquainted with the bird, and that they wrote of it
with an occasional fulness and an invariable precision which shows how
familiar they were with a bird at once so plentiful and so
conspicuous.
The illustration represents one of the rocky gorges so plentiful in
Palestine, inhabited by a number of Griffon Vultures. Some of them are
feeding upon the carcase of a dead animal, another is upon her nest,
and several Vultures, who have gorged themselves with food after their
fashion, are sitting listlessly on the rock, in some of the singular
positions which this bird affects. There is, perhaps, no bird which
has a more curious set of attitudes than the Griffon Vulture, or which
exhibits so different an aspect at various times.
In flight it is one of the most magnificent birds that can be seen,
and even when perched it often retains a certain look of majesty and
grandeur. Sometimes, however, especially when basking in the sun, it
assumes a series of attitudes which are absolutely grotesque, and
convert the noble-looking bird into a positively ludicrous object. At
one moment it will sit all hunched up, its head sunk between its
shoulders, and one wing trailing behind it as if broken. At another it
will bend its legs and sit down on the ankle-joint, pushing its feet
out in front, and supporting itself by the stiff feathers of its tail.
Often it will crouch nearly flat on the ground, partly spread its
wings, and allow their tips to rest on the earth, and sometimes it
will support nearly all the weight of its body on the wings, which
rest, in a half doubled state, on the ground. I have before me a great
number of sketches, taken in a single day, of the attitudes assumed by
one of these birds, every one of which is strikingly different from
the others, and transforms the whole shape of the bird so much that it
is scarcely recognisable as the same individual.
THE EAGLE.
Signification of the word _Asniyeh_--The Golden Eagle and its
habits--The Imperial Eagle--Its solitary mode of life--The
Short-toed Eagle--Its domestic habits and fondness for the
society of man--The Osprey, or Fishing Eagle--Its mode of
catching fish--Its distribution in Palestine.
As to the Eagle, rightly so called, there is little doubt that it is
one of the many birds of prey that seem to have been classed under the
general title of Asniyeh--the word which in the Authorized Version of
the Bible is rendered as Osprey. A similar confusion is observable in
the modern Arabic, one word, _ogab_, being applied indiscriminately to
all the Eagles and the large _falconidæ_.
The chief of the true Eagles, namely, the Golden Eagle (_Aquila
chrysaëtos_), is one of the inhabitants of Palestine, and is seen
frequently, though never in great numbers. Indeed, its predacious
habits unfit it for associating with its kind. Any animal which lives
chiefly, if not wholly, by the chase, requires a large district in
order to enable it to live, and thus twenty or thirty eagles will be
scattered over a district of twice the number of miles. Like the lion
among the mammalia, the Eagle leads an almost solitary life, scarcely
ever associating with any of its kind except its mate and its young.
[Illustration: THE EAGLE.
"Though thou shouldest make thy nest as high as the eagle."--JER. xlix.
16.]
Although it lives principally by the chase, it has no objection to
carrion, and, as has already been mentioned on page 342, may be seen
feeding on a dead animal in company with the lesser vultures,
though it retires before the lordly griffon. Being so thinly
scattered, it would not be so conspicuous a bird as the griffon, which
is not only very much larger, but associates in great numbers, and
probably on that account no definite species of Eagle seems to be
mentioned in Holy Writ.
Four or five species of Eagle are known to inhabit Palestine. There
is, for example, the Imperial Eagle (_Aquila mogilnik_), which may be
distinguished from the Golden Eagle by a white patch on the shoulders,
and the long, lancet-shaped feathers of the head and neck. These
feathers are of a fawn colour, and contrast beautifully with the deep
black-brown of the back and wings. It is not very often seen, being a
bird that loves the forest, and that does not care to leave the
shelter of the trees. It is tolerably common in Palestine.
Then there are several of the allied species, of which the best
example is perhaps the Short-toed Eagle (_Circaëtus gallicus_), a bird
which is extremely plentiful in the Holy Land--so plentiful indeed
that, as Mr. Tristram remarks, there are probably twice as many of the
Short-toed Eagles in Palestine as of all the other species put
together. The genus to which this bird belongs does not take rank with
the true Eagles, but is supposed by systematic naturalists to hold an
intermediate place between the true Eagles and the ospreys.
The Short-toed Eagle is seldom a carrion-eater, preferring to kill its
prey for itself. It feeds mostly on serpents and other reptiles, and
is especially fond of frogs. It is a large and somewhat heavily built
bird, lightness and swiftness being far less necessary than strength
in taking the animals on which it feeds. It is rather more than two
feet in length, and is a decidedly handsome bird, the back being dark
brown, and the under parts white, covered with crescent-shaped black
spots.
THE OSPREY.
The Osprey, or Fishing Eagle--Its geographical range--Mode of
securing prey--Structure of its feet--Its power of balancing
itself in the air.
We now come to the Osprey itself (_Pandion haliaëtus_), which was
undoubtedly one of the birds grouped together under the collective
term Asniyeh. This word occurs only in the two passages in Deut. xiv.
and Lev. xi. which have been several times quoted already, and need
not be mentioned again.
This fine bird is spread over a very large range of country, and is
found in the New World as well as the Old. In consequence of its
peculiar habits, it is often called the Fishing Eagle.
The Osprey is essentially a fish-eater. It seems very strange that a
predacious bird allied to the eagles, none of which birds can swim,
much less dive, should obtain its living from the water. That the
cormorant and other diving birds should do so is no matter of
surprise, inasmuch as they are able to pursue the fish in their own
element, and catch them by superior speed. But any bird which cannot
dive, and which yet lives on fish, is forced to content itself with
those fish that come to the surface of the water, a mode of obtaining
a livelihood which does not appear to have much chance of success. Yet
the Osprey does on a large scale what the kingfisher does on a small
one, and contrives to find abundant food in the water.
Its method of taking prey is almost exactly like that which is
employed by the kingfisher. When it goes out in search of food, it
soars into the air, and floats in circles over the water, watching
every inch of it as narrowly as a kestrel watches a stubble-field. No
sooner does a fish rise toward the surface to take a fly, or to leap
into the air for sport, than the Osprey darts downwards, grasps the
fish in its talons, drags the struggling prey from the water, and with
a scream of joy and triumph bears it away to shore, where it can be
devoured at leisure.
[Illustration: THE OSPREY.
"These are they of which ye shall not eat; the eagle, and the
ossifrage, and the osprey."
DEUT. xiv. 12.]
The bird never dives, neither does it seize the fish with its beak
like the kingfisher. It plunges but slightly into the water, as
otherwise it would not be able to use its strong wings and
carry off its prey. In order to enable the bird to seize the hard
and slippery body of the fish, it is furnished with long, very sharp,
and boldly-hooked talons, which force themselves into the sides of the
fish, and hold it as with grappling irons.
In order to enable it to hover over the water, and to watch the
surface carefully, it is possessed of wonderful powers of flight,
being able to balance itself in one spot without seeming to move a
wing, and having the singular facility of doing so even when a
tolerably strong breeze is blowing. It has even been observed to
maintain its place unmoved when a sharp squall swept over the spot.
Although not very plentiful in Palestine, nor indeed in any other
country, it is seen throughout the whole of that country where it can
find a sufficiency of water. It prefers the sea-shore and the rivers
of the coast, and is said to avoid the Sea of Galilee.
THE KITE, OR VULTURE OF SCRIPTURE.
The word _Dayah_ and its signification--Dayah a collective term
for different species of Kites--The Common or Red Kite plentiful
in Palestine--Its piercing sight and habit of soaring--The Black
Kite of Palestine and its habits--The Egyptian Kite--The Raah or
Glede of Scripture--The Buzzards and their habits--The Peregrine
Falcon an inhabitant of Central Palestine, and the Lanner of the
eastern parts of the country.
In Lev. xi. 14 and Deut. xiv. 13, we find the Vulture among the list
of birds which the Jews were not permitted to eat. The word which is
translated as Vulture is _dayah_, and we find it occurring again in
Isaiah xxxiv. 15, "There shall the vultures also be gathered, every
one with her mate." There is no doubt, however, that this translation
of the word is an incorrect one, and that it ought to be rendered as
KITE. In Job xxviii. 7, there is a similar word, _ayah_, which is also
translated as Vulture, and which is acknowledged to be not a Vulture,
but one of the Kites: "There is a path which no fowl knoweth, and
which the vulture's eye hath not seen." Both these words are nearly
identical with modern Arabic terms which are employed rather loosely
to signify several species of Kite. Buxtorf, in his Hebrew Lexicon,
gives the correct rendering, translating _dayah_ as _Milvus_, and the
Vulgate in one or two places gives the same translation, though in
others it renders the word as Vulture.
[Illustration: THE KITE, OR VULTURE OF SCRIPTURE.
"_There is a path which no fowl knoweth, and which the vulture's eye
hath not seen._"
JOB xxviii. 7.]
Mr. Tristram, who has given much attention to this subject, is
inclined to refer the word _ayah_ to the Common Kite (_Milvus
regalis_), which was once so plentiful in this country, and is now
nearly extinct; and _dayah_ to the Black Kite (_Milvus atra_). He
founds this distinction on the different habits of the two species,
the Common or Red Kite being thinly scattered, and being in the habit
of soaring into the air at very great heights, and the latter being
very plentiful and gregarious.
We will first take the Red Kite.
This bird is scattered all over Palestine, feeding chiefly on the
smaller birds, mice, reptiles, and fish. In the capture of fish the
Kite is almost as expert as the osprey, darting from a great height
into the water, and bearing off the fish in its claws. The wings of
this bird are very long and powerful, and bear it through the air in a
peculiarly graceful flight. It is indeed in consequence of this flight
that it has been called the Glede, the word being derived from its
gliding movements.
The sight of this bird is remarkably keen and piercing, and, from the
vast elevation to which it soars when in search of food, it is able to
survey the face of the country beneath, and to detect the partridge,
quail, chicken, or other creature that will serve it for food. This
piercing sight and habit of soaring render the passage in Job
peculiarly appropriate to this species of Kite, though it does not
express the habits of the other. Should the Kite suspect danger when
forced to leave its nest, it escapes by darting rapidly into the air,
and soaring at a vast height above the trees among which its home is
made. From that elevation it can act as a sentinel, and will not come
down again until it is assured of safety.
