EXHIBIT OF BIBLICAL ANTIQUITIES. 963 



among- the Arabs, is also called the "mother of ruins," as no ruin or 

 tomb of pretension will readily be found without one. This species is 

 a great favorite with the Arabs, being regarded as lucky and friendly 

 to man. 



Partridge {Caccabis chucar, Hebrew Qore). — Reference is made to 

 the partridge in Samuel xxvi, 20, "as when one dotli hunt a partridge 

 in the mountains," and in Jeremiah xvii, 11, as the partridge (margin 

 of Eevised Version "sitteth on eggs which she hath not laid,") "gath- 

 ereth young which she hath not brought forth," alluding to the ancient 

 belief that the partridge was in the habit of stealing eggs and hatching 

 them. Besides the chucar partridge, Hey's sand partridge {Amnoperdix 

 heyi) is abundant in Palestine and in Sinai. 



Peacock {Favo cristatus; Hebrew, Tukkiyim). — The peacock is men- 

 tioned among the animals brought by Solomon's shii)S from Tarshish.^ 

 It is an Indian bird, and the Hebrew name can be traced to the Tamil 

 tol<ei Malabar togai^ tdghai, "the crested bird." In some parts of India 

 it is very abundant and almost domesticated. It is venerated by the 

 Hindus, and large flocks are kept at their temples. It made its appear- 

 ance in Greece in the middle of the fifth century B. C, and was adopted 

 at Samos as the sacred bird of Hera (Juno) at the temple of that goddess, 

 the Heranim. 



Pelican {PelecanHs onoerotalns ; Hebrew, Qcv'atli). — The pelican is one 

 of the unclean birds,' being regarded as an emblem of desolation and 

 ruin.^ From the habit of this bird of storing quantities of food in the 

 large pouch attached to its lower mandible, for the pur])ose of feeding 

 its young, which it does by pressing its beak against its breast, the 

 fable arose that the pelican opened its breast with its beak and fed its 

 young with its own blood, which seemed to derive support from the red 

 tips at the end of the bill. Besides the common white pelican another 

 species, the Dalmatian pelican [Peleeanus crispus), is found, but less 

 commonly, on the coast of Syria. 



Quail {Cotumlv commicnis; Hebrew, Selav). — Quails are mentioned 

 in the Bible only in connection with the miraculous supply of food which 

 they formed for the Israelites upon two occasions, in the wilderness of 

 Sin^ and at Kibroth Hataavah,'^ They are the smallest representatives 

 of the partridge family and breed in numbers in Palestine. They 

 arrive in vast flocks by night in March and a few remain throughout 

 .the winter. Their flesh is considered a delicacj^ 



Raven {Corrus corax ; Hebrew, Oreb). — The raven is the first bird 

 mentioned by name in the Bible :** "And he sent forth a raven, and it 



' I Kings X, 22; II Chronicles ix, 21. 

 -Leviticus xi, 18; Deuteronomy xiv, 17. 



'Isaiah xxxiv, 11 : " But the pelican and porcupine shall possess it ;" Zephaniah ii, 

 14: "Both the pelican and the porcupine shall lodge in the chapters thereof." 

 ■•Exodus xvi, 13. 



"Numbers xi, 31-3'J; compare Psalms Ixxviii, 27, and cv, 40. 

 " Genesis viii, 7. 



