THE SAMARMAN« 415 



«pr'mg, which might otherwise perish of hunger in the desert.* 

 The parents sit by turns ; for it is an error to suppose that 

 they leave their eggs to be hatched in the sun ; and while 

 one is on the nest the other keeps watch on the summit of the 

 adjacent hill, which circumstance sometimes enables the 

 Arabs to kill them. The usual mode of taking them is by 

 digging a hole in the ground near the eggs, into which the 

 Bedouin puts his loaded gun pointed towards the nest, and 

 having a long burning match fastened to the lock. After he 

 has retired for some time, the ostrich returns, and not per- 

 ceiving any enemy it rejoins its mate sitting upon the eggs. 

 In a short while, the match being burnt down, the gun is 

 discharged ; and the two birds are frequently killed at one 

 shot. The inhabitants in the district of Jof purchase and 

 eat their flesh ; the eggs are reckoned dehcious food, and 

 are sold for about a shilling each. The shells are hung in 

 rooms as ornaments ; and the feathers are carried to the 

 markets of Aleppo and Damascus, where they bring about 

 two shillings a piece. Sometimes the whole skin is sold with 

 the feathers upon it : the price, when Burckhardt was at 

 Aleppo in 1811, was from 250 to 600 piastres the rotolo, 

 being from 21. lOs. to 6/. per lb. A beautiful lapwing 

 (called hudhiid) is common on the shores of the Persian Gulf. 

 The Arabs have a fabulous tradition, perhaps descended from 

 Solomon, that its language may be understood. 



There is a bird named Samarman or Samarmog, to which 

 the Arabs pay a degree of respect bordering on adoration. 

 It is thought to be a native of Khorasan, and is ranked among 

 the thrushes by Forskal, who calls it Turdus seleucus. It 

 comes annually into Arabia in pursuit of the locusts, of 

 which it destroys incredible numbers. The service done 

 by it, in protecting vegetation from the desolating ravages of 

 these insects, has given rise to several ridiculous and super- 

 stitious practices. The Syrian Arabs believe that it is 

 attracted from Persia by means of water, which for this pur- 

 pose they bring from a distance with great ceremony, and 

 preserve in a stone reservoir on the top of the tower of a 

 mosque at Mosul. When this consecrated liquid fails, the in- 

 habitants are in despair. The periodical visits of the samar 



* This instinctive habit of the female ostrich is, however, 

 doubled by same authors. 