Of the habits of the BLACK KITE (_Milvus atra_), Mr. Tristram gives an
admirable description. "The habits of the bird bear out the allusion
in Isa. xxxiv. 15, for it is, excepting during the winter three
months, so numerous everywhere in Palestine as to be almost
gregarious. It returns about the beginning of March, and scatters
itself over the whole country, preferring especially the neighbourhood
of valleys, where it is a welcome and unmolested guest. It does not
appear to attack the poultry, among whom it may often be seen feeding
on garbage. It is very sociable, and the slaughter of a sheep at one
of the tents will soon attract a large party of black kites, which
swoop down regardless of man and guns, and enjoy a noisy scramble for
the refuse, chasing each other in a laughable fashion, and sometimes
enabling the wily raven to steal off with the coveted morsel during
their contentions. It is the butt of all the smaller scavengers, and
is evidently most unpopular with the crows and daws, and even rollers,
who enjoy the amusement of teasing it in their tumbling flight, which
is a manoeuvre most perplexing to the kite."
The same writer proceeds to mention that the Black Kite, unlike the
red species, is very careless about the position of its nest, and
never even attempts to conceal it, sometimes building it in a tree,
sometimes on a rock-ledge, and sometimes in a bush growing on the
rocks. It seems indeed desirous of making the nest as conspicuous as
possible, and hangs it all over with bits of cloth, strips of bark,
wings of birds, and even the cast skins of serpents.
Another species (_Milvus Ægyptiacus_) is sometimes called the Black
Kite from the dark hue of its plumage, but ought rather to retain the
title of Egyptian Kite. Unlike the black kite, this bird is a great
thief, and makes as much havoc among poultry as the red kite. It is
also a robber of other birds, and if it should happen to see a weaker
bird with food, it is sure to attack and rob it. Like the black kite,
it is fond of the society of man, and haunts the villages in great
numbers, for the purpose of eating the offal, which in Oriental towns
is simply flung into the streets to be devoured by the dogs, vultures,
kites, and other scavengers, without whom no village would be
habitable for a month.
Whether the word _raah_, which is translated as Glede in Deut. xiv.
13, among the list of birds which may not be eaten, is one of these
species of Kite, or a bird of a different group, is a very doubtful
point. This is the only passage in which the word occurs, and we have
but small grounds for definitely identifying it with any one species.
The Hebrew Bible retains the word Glede, but affixes a mark of doubt
to it, and several commentators are of opinion that the word is a
wrong reading of _dayah_, which occurs in the parallel passage in Lev.
xi. 14. The reading of the Septuagint follows this interpretation, and
renders it as Vulture in both cases. Buxtorf translates the word
_raah_ as Rook, but suggests that _dayah_ is the correct reading.
Accepting, however, the word _raah_, we shall find that it is derived
from a root which signifies sight or vision, especially of some
particular object, so that a piercing sight would therefore be the
chief characteristic of the bird, which, as we know, is one of the
attributes of the Kites, together with other birds of prey, so that it
evidently must be classed among the group with which we are now
concerned. It has been suggested that, granting the _raah_ to be a
species distinct from the _dayah_, it is a collective term for the
larger falcons and buzzards, several species of which inhabit
Palestine, and are not distinctly mentioned in the Bible.
Several species of buzzard inhabit the Holy Land, and there is no
particular reason why they should be mentioned except by a collective
name. Some of the buzzards are very large birds, and though their
wings are short when compared with those of the vultures and eagles,
the flight of the bird is both powerful and graceful. It is not,
however, remarkable for swiftness, and never was employed, like the
falcon, in catching other birds, being reckoned as one of the useless
and cowardly birds of prey. In consonance with this opinion, to
compare a man to a buzzard was thought a most cutting insult.
[Illustration: THE PEREGRINE FALCON, OR GLEDE OF SCRIPTURE.
"_And the Glede, and the kite, and the vulture after his
kind._"--DEUT. xiv. 13.]
As a general rule, it does not chase its prey like the eagles or the
large-winged falcons, but perches on a rock or tree, watches for some
animal on which it can feed, pounces on it, and returns to its post,
the whole movements being very like those of the flycatcher. This
sluggishness of disposition, and the soft and almost owl-like plumage,
have been the means of bringing the bird into contempt among
falconers.
As to the large falcons, which seem to be included in the term _raah_,
the chief of them is the Peregrine Falcon (_Falco peregrinus_), which
is tolerably common in the Holy Land. In his "Land of Israel," Mr.
Tristram gives several notices of this bird, from which we may take
the following picture from a description of a scene at Endor. "Dreary
and desolate looked the plain, though of exuberant fertility. Here and
there might be seen a small flock of sheep or herd of cattle, tended
by three or four mounted villagers, armed with their long firelocks,
and pistols and swords, on the watch against any small party of
marauding cattle-lifters.
"Griffon vultures were wheeling in circles far over the rounded top of
Tabor; and here and there an eagle was soaring beneath them in search
of food, but at a most inconvenient distance from our guns. Hariers
were sweeping more rapidly and closely over the ground, where lambs
appeared to be their only prey; and a noble peregrine falcon, which in
Central Palestine does not give place to the more eastern lanner, was
perched on an isolated rock, calmly surveying the scene, and
permitting us to approach and scrutinize him at our leisure."
The habit of perching on the rock, as mentioned above, is very
characteristic of the Peregrine Falcon, who loves the loftiest and
most craggy cliffs, and makes its nest in spots which can only be
reached by a bold and experienced climber. The nests of this bird are
never built in close proximity, the Peregrine preferring to have its
home at least a mile from the nest of any other of its kinsfolk.
Sometimes it makes a nest in lofty trees, taking possession of the
deserted home of some other bird; but it loves the cliff better than
the tree, and seldom builds in the latter when the former is
attainable.
In the passage from the "Land of Israel" is mentioned the LANNER
FALCON (_Falco lanarius_), another of the larger falcons to which the
term _raah_ may have been applied.
This bird is much larger than the Peregrine Falcon, and, indeed, is
very little less than the great gerfalcon itself. It is one of the
birds that were reckoned among the noble falcons; and the female,
which is much larger and stronger than the male, was employed for the
purpose of chasing the kite, whose long and powerful wings could not
always save it from such a foe.
Although the Lanner has been frequently mentioned among the British
birds, and the name is therefore familiar to us, it is not even a
visitor of our island. The mistake has occurred by an error in
nomenclature, the young female Peregrine Falcon, which is much larger
and darker than the male bird, having been erroneously called by the
name of Lanner.
[Illustration: THE LANNER FALCON.]
In the illustration, a pair of Lanner Falcons are depicted as pursuing
some of the rock-pigeons which abound in Palestine, the attitudes of
both birds being taken from life.
THE HAWK.
The Netz or Hawk--Number of species probably grouped under that
name--Rare occurrence of the word--The Sparrow-Hawk and its
general habits--Its place of nesting--The Kestrel, or
Wind-hover--Various names by which it is known in England--Its
mode of feeding and curious flight--The Hariers--Probable
derivation of the name--Species of Harier known to inhabit
Palestine--Falconry apparently unknown to the ancient Jews.
There is no doubt that a considerable number of species are grouped
together under the single title Netz, or Hawk, a word which is rightly
enough translated. That a great number of birds should have been thus
confounded together is not surprising, seeing that even in this
country and at the present time, the single word Hawk may signify any
one of at least twelve different species. The various falcons, the
hariers, the kestrel, the sparrow-hawk, and the hobbies, are one and
all called popularly by the name of Hawk, and it is therefore likely
that the Hebrew word Netz would signify as many species as the English
word Hawk. From them we will select one or two of the principal
species.
In the first place, the word is of very rare occurrence. We only find
it three times. It first occurs in Lev. xi. 16, in which it is named,
together with the eagle, the ossifrage, and many other birds, as among
the unclean creatures, to eat which was an abomination. It is next
found in the parallel passage in Deut. xiv. 15, neither of which
portions of Scripture need be quoted at length.
That the word _netz_ was used in its collective sense is very evident
from the addition which is made to it in both cases. The Hawk, "after
its kind," is forbidden, showing therefore that several kinds or
species of Hawk were meant. Indeed, any specific detail would be quite
needless, as the collective term was quite a sufficient indication,
and, having named the vultures, eagles, and larger birds of prey, the
simple word _netz_ was considered by the sacred writer as expressing
the rest of the birds of prey.
We find the word once more in that part of the Bible to which we
usually look for any reference to natural history. In Job xxxix. 26,
we have the words, "Doth the hawk fly by thy wisdom, and turn [or
stretch] her wings toward the south?" The precise signification of
this passage is rather doubtful, but it is generally considered to
refer to the migration of several of the Hawk tribe. That the bird in
question was distinguished for its power of flight is evident from the
fact that the sacred poet has selected that one attribute as the most
characteristic of the Netz.
Taking first the typical example of the Hawks, we find that the
SPARROW-HAWK (_Accipiter nisus_) is plentiful in Palestine, finding
abundant food in the smaller birds of the country. It selects for its
nest just the spots which are so plentiful in the Holy Land, _i.e._
the crannies of rocks, and the tops of tall trees. Sometimes it builds
in deserted ruins, but its favourite spot seems to be the lofty
tree-top, and, in default of that, the rock-crevice. It seldom builds
a nest of its own, but takes possession of that which has been made by
some other bird. Some ornithologists think that it looks out for a
convenient nest, say of the crow or magpie, and then ejects the
rightful owner. I am inclined to think, however, that it mostly takes
possession of a nest that is already deserted, without running the
risk of fighting such enemies as a pair of angry magpies. This opinion
is strengthened by the fact that the bird resorts to the same nest
year after year.
It is a bold and dashing bird, though of no great size, and when wild
and free displays a courage which it seems to lose in captivity. As is
the case with so many of the birds, the female is much larger than her
mate, the latter weighing about six ounces, and measuring about a foot
in length, and the former weighing above nine ounces, and measuring
about fifteen inches in length.
The most plentiful of the smaller Hawks of Palestine is the COMMON
KESTREL (_Tinnunculus alaudarius_). This is the same species with
which we are so familiar in England under the names of Kestrel,
Wind-hover, and Stannel Hawk.
[Illustration: KESTREL.
