The Birch of the Assyrian Monuments and Records, 101 
Accadian name is GIR GID DA (^^E ^ff)? "the long- 
legged bird. Sakatuv may be compared with the Arabic 
jJu; (saka?) " abiit, declivavit, deflexit a via, recta," and may 
allude to the well-known habit of these birds always 
running in circles when hunted. Gam GAM is in the syllabaries 
(W.A.I., III, pi. 70, 1. 48-49) compared with gi-mil-lu (*?£& 
"to recompense,") and sikru, "a reward 05^?)* ^ * s no ^ eas y 
to see the exact meaning of this expression as applied to the 
ostrich. Delitzsch thinks it to be synonymous with what is 
said of the stork (rVTpn;) "the pious bird." The Hebrews, it 
is known, regarded the ostrich as a cruel bird in neglecting 
its young, as they supposed, and the Arabs considered this 
bird as the emblem of stupidity. Still the Arabs used the 
word nadm 1^3 ^ as the name of the ostrich, although the 
verb from whence the name is derived always refers to what 
is pleasant and good. Whatever reasons there may be for 
these names, implying " benefit " or " good disposition," 
whether the benefit refers to that derived from man by the 
birds' capture, or to the supposed good the birds showed to 
each other, it is certain that they are names by which the 
ostrich was known ; and with this knowledge I suppose we 
must be content. 
(40.) W.A.L, II, pi. 37, No. 1, obv., 1. 8, ^ggjf 
si-M-in-gu, ^<S- ^Jf^ £>^| bu^rudu, compared 
with line 48, No. 2, obv., £^V^f KI^J >^T~< az-ci-ku, and 
lEJf si-lik-ku = Accad. NAM BIR NAM KHU. 
The Accadian name clearly points to some bird of omen 
or destiny, and the silingu of the Assyrian column is, I think, 
also to be referred to an Accadian origin, viz., to the word 
silik, " propitious," beneficial. The name of bu-ri-du is 
explained in the Talmud as " a bird of a speckled colour," 
(NTQ f Nn*rQ (feTTN *Q), " Vogel von gesprenkter Farbe," 
Arab, (see "Aruch Completum," Dr. Alex. Kohut, p. 172). 
Lewysohn (" Die Zool. des Talm.," p. 187) quotes Landau, who 
identifies this bar da with the " Snow Finch." The word 
buridu seems to point to some bird which is found in cold 
