220 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. XIV. 



them, with the wings of bats, though some occur 

 with the feathered wings of birds. Had the Egyp- 

 tians themselves beheved the existence of that 

 kind of serpent, we may reasonably suppose they 

 would not have omitted it, in the numerous scenes 

 connected with the Evil Being, of whom this hateful 

 monster would have been an appropriate type. We 

 may therefore conclude that Herodotus was im- 

 posed upon, by some deceitful or credulous Egyp- 

 tian, who showed him the back bones of serpents 

 mixed with the wings and bones of bats j which 

 last abound in great numbers in Egypt, and may 

 have been found in the gorge, near Buto.* 



The common Ibis mentioned by Herodotus cor- 

 responds with the Numenius Ibis, or Ibis religiosa, 

 of modern naturalists, as Cuvier has shown t; but 

 this is not the Ibis famed for its attack on the ser- 

 pents, which was less common, and of a black 

 colour. Those we find embalmed are the Nume- 

 nius. They are white, with black pinions and tail : 

 the body measures 12 inches, and 4i in diameter, 

 and the beak about half a foot. The leg, from the 

 knee to the plant of the foot, is about 44 inches, 

 and the foot the same length ; the wing, from the 

 pinion-joint to the extremity of the feathers, being 

 nearly 10 inches. 



The Ardea Ibis of Hasselquist, which is a small 

 heron with a striught beak, has no claim to the title 



* From his never mentioning locusts, some niiglit suppose lie had 

 miidc this mistake on seeing the hones and wings of tliose insects; but 

 the form of the snui<cs, tlie hat's wings, and wiiat he afterwards says of 

 their living in Arahin, j)revent this conclusion. Ilerodot. ii. 15. and iii. 

 107. 109. 



-f- Jameson's Cuv. Theory of the Earth, p. 300. el sc<j. 