"_Doth the Hawk fly by thy wisdom?_"--JOB xxxix. 26.]
It derives its name of Wind-hover from its remarkable habit of
hovering, head to windward, over some spot for many minutes together.
This action is always performed at a moderate distance from the
ground; some naturalists saying that the Hawk in question never hovers
at an elevation exceeding forty feet, while others, myself included,
have seen the bird hovering at a height of twice as many yards.
Generally, however, it prefers a lower distance, and is able by
employing this manoeuvre to survey a tolerably large space beneath. As
its food consists in a very great measure of field-mice, the Kestrel
is thus able by means of its telescopic eyesight to see if a mouse
rises from its hole; and if it should do so, the bird drops on it and
secures it in its claws.
Unlike the sparrow-hawk, the Kestrel is undoubtedly gregarious, and
will build its nest in close proximity to the habitations of other
birds, a number of nests being often found within a few yards of each
other. Mr. Tristram remarks that he has found its nest in the recesses
of the caverns occupied by the griffon vultures, and that the Kestrel
also builds close to the eagles, and is the only bird which is
permitted to do so. It also builds in company with the jackdaw.
Several species of Kestrel are known, and of them at least two inhabit
the Holy Land, the second being a much smaller bird than the Common
Kestrel, and feeding almost entirely on insects, which it catches with
its claws, the common chafers forming its usual prey. Great numbers of
these birds live together, and as they rather affect the society of
mankind, they are fond of building their nests in convenient crannies
in the mosques or churches. Independently of its smaller size, it may
be distinguished from the Common Kestrel by the whiteness of its
claws.
The illustration is drawn from a sketch taken from life. The bird
hovered so near a house, and remained so long in one place, that the
artist fixed a telescope and secured an exact sketch of the bird in
the peculiar attitude which it is so fond of assuming. After a while,
the Kestrel ascended to a higher elevation, and then resumed its
hovering, in the attitude which is shown in the upper figure. In
consequence of the great abundance of this species in Palestine, and
the peculiarly conspicuous mode of balancing itself in the air while
in search of prey, we may feel sure that the sacred writers had it
specially in their minds when they used the collective term Netz.
The Kestrel has a very large geographical range, being plentiful not
only in England and Palestine, but in Northern and Southern Europe,
throughout the greater part of Asia, in Siberia, and in portions of
Africa. The bird, therefore, is capable of enduring both heat and
cold, and, as is often the case with those creatures that are useful
to man, is a perfect cosmopolitan.
It is easily trained, and, although in the old hawking days it was
considered a bird which a noble could not carry, it can be trained to
chase the smaller birds as successfully as the falcons can be taught
to pursue the heron. The name Tinnunculus is supposed by some to have
been given to the bird in allusion to its peculiar cry, which is
clear, shrill, and consists of a single note several times repeated.
On page 361 the reader may see a representation of a pair of HARIER
HAWKS flying below the rock on which the peregrine falcon has
perched, and engaged in pursuing one of the smaller birds.
They have been introduced because several species of Harier are to be
found in Palestine, where they take, among the plains and lowlands,
the place which is occupied by the other hawks and falcons among the
rocks.
The name of Harier appears to be given to these birds on account of
their habit of regularly quartering the ground over which they fly
when in search of prey, just like hounds when searching for hares.
This bird is essentially a haunter of flat and marshy lands, where it
finds frogs, mice, lizards, on which it usually feeds. It does not,
however, confine itself to such food, but will chase and kill most of
the smaller birds, and occasionally will catch even the leveret, the
rabbit, the partridge, and the curlew.
When it chases winged prey, it seldom seizes the bird in the air, but
almost invariably keeps above it, and gradually drives it to the
ground. It will be seen, therefore, that its flight is mostly low, as
suits the localities in which it lives, and it seldom soars to any
great height, except when it amuses itself by rising and wheeling in
circles together with its mate. This proceeding generally takes place
before nest-building. The usual flight is a mixture of that of the
kestrel and the falcon, the Harier sometimes poising itself over some
particular spot, and at others shooting forwards through the air with
motionless wings.
Unlike the falcons and most of the hawks, the Harier does not as a
rule perch on rocks, but prefers to sit very upright on the ground,
perching generally on a mole-hill, stone, or some similar elevation.
Even its nest is made on the ground, and is composed of reeds, sedges,
sticks, and similar matter, materials that can be procured from marshy
land. The nest is always elevated a foot or so from the ground, and
has occasionally been found on the top of a mound more than a yard in
height. It is, however, conjectured that in such cases the mound is
made by one nest being built upon the remains of another. The object
of the elevated nest is probably to preserve the eggs in case of a
flood.
At least five species of Hariers are known to exist in the Holy Land,
two of which are among the British birds, namely, the Marsh Harier
(_Circus æruginosus_), sometimes called the Duck Hawk and the Moor
Buzzard, and the Hen Harier (_Circus cyaneus_), sometimes called the
White Hawk, Dove Hawk, or Blue Hawk, on account of the plumage of the
male, which differs greatly according to age; and the Ring-tailed
Hawk, on account of the dark bars which appear on the tail of the
female. All the Hariers are remarkable for the Circlet of feathers
that surrounds the eyes, and which resembles in a lesser degree the
bold feather-circle around the eye of the owl tribe.
Before taking leave of the Hawks, it is as well to notice the entire
absence in the Scriptures of any reference to falconry. Now, seeing
that the art of catching birds and animals by means of Hawks is a
favourite amusement among Orientals, as has already been mentioned
when treating of the gazelle (page 139), and knowing the unchanging
character of the East, we cannot but think it remarkable that no
reference should be made to this sport in the Scriptures.
It is true that in Palestine itself there would be but little scope
for falconry, the rough hilly ground and abundance of cultivated soil
rendering such an amusement almost impossible. Besides, the use of the
falcon implies that of the horse, and, as we have already seen, the
horse was scarcely ever used except for military purposes.
Had, therefore, the experience of the Israelites been confined to
Palestine, there would have been good reason for the silence of the
sacred writers on this subject. But when we remember that the
surrounding country is well adapted for falconry, that the amusement
is practised there at the present day, and that the Israelites passed
so many years as captives in other countries, we can but wonder that
the Hawks should never be mentioned as aids to bird-catching. We find
that other bird-catching implements are freely mentioned and employed
as familiar symbols, such as the gin, the net, the snare, the trap,
and so forth; but that there is not a single passage in which the
Hawks are mentioned as employed in falconry.
THE OWL.
The words which have been translated as Owl--The Côs, or Little
Owl--Use made of the Little Owl in bird-catching--Habits of the
bird--The Barn, Screech, or White Owl a native of Palestine--The
Yanshûph, or Egyptian Eagle Owl--Its food and nest--The Lilith,
or Night Monster--Various interpretations of the word--The
Kippoz probably identical with the Scops Owl, or Marouf.
In various parts of the Old Testament there occur several words which
are translated as OWL in the Authorized Version, and in most cases the
rendering is acknowledged to be the correct one, while in one or two
instances there is a difference of opinion on the subject.
In Lev. xi. 16, 17, we find the following birds reckoned among those
which are an abomination, and which might not be eaten by the
Israelites: "The owl, and the night-hawk, and the cuckoo, and the hawk
after his kind;
"And the little owl, and the cormorant, and the great owl."
Here, then, we have in close proximity the word Owl repeated three
times, and the same repetition occurs in the parallel passage in Deut.
xiv. Now the words which are here translated as Owl are totally
different words in the Hebrew, so that if we leave them untranslated,
the passages will run as follow: "And the Bath-haya'anah, and the
night-hawk, and the cuckoo, and the hawk after his kind;
"And the Côs, and the cormorant, and the Yanshûph."
Taking these words in order, we find in the first place that the
Jewish Bible accepts the translation of the words _côs_ and
_yanshûph_, merely affixing to them the mark of doubt. But it
translates the word _bath-haya'anah_ as Ostrich, without adding the
doubtful mark. Now the same word occurs in several other passages of
Scripture, the first being in Job xxx. 29: "I am a brother to dragons,
and a companion to owls." In the marginal reading of the Authorized
Version, which, as the reader must bear in mind, is of equal value
with the text, the rendering is the same as that of the Jewish Bible,
and in several other passages the same reading is followed. We
therefore accept the word _bath-haya'anah_ as the ostrich, and dismiss
it from among the owls.
Coming now to the other words, we find in the passages already quoted
the words _côs_ and _yanshûph_. Both those words occur in other parts
of Scripture, and evidently are the names of nocturnal birds that
haunt ruins and lonely places. Taking them in order, we find the word
_côs_ to occur again in Ps. cii. 6: "I am like a pelican of the
wilderness: I am like an owl of the desert." The Psalm in which this
passage occurs is a penitential prayer, in which the writer uses many
of the metaphors employed by Job when lamenting his afflictions, and
describes himself as left alone among men.
The simile is equally just and feasible in this case, the Owl being
essentially a bird of night, and associated with solitude and gloom.
The particular species which is signified by the word _côs_ bears but
very slightly on the subject, inasmuch as in general habits all the
true Owls are very similar in hiding by day in their nests, and coming
out at night to hunt for prey, their melancholy hoot, or startling
shriek, breaking the silence of the night.
Still it is necessary to identify, if we can, some species with the
word _côs_, and it is very likely that the Little Owl, or Boomah of
the Arabs (_Athene Persica_), is the bird which is signified by the
word _côs_. This species is probably identical with the Little Night
Owl of England (_Athene noctua_). Though rare in England, it is very
common in many parts of the Continent where it is much valued by
bird-catchers, who employ it as a means of attracting small birds to
their traps. They place it on the top of a long pole, and carry it
into the fields, where they plant the pole in the ground. This Owl has
a curious habit of swaying its body backwards and forwards, and is
sure to attract the notice of all the small birds in the
neighbourhood. It is well known that the smaller birds have a peculiar
hatred to the Owl, and never can pass it without mobbing it,
assembling in great numbers, and so intent on their occupation that
they seem to be incapable of perceiving anything but the object of
their hatred. Even rooks, magpies, and hawks are taken by this simple
device.
Whether or not the Little Owl was used for this object by the ancient
inhabitants of Palestine is rather doubtful; but as they certainly did
so employ decoy birds for the purpose of attracting game, it is not
unlikely that the Little Owl was found to serve as a decoy. We shall
learn more about the system of decoy-birds when we come to the
partridge.
