The Birds of the Assyrian Monuments and Records. 87 
lias with other meanings that of " running swiftly," and 
under this Arabic root we find a bird called sandal ( \*\\\ 
mentioned as "nomen avis vorantis napellum," "the name of 
a bird which devours the herb napellum," whatever that 
may be. The idea gathered from the whole consideration 
of the two words seems to be that of " some long-legged 
pouch bird which runs with great swiftness," and I am 
strongly disposed to believe that the great bustard (Otis 
tarda) is denoted. This bird runs with great swiftness, 
using its wings sail-like, after the manner of ostriches, to 
accelerate its speed. When it flies, it moves its wings slowly 
like a heron, the flight of which bird we often speak of as 
" sailing " in the air. They are shy and timid birds, easily 
scared, expressing strong marks of fear on the appearance 
of even a small hawk overhead. The male bird is charac- 
terised by a peculiar membranous pouch or bag, capable of 
holding seven wine pints of liquid ; the entrance into it is 
between the under side of the tongue and the lower mandible 
of the bill. The function of this remarkable anatomical 
peculiarity is, I believe, not known; female birds are 
destitute of it, neither is it present in all the males. The 
great bustard is mentioned by Ainsworth as occurring in 
Mesopotamia ; it is frequently met with in the stony dis- 
tricts of Syria ; sometimes as a solitary bird or in pairs, 
sometimes in large flocks. According to Blanford and 
Major St. John, the great bustard is found in the Caspian 
Islands, near Astrabad, in Armenia, and is believed to be an 
occasional visitant to many parts of Northern Persia. In the 
Transcaucasian provinces of Russia it is common. Such a 
bird would certainly have been known to the ancient 
Assyrians and Accadians. As an article of food the flesh of 
the bustard is highly esteemed ; and, according to the late 
ornithologist Mr. Gould, this bird is frequently seen on the 
Continent exposed for sale in the markets. 1 Doubtless the 
ancient dwellers in the lands where the great bustard was 
found used to hunt it, and eat its flesh. So remarkable a 
structure as the gular pouch possessed by the male bird, is 
a character which the observant Accadians could not fail to 
1 Xenophon (Atiab., I, v, 4) says " the flesh of the bustard is very sweet." 
