AVES. 93 



1 86. Bubo ascalaphns. Savlgny. Descr. Egj'pte, p. 295. Egyptian 

 Eagle Owl. Hebr., ^^r.. Arabic, U*j, Bafa. 



This takes the place of the Eagle Owl of Northern Europe, and 

 occurs more frequently than most of the other species, except the Little 

 Owl. In the rolling uplands of Beersheba it resorts to burrows in the 

 ground. In Rabbah (Amman) it has its home among the ruins, and in 

 the ravines of Galilee and in the Jordan valley it retires in security to the 

 most inaccessible caverns. 



The Egyptian Eagle Owl has a very limited range, extending from 

 Algeria eastward to Palestine, and especially abundant in Egypt. It has 

 not been observed in Persia or Asia Minor, nor does it seem to reach far 

 into Africa. 



187. Athene glanx. (Savigny. Syst. Ois. de I'Egypte, p. 45.) 

 Southern Little Owl. 



There are five Hebrew words employed to express the Owl, and though 

 it is difficult to decide definitely which species is denoted by each word, 

 it is reasonable to assign the names to the five species most common in 

 Palestine. In the determination we are aided sometimes by the deriva- 

 tion and the context. The Hebrew 013, A. V., ' Little Owl,' lit. ' Cup,' and 

 spoken of (Psalm cii. 6) as the Owl of ruined places, probably denotes this 

 species ; in Arabic, ^q*^, Boomeh, and often called ' the mother of ruins.' 



It is one of the most universally distributed birds in every part of the 

 Holy Land. In the olive-yards round the villages, in the rocks of the 

 Wadys, in the thickets by the water-side, in the tombs, in the wells, or on 

 the ruins ; among the desolate heaps which mark the sites of ancient 

 Judah, on the sandy mounds of Beersheba, or on the spray-beaten frag- 

 ments of Tyre, his low wailing note is sure to be heard at sunset, and 

 himself seen bowing and keeping time to his own music. The Little 

 Owl is a great favourite, and considered lucky by the Arabs. This bird 

 was the symbol of ancient Athens, admirably represented on its coins, the 

 badge of Minerva or of wisdom. 



It is very like Athene noctna, the Little Owl of Europe, differing 

 only in its smaller size and much paler coloration. It is not found north 

 of the Mediterranean, and seems confined to North Africa, Syria, Persia, 

 and Affghanistan. 