[Illustration: THE LITTLE OWL
"_I am like an owl of the desert._"--PS. cii. 6.]
The Little Owl is to be found in almost every locality, caring little
whether it takes up its residence in cultivated grounds, in villages,
among deserted ruins, or in places where man has never lived. As,
however, it is protected by the natives, it prefers the neighbourhood
of villages, and may be seen quietly perched in some favourite spot,
not taking the trouble to move unless it be approached closely. And to
detect a perched Owl is not at all an easy matter, as the bird has a
way of selecting some spot where the colours of its plumage harmonize
so well with the surrounding objects that the large eyes are often the
first indication of its presence. Many a time I have gone to search
after Owls, and only been made aware of them by the sharp angry snap
that they make when startled.
The name _Athene_, by the way, has been given to this Owl because it
is the species selected by the Greeks as the emblem of wisdom.
The common BARN OWL of England (_Strix flammea_) also inhabits
Palestine, and if, as is likely to be the case, the word côs is a
collective term under which several species are grouped together, the
Barn or White Owl is likely to be one of them.
Like the Little Owl, it affects the neighbourhood of man, though it
may be found in ruins and similar localities. An old ruined castle is
sure to be tenanted by the Barn Owl, whose nightly shrieks have so
often terrified the belated wanderer, and made him fancy that the
place was haunted by disturbed spirits. Such being the case in
England, it is likely that in the East, where popular superstition has
peopled every well with its jinn and every ruin with its spirit, the
nocturnal cry of this bird, which is often called the Screech Owl from
its note, should be exceedingly terrifying, and would impress itself
on the minds of sacred writers as a fit image of solitude, terror, and
desolation.
The Screech Owl is scarcely less plentiful in Palestine than the
Little Owl, and, whether or not it be mentioned under a separate name,
is sure to be one of the birds to which allusion is made in the
Scriptures.
Another name now rises before us: this is the Yanshûph, translated as
the Great Owl, a word which occurs not only in the prohibitory
passages of Leviticus and Deuteronomy, but in the Book of Isaiah. In
that book, ch. xxxiv. ver. 10, 11, we find the following passage:
"From generation to generation it shall lie waste; none shall pass
through it for ever and ever.
"But the cormorant and the bittern shall possess it; the owl
(_yanshûph_) also and the raven shall dwell in it: and He shall
stretch out upon it the line of confusion, and the stones of
emptiness." The Jewish Bible follows the same reading.
It is most probable that the Great Owl or Yanshûph is the EGYPTIAN
EAGLE OWL (_Bubo ascalaphus_), a bird which is closely allied to the
great Eagle Owl of Europe (_Bubo maximus_), and the Virginian Eared
Owl (_Bubo Virginianus_) of America. This fine bird measures some two
feet in length, and looks much larger than its real size, owing to the
thick coating of feathers which it wears in common with all true Owls,
and the ear-like feather tufts on the top of its head, which it can
raise or depress at pleasure. Its plumage is light tawny.
This bird has a special predilection for deserted places and ruins,
and may at the present time be seen on the very spots of which the
prophet spoke in his prediction. It is very plentiful in Egypt, where
the vast ruins are the only relics of a creed long passed away or
modified into other forms of religion, and its presence only
intensifies rather than diminishes the feeling of loneliness that
oppresses the traveller as he passes among the ruins.
The European Eagle Owl has all the habits of its Asiatic congener. It
dwells in places far from the neighbourhood of man, and during the day
is hidden in some deep and dark recess, its enormous eyes not being
able to endure the light of day. In the evening it issues from its
retreat, and begins its search after prey, which consists of various
birds, quadrupeds, reptiles, fish, and even insects when it can find
nothing better.
On account of its comparatively large dimensions, it is able to
overcome even the full-grown hare and rabbit, while the lamb and the
young fawn occasionally fall victims to its voracity. It seems never
to chase any creature on the wing, but floats silently through the
air, its soft and downy plumage deadening the sound of its progress,
and suddenly drops on the unsuspecting prey while it is on the ground.
The nest of this Owl is made in the crevices of rocks, or in ruins,
and is a very large one, composed of sticks and twigs, lined with a
tolerably large heap of dried herbage, the parent Owls returning to
the same spot year after year. Should it not be able to find either a
rock or a ruin, it contents itself with a hollow in the ground, and
there lays its eggs, which are generally two in number, though
occasionally a third egg is found. The Egyptian Eagle Owl does much
the same thing, burrowing in sand-banks, and retreating, if it fears
danger, into the hollow where its nest has been made.
In the large illustration the two last-mentioned species are given.
The Egyptian Eagle Owl is seen with its back towards the spectator,
grasping in its talons a dead hare, and with ear-tufts erect is
looking towards the Barn Owl, which is contemplating in mingled anger
and fear the proceedings of the larger bird. Near them is perched a
raven, in order to carry out more fully the prophetic words, "the owl
also and the raven shall dwell in it."
Two more passages yet remain in which the word Owl is mentioned, and,
curiously enough, both of them are found in the Book of Isaiah, the
poet-prophet, who seized with a poet's intuition on the natural
objects around him, and converted the simplest and most familiar
incidents into glowing imagery and powerful metaphor.
If the reader will refer to Isaiah xxxiv. 13-15, he will find the
following passages, which are, in fact, a continuation of the prophecy
against Idumea, which has already been quoted. "And thorns shall come
up in her palaces, nettles and brambles in the fortresses thereof: and
it shall be an habitation of dragons, and a court for owls.
"The wild beasts of the desert shall also meet with the wild beasts of
the island, and the satyr shall cry to his fellow; the screech owl
also shall rest there, and find for herself a place of rest.
"There shall the great owl make her nest, and lay, and hatch, and
gather under her shadow."
It has been already mentioned that the word which is translated as
Owl, in the first of these passages, is _bath-haya'anah_, which is
generally considered to signify the ostrich. In verse 14 we come to a
new word, namely, _lilith_. In the marginal reading of the Authorized
Version, this word is rendered as "night monster," and the Jewish
Bible takes nearly the same view of the word by translating it as "a
nocturnal one," evidently basing this interpretation upon the
derivation of the word. Several Hebraists have thought that the word
_lilith_ merely represents some mythological being, like the dread
Lamia of the ancients, a mixture of the material and spiritual--too
ethereal to be seen by daylight, and too gross to be above the
requirements of human food. The blood of mankind was the food of these
fearful beings, and, according to old ideas, they could only live
among ruins and desert places, where they concealed themselves during
the day at the bottoms of wells or the recesses of rock-caverns, and
stole out at night to seize on some unlucky wanderer, and suck his
blood as he slept.
The reader may remember that even our very imperfect version of the
"Arabian Nights" repeatedly alludes to this belief, the evil spirit
being almost invariably represented as dwelling in ruins, rocky
places, and the interiors of wells.
Although it is very possible that the prophet may have referred to
some of the mythological beings which were so universally supposed to
inhabit deserted spots, and thus to have employed the word _lilith_ as
a term which he did not intend to be taken otherwise than
metaphorically, it is equally possible that some nocturnal bird may
have been meant, and in that case the bird in question must almost
certainly have been an Owl of some kind. As to the particular species
of Owl, that is a question which cannot be satisfactorily answered,
especially as so many scholars find reason to doubt whether the word
_lilith_ represents an Owl, or indeed any ordinary inhabitant of
earth. As, therefore, we have no data whereon to found a positive
opinion, the question will be allowed to remain an open one.
The last word which is translated as Owl is _kippoz_, and occurs in
ch. xxxiv. 15: "There shall the great owl make her nest."
[Illustration: THE OWL.
"I am a companion to owls."--JOB. xxx. 29.]
Many Hebraists think that in this case the word _kippoz_ is a mere
clerical error for _kippod_, or hedgehog, and have translated the
passage accordingly. The Septuagint and the Vulgate follow this
reading; Buxtorf, in his Hebrew Lexicon, translates _kippoz_ as
Thrush, deriving the name from the dipping character of its flight.
The Jewish Bible, following several other authorities, renders the
word as "arrow-snake," while several scholars translate it as "darting
serpent." This interpretation, however, is scarcely tenable, as the
description of the Kippoz as making its nest, laying its eggs, and
gathering them under its shadow, clearly points to a bird, and not a
reptile. It is very true that the boa or python snake has been seen to
coil itself round a heap of its eggs, but the sacred writer could
hardly have had many opportunities of seeing such an act, while the
custom of a bird gathering her young under the shadow of her wings
must have been perfectly familiar to him. There is, moreover, the
fact that the context speaks of the vultures, so that a bird
of some kind was evidently in the mind of the writer. Mr.
Tristram suggests that the Kippoz might be intended for the Scops Owl,
called Marouf by the Arabs, and which is very common about ruins,
caves, and the old walls of towns. Its note is well represented by the
word _kippoz_.
"It is a migrant, returning to Palestine in spring. It is the smallest
owl in the country, being little more than seven inches in length,
with long ear-tufts, and its whole plumage most delicately mottled and
speckled with grey and light brown."
This species is very plentiful on the continent of Europe, though it
is rare in the British Isles. It feeds, as might be presumed from its
diminutive size, on mice, small reptiles, and insects. Its scientific
name, according to the nomenclature of the British Museum, is
_Ephialtes Scops_.
THE NIGHT-HAWK.
Different interpretations of the word Tachmâs--Probability that
it signifies the Nightjar--Various names of the bird--Its
remarkable jarring cry, and wheeling flight--Mode of
feeding--Boldness of the bird--Deceptive appearance of its size.
We next come to the vexed question of the word Tachmâs, which is
rendered in the Authorized Version as NIGHT-HAWK.
This word only occurs among the list of prohibited birds (see Lev. xi.
16, and Deut. xiv. 15), and has caused great controversies among
commentators. Some Hebraists have thought that the male ostrich was
signified by _tachmâs_, the word _bath-haya'anah_ being supposed by
them to signify the female ostrich. It is hardly probable, however,
that the sacred writer should have mentioned separately the sexes of
the same species, and we must therefore look for some other
interpretation.
Going to the opposite extreme of size, some scholars have translated
_tachmâs_ as Swallow. This again is not a very probable rendering, as
the swallow would be too small a bird to be specially named in the
prohibitory list. The balance of probability seems to lie between two
interpretations,--namely, that which considers the word _tachmâs_ to
signify the Night-hawk, and that which translates it as Owl. For both
of these interpretations much is to be said, and it cannot be denied
that of the two the latter is perhaps the preferable. If so, the White
or Barn Owl is probably the particular species to which reference is
made.
[Illustration: THE NIGHT-HAWK.
"_The owl, and the night-hawk, and the cuckoo._"--DEUT. xiv. 15.]
Still, many commentators think that the Night-hawk or Nightjar is the
bird which is signified by the word _tachmâs_; and, as we have already
treated of the owls, we will accept the rendering of the Authorized
Version. Moreover, the Jewish Bible follows the same translation, and
renders _tachmâs_ as Night-hawk, but affixes the mark of doubt.
It is not unlikely that the Jews may have reckoned this bird among the
owls, just as is the case with the uneducated among ourselves, who
popularly speak of the Nightjar as the Fern Owl, Churn Owl, or Jar
Owl, the two last names being given to it on account of its peculiar
cry. There are few birds, indeed, which have received a greater
variety of popular names, for, besides the Goatsucker and the five
which have already been mentioned, there are the Wheel-bird and
Dor-hawk, the former of these names having been given to the bird on
account of its wheeling round the trees while seeking for prey, and
the latter on account of the dor-beetles on which it largely feeds.
This curious variety of names is probably due to the very conspicuous
character of the Nightjar, its strange, jarring, weird-like cry
forcing itself on the ear of the least attentive, as it breaks the
silence of night. It hardly seems like the cry of a bird, but rather
resembles the sound of a pallet falling on the cogs of a
rapidly-working wheel. It begins in the dusk of evening, the long,
jarring note being rolled out almost interminably, until the hearer
wonders how the bird can have breath enough for such a prolonged
sound. The hearer may hold his breath as long as he can, take a full
inspiration, hold his breath afresh, and repeat this process over and
over again, and yet the Nightjar continues to trill out its rapid
notes without a moment's cessation for breath, the sound now rising
shrill and clear, and now sinking as if the bird were far off, but
never ceasing for an instant.
This remarkable cry has caused the uneducated rustics to look upon the
bird with superstitious dread, every one knowing its cry full well,
though to many the bird is unknown except by its voice. It is probable
that, in the days when Moses wrote the Law, so conspicuous a bird was
well known to the Jews, and we may therefore conjecture that it was
one of those birds which he would specially mention by name.
The general habits of the Nightjar are quite as remarkable as its
note. It feeds on the wing, chasing and capturing the various moths,
beetles, and other insects that fly abroad by night. It may be seen
wheeling round the branches of some tree, the oak being a special
favourite, sometimes circling round it, and sometimes rising high in
the air, and the next moment skimming along the ground. Suddenly it
will disappear, and next moment its long trilling cry is heard from
among the branches of the tree round which it has been flying. To see
it while singing is almost impossible, for it has a habit of sitting
longitudinally on the branch, and not across it, like most birds, so
that the outline of its body cannot be distinguished from that of the
bough on which it is seated. As suddenly as it began, the sound
ceases, and simultaneously the bird may be seen wheeling again through
the air with its noiseless flight.
Being a very bold bird, and not much afraid of man, it allows a
careful observer to watch its movements clearly. I have often stood
close to the tree round which several Nightjars were circling, and
seen them chase their prey to the ground within a yard or two of the
spot on which I was standing. The flight of the Nightjar is singularly
graceful. Swift as the swallow itself, it presents a command of wing
that is really wonderful, gliding through the air with consummate
ease, wheeling and doubling in pursuit of some active moth, whose
white wings glitter against the dark background, while the sober
plumage of its pursuer is scarcely visible, passing often within a few
feet of the spectator, and yet not a sound or a rustle will reach his
ears. Sometimes the bird is said to strike its wings together over its
back, so as to produce a sharp snapping sound, intended to express
anger at the presence of the intruder. I never, however, heard this
sound, though I have watched the bird so often.
Owing to the soft plumage with which it is clad, this bird, like the
owls, looks larger than really is the case. It is between ten and
eleven inches in length, with an expanse of wing of twenty inches, and
yet weighs rather less than three ounces. Its large mouth, like that
of the swallow tribe, opens as far as the eyes, and is furnished with
a set of _vibrissæ_ or bristles, which remind the observer of the
"whale-bone" which is set on the jaw of the Greenland whale. The
scientific name of the bird is _Caprimulgus Europæus_.
THE SWALLOW.
Identification of the smaller birds--Oriental indifference to
natural history--Use of collective terms--The
Swallow--Signification of the word _Deror_--The Bird of
Liberty--Swallows and Swifts--The Sunbirds and
Bee-eaters--Variety of small birds found in Palestine--The
Swallows of Palestine--Swallows protected by man in various
countries--Nesting of the Swallow--The Rufous Swallow and
Martin--The Sis or Swift--Various species of Swift inhabiting
the Holy Land--Talmudical notions of the Swift or Swallow--The
leper and his offering--The cooking pot and the sacrificial
vessel--Signification of the word _Tzippor-deror_.
Difficult as is the identification of the mammalia mentioned in the
Bible, that of the birds is much more intricate.
Some of the larger birds can be identified with tolerable certainty,
but when we come to the smaller and less conspicuous species, we are
at once lost in uncertainty, and at the best can only offer
conjectures. The fact is, the Jews of old had no idea of
discriminating between the smaller birds, unless they happened to be
tolerably conspicuous by plumage or by voice. We need not be much
surprised at this. The Orientals of the present day do precisely the
same thing, and not only fail to discriminate between the smaller
birds, but absolutely have no names for them.
By them, the shrikes, the swallows, the starlings, the thrushes, the
larks, the warblers, and all the smaller birds, are called by a common
title, derived from the twittering sound of their voices, only one or
two of them having any distinctive titles. They look upon the birds
much as persons ignorant of entomology look at a collection of moths.
There is not much difficulty in discriminating between the great
hawk-moths, and perhaps in giving a name to one or two of them which
are specially noticeable for any peculiarity of form or colour; but
when they come to the "Rustics," the "Carpets," the "Wainscots," and
similar groups, they are utterly lost; and, though they may be able to
see the characteristic marks when the moths are placed side by side,
they are incapable of distinguishing them separately, and, to their
uneducated eyes, twenty or thirty species appear absolutely alike.
I believe that there is no country where a knowledge of practical
natural history is so widely extended as in England, and yet how few
educated persons are there who, if taken along a country lane, can
name the commonest weed or insect, or distinguish between a sparrow, a
linnet, a hedge-sparrow, and a chaffinch. Nay, how many are there who,
if challenged even to repeat the names of twelve little birds, would
be unable to do so without some consideration, much less to know them
if the birds were placed before them.
Such being the case in this country, where the capability of
observation is more or less cultivated in every educated person, we
may well expect that a profound ignorance on the subject should exist
in countries where that faculty is absolutely neglected as a matter of
education. Moreover, in England we have a comparatively limited list
of birds, whereas in Palestine are found nearly all those which are
reckoned among British birds, and many other species besides. Those
which reside in England reside also for the most part in Palestine,
while the greater part of the migratory birds pass, as we might
expect, into the Holy Land and the neighbouring countries.
If then we put together the two facts of an unobservant people and a
vastly extended fauna, we shall not wonder that so many collective
terms are used in the Scriptures, one word often doing duty for twenty
or thirty species. The only plan, therefore, which can be adopted, is
to mention generally the birds which were probably grouped under one
name, and to describe briefly one or two of the most prominent.
It is, however, rather remarkable that the song of birds does not
appear to be noticed by the sacred writers. We might expect that
several of the prophets, especially Isaiah, the great sacred poet, who
drew so many of his images from natural objects, would have found in
the song of birds some metaphor expressive of sweetness or joy. We
might expect that in the Book of Job, in which so many creatures are
mentioned, the singing of birds would be brought as prominently
forward as the neck clothed with thunder of the horse, the tameless
freedom of the wild ass, the voracity of the vulture, and the
swiftness of the ostrich. We might expect the song of birds to be
mentioned by Amos, the herdman of Tekoa, who introduces into his
rugged poem the rear of the old lion and the wail of the cub, the
venom of the serpent hidden in the wattled wall of the herdman's hut,
and the ravages of the palmer-worm among the olives. Above all, we
might expect that in the Psalms there would be many allusions to the
notes of the various birds which have formed such fruitful themes for
the poets of later times. There are, however, in the whole of the
Scriptures but two passages in which the song of birds is mentioned,
and even in these only a passing allusion is made.
One of them occurs in Psalm civ. 12: "By them (_i.e._ the springs of
water) shall the fowls of the heaven have their habitation, which sing
among the branches." This passage is perhaps rendered more closely in
the Jewish Bible: "Over them dwell the fowls of the heaven; they let
their voices resound (or give their voice) from between the foliage."
The other occurs in Eccles. xii. 4: "And the doors shall be shut in
the streets, when the sound of the grinding is low, and he shall rise
up at the voice of the bird, and all the daughters of music shall be
brought low." The word which is here translated as "bird," is that
which is rendered in some places as "sparrow," in others as "fowl,"
and in others as "bird." Even in these passages, as the reader will
have noticed, no marks of appreciation are employed, and we hear
nothing of the sweetness, joyousness, or mournfulness of the bird's
song.
We will now proceed to the words which have been translated as Swallow
in the Authorized Version.
These are two in number, namely, _derôr_ and _agar_. Hebraists are,
however, agreed that the latter word has been wrongly applied, the
translators having interchanged the signification of two contiguous
words.
We will therefore first take the word _deror_. This word signifies
liberty, and is well applied to the Swallow, the bird of freedom. It
is remarkable, by the way, how some of the old commentators have
contrived to perplex themselves about a very simple matter. One of
them comments upon the bird as being "so called, because it has the
liberty of building in the houses of mankind." Another takes a
somewhat similar view of the case, but puts it in a catechetical
form: "Why is the swallow called the bird of liberty? Because it lives
both in the house and in the field." It is scarcely necessary to point
out to the reader that the "liberty" to which allusion is made is the
liberty of flight, the bird coming and going at its appointed times,
and not being capable of domestication.
Several kinds of Swallow are known in Palestine, including the true
Swallows, the martins, and the swifts, and, as we shall presently see,
it is likely that one of these groups was distinguished by a separate
name. Whether of not the word _deror_ included other birds beside the
Swallows is rather doubtful, though not at all unlikely; and if so, it
is probable that any swift-winged insectivorous bird would be called
by the name of Deror, irrespective of its size or colour.
The bee-eaters, for example, are probably among the number of the
birds grouped together under the word _deror_, and we may conjecture
that the same is the case with the sunbirds, those bright-plumed
little beings that take in the Old World the place occupied by the
humming-birds in the New, and often mistaken for them by travellers
who are not acquainted with ornithology. One of these birds, the
_Nectarinia Oseæ_, is described by Mr. Tristram as "a tiny little
creature of gorgeous plumage, rivalling the humming-birds of America
in the metallic lustre of its feathers--green and purple, with
brilliant red and orange plumes under its shoulders."
In order to account for the singular variety of animal life which is
to be found in Palestine, and especially the exceeding diversity of
species among the birds, we must remember that Palestine is a sort of
microcosm in itself, comprising within its narrow boundaries the most
opposite conditions of temperature, climate, and soil. Some parts are
rocky, barren, and mountainous, chilly and cold at the top, and acting
as channels through which the winds blow almost continuously. The
cliffs are full of holes, rifts, and caverns, some natural, some
artificial, and some of a mixed kind, the original caverns having been
enlarged and improved by the hand of man.
As a contrast to this rough and ragged region, there lie close at hand
large fertile plains, affording pasturage for unnumbered cattle, and
of a tolerably equable temperature, so that the animals which are
pastured in it can find food throughout the year. Through the centre
of Palestine runs the Jordan, fertilizing its banks with perpetual
verdure, and ending its course in the sulphurous and bituminous waters
of the Dead Sea, under whose waves the ruins of the wicked cities are
supposed to lie. Westward we have the shore of the Mediterranean with
its tideless waves of the salt sea, and on the eastward of the
mountain range that runs nearly parallel to the sea is the great Lake
of Tiberias, so large as to have earned the name of the Sea of
Galilee.
[Illustration: THE RUFOUS SWALLOW AND GALILEAN SWIFT.
"_The turtle, and the crane, and the swallow observe the time of their
coming._"--JER. viii. 7.]
Under these favourable conditions, therefore, the number of species
which are found in Palestine is perhaps greater than can be seen in
any other part of the earth of the same dimensions, and it seems
probable that for this reason, among many others, Palestine was
selected to be the Holy Land. If, for example, the Christian Church
had been originated under the tropics, those who lived in a cold
climate could scarcely have understood the language in which the
Scriptures must necessarily have been couched. Had it, on the
contrary, taken its rise in the Arctic regions, the inhabitants of the
tropics and temperate regions could not have comprehended the imagery
in which the teachings of Scripture must have been conveyed. But the
small and geographically insignificant Land of Palestine combines in
itself many of the characteristics which belong respectively to the
cold, the temperate, and the hot regions of the world, so that the
terms in which the sacred writings are couched are intelligible to a
very great proportion of the world's inhabitants.
This being the case, we naturally expect to find that several species
of the Swallow are inhabitants of Palestine, if indeed so migratory a
bird can be rightly said to be an inhabitant of any one country.
The chief characteristic of the Swallow, the "bird of freedom," is
that it cannot endure captivity, but is forced by instinct to pass
from one country to another for the purpose of preserving itself in a
tolerably equable temperature, moving northwards as the spring ripens
into summer, and southwards as autumn begins to sink into winter. By
some marvellous instinct it traces its way over vast distances,
passing over hundreds of miles where nothing but the sea is beneath
it, and yet at the appointed season returning with unerring certainty
to the spot where it was hatched. How it is guided no one knows, but
the fact is certain, that Swallows, remarkable for some peculiarity by
which they could be at once identified, have been observed to leave
the country on their migration, and to return in the following year to
the identical nest whence they started.
The habits of the Swallow are much the same in Palestine as they are
in England. Its habit of making its nest among the habitations of
mankind is mentioned in a well-known passage of the Psalms: "The
sparrow hath found an house, and the swallow a nest for herself, where
she may lay her young, even Thine altars, O Lord of Hosts, my King and
my God" (Ps. lxxxiv. 3). The Swallow seems in all countries to have
enjoyed the protection of man, and to have been suffered to build in
peace under his roof. We find the same idea prevalent in the New World
as well as the Old, and it is rather curious that the presence of the
bird should so generally he thought to bring luck to a house.
In some parts of our country, a farmer would not dare to kill a
Swallow or break down its nest, simply because he thinks that if he
did so his cows would fail to give their due supply of milk. The
connexion between the milking of a cow in the field and the
destruction of a Swallow's nest in the house is not very easy to see,
but nevertheless such is the belief. This idea ranks with that which
asserts the robin and the wren to be the male and female of the same
species, and to be under some special divine protection.
Whatever may be the origin of this superstition, whether it be derived
from some forgotten source, or whether it be the natural result of the
confiding nature of the bird, the Swallow enjoys at the present day
the protection of man, and builds freely in his houses, and even his
places of worship. The heathen temples, the Mahometan mosques, and the
Christian churches are alike inhabited by the Swallow, who seems to
know her security, and often places her nest where a child might reach
it.
The bird does not, however, restrict itself to the habitations of man,
though it prefers them; and in those places where no houses are to be
found, and yet where insects are plentiful, it takes possession of the
clefts of rocks, and therein makes its nest. Many instances are known
where the Swallow has chosen the most extraordinary places for its
nest. It has been known to build year after year on the frame of a
picture, between the handles of a pair of shears hung on the wall, on
a lamp-bracket, in a table-drawer, on a door-knocker, and similar
strange localities.
The swiftness of flight for which this bird is remarkable is noticed
by the sacred writers. "As the bird by wandering, as the swallow by
flying, so the curse causeless shall not come" (Prov. xxvi. 2). This
passage is given rather differently in the Jewish Bible, though the
general sense remains the same: "As the bird is ready to flee, as the
swallow to fly away; so a causeless execration, it shall not come." It
is possible, however, that this passage may allude rather to the
migration than the swiftness of the bird.
Several species of Swallow inhabit the Holy Land. There is, for
example, our common SWALLOW, which is one of the migratory species,
while another, the Oriental Swallow (_Hirundo cahirica_), often
remains in the warmer parts of the country throughout the year. This
bird may be distinguished by the chestnut hue of the under parts.
Perhaps the most characteristic species is the RUFOUS or RUSSET
SWALLOW (_Hirundo rufula_), a bird which is exceedingly rare even in
the warmer parts of Europe, but is plentiful in Palestine. It may be
easily known by the chestnut red of the back just above the tail, in
the spot where the white patch occurs in our house martin. The under
parts are differently coloured from those of the common Swallow, being
pink instead of white.
Several Martins inhabit Palestine, among which are the two species
with which we are so familiar in England, namely, the HOUSE MARTIN
(_Chelidon urbica_) and the SAND MARTIN (_Cotyle riparia_). At least
two other species of Martin are known to inhabit the Holy Land, but
they do not call for any special notice.
Besides the word _deror_, which is acknowledged to signify the
Swallow, there is another word which, by a curious transposition, has
been translated as "crane," whereas there is little doubt that it
signifies one of the Swallow tribe, and most probably represents the
Swift. The word is _sis_, and occurs in two passages. The first occurs
in Isa. xxxviii. 13, 14, in the well-known prayer of Hezekiah during
his sickness: "From day even to night wilt thou make an end of me.
Like a crane [_sis_], or a swallow, so did I chatter: I did mourn as a
dove: mine eyes fail with looking upward." The Jewish Bible reads the
words, "Like a chattering swallow," affixing the mark of doubt; while
the Septuagint translates the word _sis_ as "Chelidon," or Swallow,
and this is probably the correct rendering of the word.
Accepting this as the true interpretation, we find that the word _sis_
is very expressive of the perpetual chattering of the Swift, whose
sharp, shrill cries often betray its presence while it is sailing in
the air almost beyond the ken of human eyes. There is a wailing,
melancholy sound about the bird's cry which makes Hezekiah's image
exceedingly appropriate, and he could hardly have selected a more
forcible metaphor.
The second passage occurs in Jer. viii. 7: "Yea, the stork in the
heaven knoweth her appointed times; and the turtle, and the crane
[_sis_], and the swallow observe the time of their coming; but my
people know not the judgment of the Lord." With regard to this
passage, the Jewish Bible renders the word _sis_ as Swallow, though
with the mark of doubt.
Allusion is here made to the migratory habits of the Swift. There is,
perhaps, no bird more conspicuous in this respect; for whereas the
other migratory birds seem to straggle, as it were, into the country,
the Swifts arrive almost simultaneously, so that on one day not a
Swift will be seen, and on the next the air is full of their dark,
glancing forms.
Like the Swallow, the Swift haunts the neighbourhood of man, and loves
to build its simple nest in the roofs of houses. Almost any hole will
do for a Swift to build in, provided that it be tolerably deep; for
the bird loves darkness for its nest, though it is essentially in its
habits a bird of light.
Perhaps the word "build" is scarcely the right one, inasmuch as the
nest is even more simple than that of the sand-martin. This latter
bird does indeed arrange with some regularity the feathers which
compose its nest, as may be seen by a beautiful specimen obtained by
Mr. Gould; whereas the Swift merely places together a quantity of hay,
straw, hair, feathers, and similar materials, all of which are
probably obtained from the ruins of a sparrow's nest which had
occupied the hole before the Swift took possession of it.
Several species of Swift inhabit Palestine. The common Swift
(_Cypselus apus_), with which we are so familiar, is very plentiful,
and so is the ALPINE SWIFT (_Cypselus melba_), a bird which is rare in
England, though it occasionally visits our shores. It is much larger
than the common Swift, and is brown above and white below, instead of
being dusky black, like the common species.
The most characteristic species is, however, the GALILEAN SWIFT
(_Cypselus affinis_). Of this kind, Mr. Tristram remarks that it is
"very like the house-martin in general appearance and size. It resides
all the year in the Jordan valley, where alone it is found, living in
large communities, and has a pleasing note, a gentle and melodious
wail, very different from the harsh scream of the other swifts. Its
nests are very peculiar, being composed generally of straw and
feathers, agglutinated together by the bird's saliva, like those of
the edible swallow of Eastern Asia. They are without any lining,
attached to the under side of an overhanging rock. It also sometimes
takes possession of the nest of the rufus swallow for its purposes.
The Galilean swift has a wide range, being found in India and
Abyssinia."
It is possible that this may be the Sis mentioned by Hezekiah, its
soft wailing cry being used as the metaphor to express his own
complaining.
As might be expected, the Talmudical writers have much to say on this
bird.
For example, the offering which a leper made at the cleansing of his
infirmity might be the Tzippor-deror, the rather quaint reason being
that it was a bird with sharp scratching claws, and was therefore very
appropriately offered in connexion with a disease of the skin. Here we
have rather a complication of terms, the word _tzippor_ being used, as
we shall presently see, to signify the sparrow in particular, or any
little bird in general. The particular species, therefore, which is
signified by the combination of the two words _tzippor-deror_ is
rather obscure, and the Talmudists themselves are rather uncertain
about it. The interpretation of this compound word seems, however, to
have been a difficulty, and the various renderings which have been
suggested seem at last to have varied between the wild pigeon, or
rock-dove, and the Swallow. An account of the various arguments is
given by Lewysohn in his "Zoologie des Talmuds," page 206, and may be
briefly epitomized, as follows, in favour of the Swallow, or, as we
shall soon see, the Swift.
The reader may perhaps be acquainted with the legend respecting the
death of Titus, how a gnat made its way through his nostril into his
brain, and there grew and kept him in constant torture until he died,
when, according to some writers, it had reached the size of a
Tzippor-deror, and weighed two selaim. Others enlarged upon this
story, and said that it grew as large as a wild pigeon, and weighed
two pounds. Now, as twenty-five selaim are equal to one pound, it
follows that the Tzippor-deror must have been very much less than the
wild pigeon, and that therefore the two birds could not have been
identical.
Another reason for believing the Tzippor-deror to be a much smaller
bird than the pigeon is found in a curious rule respecting the eating
of certain meats. The Jews were forbidden to eat date-shells with the
heathen, unless they were cooked in a vessel with an opening so small
that a Tzippor-deror could not have been introduced into the pot. The
reason of this curious proviso was, that if any unclean flesh, such as
that of the swine, or of any animal which had been offered to idols,
had been cooked in that vessel, even the date-shells would become
unclean. But, if the mouth of the pot were too small for a
Tzippor-deror to be passed through it, such a vessel could not have
been used in cooking meat, and might therefore be assumed to be clean.
Here, then, we have another proof of the small size of the bird. With
regard to this argument, I find myself perplexed as to the
"date-shells." Dates have no shells, and need no cooking, while the
stones are too hard and woody to be rendered edible by any amount of
cooking. Still, the word employed by Lewysohn is "dattelschalen."
The leper's offering was not laid on the altar, but was submitted to a
peculiar manipulation on the part of the priest. Among other points of
ritual, the blood had to be mixed with a certain quantity of water,
which it barely discoloured, staining it of a very pale red. As the
amount of water was the fourth part of a "log," and is defined to be
equal to the contents of six hen's eggs, it was evident that the bird
whose blood would only discolour so small a volume of water must be a
little one.
After giving all these details, the learned writer sums up his
arguments by saying that he believes the Tzippor-deror to be the White
Swallow, which is small, and has claws so sharp that by means of them
it can cling to the wall. Now this action is one of the
characteristics of the Swifts, who often cling to walls for a time,
and then resume their flight. They do so in preference to sitting on
the ground after the fashion of the Swallow, because the great length
of the wings causes the Swift to find some little difficulty in rising
from a level surface. After weighing all the various arguments that
have been urged on the subject, we may conclude that the Tzippor-deror
was the White, or Alpine Swift, which has been already described on
page 389.
THE HOOPOE, OR LAPWING OF SCRIPTURE.
The "Dukiphath" of Scripture--Various interpretations of the
word--The Hoopoe--Its beauty and ill reputation--The unpleasant
odour of its nest--Food of the Hoopoe--Its beautiful nest, and
remarkable gestures--A curious legend of Solomon and the Hoopoe.
In the two parallel chapters, Lev. xi. and Deut. xiv., there occurs
the name of a bird which is translated in the Authorized Version,
Lapwing: "And the stork, the heron after her kind, the lapwing, and
the bat."
The Hebrew word is _dukiphath_, and various interpretations have been
proposed for it, some taking it to be the common domestic fowl, others
the cock-of-the-woods, or capercailzie, while others have preferred to
translate it as Hoopoe. The Jewish Bible retains the word lapwing, but
adds the mark of doubt. Commentators are, however, agreed that of all
these interpretations, that which renders the word as HOOPOE (_Upupa
epops_) is the best.
There would be no particular object in the prohibition of such a bird
as the lapwing, or any of its kin, while there would be very good
reasons for the same injunction with regard to the Hoopoe.
In spite of the beauty of the bird, it has always had rather an ill
reputation, and, whether in Europe or Asia, its presence seems to be
regarded by the ignorant with a kind of superstitious aversion. This
universal distaste for the Hoopoe is probably occasioned by an
exceedingly pungent and disagreeable odour which fills the nest of the
bird, and which infects for a considerable time the hand which is
employed to take the eggs.
The nest is, moreover, well calculated for retaining any unpleasant
smell, being generally made in the hollow of a tree, and having
therefore but little of that thorough ventilation which is found in
nearly all nests which are built on boughs and sprays. The odour in
question proceeds from a substance secreted from the tail-glands of
the Hoopoe, and is not due, as was long supposed, to the food which
was brought to the nest.
[Illustration: THE HOOPOE.]
There was good reason for supposing that this evil odour was caused by
the food, inasmuch as the Hoopoe is in the habit of raking about in
very unsavoury places in search of insects. But it does not therefore
follow that the insects which it finds are possessed of an evil smell.
On the contrary, some of the worst-smelling insects--notably the
lace-wing fly and many of the flower-haunting hemiptera--are
invariably found upon the leaves of trees and the petals of flowers;
while others which, like many of the scarab beetles, haunt the most
repulsive substances, are in themselves bright, and clean, and sweet.
The food of the Hoopoe consists almost entirely of insects. They have
been said to feed on earth-worms; but this notion seems to be a
mistaken one, as in captivity they will not touch an earth-worm so
long as they can procure an insect. Beetles of various kinds seem to
be their favourite food, and when the beetles are tolerably
large--say, for example, as large as the common cockchafer and
dor-beetle--the bird beats them into a soft mass before it attempts to
eat them. Smaller beetles are swallowed without any ceremony. The
various boring insects which make their home in decaying wood are
favourite articles of diet with the Hoopoe, which digs them out of the
soft wood with its long curved beak.
It has already been mentioned that the nest is usually made in the
hollow of a tree. In many parts of the country however, hollow trees
cannot be found, and in that case the Hoopoe resorts to clefts in the
rock, or even to holes in old ruins.
The bird is a peculiarly conspicuous one, not only on account of its
boldly-barred plumage and its beautiful crest, but by its cry and its
gestures. It has a way of elevating and depressing its crest, and
bobbing its head up and down, in a manner which could not fail to
attract the attention even of the most incurious, the whole aspect and
expression of the bird varying with the raising and depressing of the
crest.
Respecting this crest there is a curious old legend. As is the case
with most of the Oriental legends, it introduces the name of King
Solomon, who, according to Oriental notions, was a mighty wizard
rather than a wise king, and by means of his seal, on which was
engraven the mystic symbol of Divinity, held sway over the birds, the
beasts, the elements, and even over the Jinns and Afreets, _i.e._ the
good and evil spirits, which are too ethereal for the material world
and too gross for the spiritual, and therefore hold the middle place
between them.
On one of his journeys across the desert, Solomon was perishing from
the heat of the sun, when the Hoopoes came to his aid, and flew in a
dense mass over his head, thus forming a shelter from the fiery
sunbeams. Grateful for this assistance, the monarch told the Hoopoes
to ask for a boon, and it should be granted to them. The birds, after
consulting together, agreed to ask that from that time every Hoopoe
should wear a crown of gold like Solomon himself. The request was
immediately granted, and each Hoopoe found itself adorned with a
royal crown. At first, while their honours were new, great was the joy
of the birds, who paused at every little puddle of water to
contemplate themselves, bowing their heads over the watery mirror so
as to display the crown to the best advantage.
Soon, however, they found cause to repent of their ambition. The
golden crown became heavy and wearisome to them, and, besides, the
wealth bestowed on the birds rendered them the prey of every fowler.
The unfortunate Hoopoes were persecuted in all directions for the sake
of their golden crowns, which they could neither take off nor conceal.
At last, the few survivors presented themselves before Solomon, and
begged him to rescind his fatal gift, which he did by substituting a
crest of feathers for the crown of gold. The Hoopoe, however, never
forgets its former grandeur, and is always bowing and bending itself
as it used to do when contemplating its golden crown in the water.
THE SPARROW.
Signification of the word _Tzippor_--The bird used for the
leper's sacrifice--The Sparrow upon the house-top--Architecture
of the East--Proclamation from the house-tops--The Blue Thrush,
its appearance and habits--Little birds exposed for sale in the
market--The two Sparrows sold for a farthing--Bird-catching--The
net, the snare, and the trap--The Sparrow that builds her nest
in the Temple--The Tree-Sparrow--Various Sparrows that inhabit
Palestine--Birds kept in cages.
We have already discussed the signification of the compound word
_tzippor-deror_, and will now take the word _tzippor_ alone.
Like many other Hebrew terms, the word is evidently used in a
collective sense, signifying any small bird that is not specially
designated. In several portions of Scripture it is translated as
Sparrow, and to that word we will at present restrict ourselves.
Much difficulty has been found in identifying the bird which is
signified by this word, the various allusions not agreeing with each
other. For example, in the marginal reading in Lev. xiv. 4 it is
employed as a bird of sacrifice. When a leper had found that his
disease had passed away, he was ordered to present himself before the
priest, who would examine him, and decide whether the leprosy had
really passed away or not. If he found that the man was right, a
series of symbolic ceremonies had to be performed before the former
leper could be restored to his place in the congregation.
These ceremonies lasted for eight days, and the first of them was the
sacrificing of the Sparrow. "Then shall the priest command to take for
him that shall be cleansed two birds [_tzipporim_ or sparrows] alive
and clean, and cedar-wood, and scarlet, and hyssop." One of these
birds was to be sacrificed over running water, and the other to be set
free, this sacrifice being analogous to that of the scape-goat.
We see in this passage that the bird in question, whatever it might
be, must be one of those birds which were considered as clean and fit
for food. Indeed, the very use of the word "clean" shows that the
leper was not restricted to any particular species. Had this been the
case, there would have been no necessity for stipulating that the
Tzipporim must belong to the list of _clean_ birds--_i.e._ those which
were permitted as food to the Israelites. Had any definite species
been intended, there would have been no necessity for mentioning the
word "clean" in connexion with the bird.
In the remaining ceremonies no such word is needed. There is no
stipulation that the lamb to be sacrificed should be clean, or, in
case the leper should be a poor man, that the doves which he offers
should be clean. That the lamb should be without blemish is especially
mentioned, because it would not be right to offer a maimed or diseased
animal--he who presented himself before the Lord might not offer a
sacrifice which cost him nothing, and therefore was no true sacrifice.
But the lamb and the dove were known to be "clean" animals, so it was
useless to use the word in connexion with them. If, therefore, the
words "clean birds" (_tzipporim_) be mentioned, it is evident that the
leper might select any of the Tzipporim, provided that it be one of
the species that was acknowledged to be dean.
Here, then, we have an example that the Sparrow might be a bird of
sacrifice. We will now pass to Ps. cii. 5-7, in which we find that the
word is used as an emblem of solitude and misery: "By reason of the
voice of my groaning, my bones cleave to my skin.
"I am like a pelican of the wilderness: I am like an owl of the
desert.
"I watch, and am as a sparrow alone upon the house-top."
The word which is here translated as "Sparrow" is _tzippor_, the same
which is rendered as "bird" in Lev. xiv. 4. The Hebrew Bible more
consistently uses the collective term "bird" in both instances, and
renders the passage as, "I watch, and am as a lonely bird upon a
roof."
Now, any one who knows the habits of the Sparrow is perfectly aware
that it is a peculiarly sociable bird. It is quarrelsome enough with
its fellows, and always ready to fight for a stray grain or morsel of
food; but it is exceedingly gregarious, assembling together in little
parties, enlivening the air with its merry though unmusical
twitterings.
This cosmopolitan bird is plentiful in the coast towns of Palestine,
where it haunts the habitations of men with the same dauntless
confidence which it displays in England. It is often seen upon roofs
or house-tops, but is no more apt to sit alone in Palestine than it is
in England. On the contrary, the Sparrows collect in great numbers on
the house-tops, attracted by the abundant supply of food which it
finds there. This requires some little explanation.
The house-tops of the East, instead of being gabled and tiled as among
ourselves, to allow the rain to run off, are quite flat, and serve as
terraces or promenades in the evening, or even for sleeping-places;
and from the house-tops proclamations were made. See, for example, 1
Sam. ix. 25: "And when they were come down from the high place into
the city, Samuel communed with Saul upon the top of the house"--this
being the ordinary place which would be chosen for a conversation. In
order to keep out the heat of the mid-day sun, tents were sometimes
pitched upon these flat house-tops. (See 2 Sam. xvi. 22.) Reference to
the use of the house-tops as places for conversation are made in the
New Testament. See, for example, Matt. x. 27: "What I tell you in
darkness, that speak ye in light; and what ye hear in the ear, that
preach ye upon the house-tops." Another passage of a similar nature
occurs in Luke xii. 3: "Therefore whatsoever ye have spoken in
darkness shall be heard in the light, and that which ye have spoken in
the ear in closets shall be proclaimed on the house-tops."
These roofs, instead of being built with sloping rafters like those to
which we are accustomed in this country, are made with great beams of
wood laid horizontally, and crossed by planks, poles, and brushwood
packed tightly together. As this roof would not keep out the rain, it
is covered with a thick layer of clay mixed with straw, and beaten
down as hard as possible. This covering has constantly to be renewed,
as, even in the best made roofs, the heavy rains are sure to wash away
some portion of the clay covering, which has to be patched up with a
fresh supply of earth. A stone roller is generally kept on the roof of
each house for the purpose of making a flat and even surface.
The earth which is used for this purpose is brought from the
uncultivated ground, and is full of various seeds. As soon as the
rains fall, these seeds spring up, and afford food to the Sparrows and
other little birds, who assemble in thousands on the house-tops, and
then peck away just as they do in our own streets and farm-yards.
It is now evident that the "sparrow alone and melancholy upon the
house-tops" cannot be the lively, gregarious Sparrow which assembles
in such numbers on these favourite feeding-places. We must therefore
look for some other bird, and naturalists are now agreed that we may
accept the BLUE THRUSH (_Petrocossyphus cyaneus_) as the particular
Tzippor, or small bird, which sits alone on the house-tops. The colour
of this bird is a dark blue, whence it derives its popular name. Its
habits exactly correspond with the idea of solitude and melancholy.
The Blue Thrushes never assemble in flocks, and it is very rare to see
more than a pair together. It is fond of sitting on the tops of
houses, uttering its note, which, however agreeable to itself, is
monotonous and melancholy to a human ear.
In connexion with the passage already quoted, "What ye hear in the
ear, that preach ye upon the house-tops," I will take the opportunity
of explaining the passage itself, which scarcely seems relevant to the
occasion unless we understand its bearings. The context shows that our
Lord was speaking of the new doctrines which He had come to teach,
and the duty of spreading them, and alludes to a mode of religious
teaching which was then in vogue.
[Illustration: THE BLUE THRUSH, OR SPARROW OF SCRIPTURE.
"_I am as a sparrow alone upon the house-tops._"--PS. cii. 7.]
The long captivity of the Jews in Babylon had caused the Hebrew
language to be disused among the common people, who had learned the
Chaldaic language from their captors. After their return to Palestine,
the custom of publicly reading the Scriptures was found to be
positively useless, the generality of the people being ignorant of the
Hebrew language.
Accordingly, the following modification was adopted. The roll of the
Scriptures was brought out as usual, and the sacred words read, or
rather chanted. After each passage was read, a doctor of the law
whispered its meaning into the ear of a Targumista or interpreter, who
repeated to the people in the Chaldaic language the explanation which
the doctor had whispered in Hebrew. The reader will now see how
appropriate is the metaphor, the whispering in the ear and subsequent
proclamation being the customary mode of imparting religious
instruction.
If the reader will now turn to Matt. x. 29, he will find that the word
"sparrow" is used in a passage which has become very familiar to us.
"Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not
fall on the ground without your Father.
"But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.
"Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows." The
same sentences are given by St. Luke (xii. 6), in almost the same
words.
Now the word which is translated as "Sparrow" is _strouthion_, a
collective word, signifying a bird of any kind. Without the addition
of some epithet, it was generally used to signify any kind of small
bird, though it is occasionally employed to signify even so large a
creature as an eagle, provided that the bird had been mentioned
beforehand. Conjoined with the word "great," it signifies the ostrich;
and when used in connexion with a word significative of running, it is
employed as a general term for all cursorial birds.
In the passages above quoted it is used alone, and evidently signifies
any kind of little bird, whether it be a sparrow or not. Allusion is
made by our Lord to a custom, which has survived to the present day,
of exposing for sale in the markets the bodies of little birds. They
are stripped of their feathers, and spitted together in rows, just as
are larks in this country, and always have a large sale. Various birds
are sold in this manner, little if any distinction being made between
them, save perhaps in respect of size, the larger species commanding a
higher price than the small birds. In fact, they are arranged exactly
after the manner in which the Orientals sell their "kabobs," _i.e._
little pieces of meat pierced by wooden skewers.
It is evident that to supply such a market it is necessary that the
birds should be of a tolerably gregarious nature, so that a
considerable number can be caught at a time. Nets were employed for
this purpose, and we may safely infer that the forms of the nets and
the methods of using them were identical with those which are employed
in the same country at the present day.
It is rather curious that the mode of bird-catching which is familiar
to us under the name of bat-fowling is employed in the East. The
fowlers supply themselves with a large net supported on two sticks,
and, taking a lantern with them fastened to the top of a pole, they
sally out at night to the places where the small birds sleep.
Raising the net on its sticks, they lift it to the requisite height,
and hold the lantern exactly opposite to it, so as to place the net
between the birds and the lantern. The roosting-places are then beaten
with sticks or pelted with stones, so as to awaken the sleeping birds.
Startled by the sudden noise, they dash from their roosts,
instinctively make towards the light, and so fall into the net.
Bird-catching with nets is several times mentioned in the Old
Testament, but in the New the net is only alluded to as used for
taking fish.
Beside the net, several other modes of bird-catching were used by the
ancient Jews, just as is the case at the present day. Boys, for
example, who catch birds for their own consumption, and not for the
market, can do so by means of various traps, most of which are made on
the principle of the noose, or snare. Sometimes a great number of
hair-nooses are set in places to which the birds are decoyed, so that
in hopping about many of them are sure to become entangled in the
snares. Sometimes the noose is ingeniously suspended in a narrow
passage which the birds are likely to traverse, and sometimes a simple
fall-trap is employed.
To these nooses many allusions are made in the Scriptures. See, for
example, Ps. cxxiv. 7: "Our soul is escaped as a bird (_tzippor_) out
of the snare of the fowlers: the snare is broken, and we are escaped."
Also Prov. vii. 23: "He goeth after her straightway, as an ox goeth to
the slaughter ... as a bird hasteneth to the snare, and knoweth not
that it is for his life." There is one passage in Ecclesiastes, where
both the fishing-net and the snare are mentioned in connexion with
each other: "For man knoweth not his time: as the fishes that are
taken in an evil net, and as the birds that are caught in the snare;
so are the sons of men snared in an evil time, when it falleth
suddenly upon them" (ix. 12).
Allusion is also made to the snare by the prophet Amos in one of the
passages where his rough, homely diction rises by successive steps
into sublimity: "Can a bird fall in a snare upon the earth, where no
gin is for him? shall one take up a snare from the earth, and have
taken nothing at all?" (iii. 5.)