thirty-fourth chapter of Isaiah, the yansuph is mentioned as frequenting the desolated land of Edom, which, according to Dr Shaw, is remarkably destitute of water, and by consequence, quite improper for the abode of a water fowl, which feeds on fish. It is admitted, that the kaath or pelican, another water fowl, is mentioned in the same text with yansuph; that all the larger water fowls are extremely shy; that they sometimes build their nests in retired places, a long way from the water where they seek their food; and that even the common heron will come at least twelve or fourteen miles, and perhaps much farther from her usual residence, to the lakes and streams which abound with fish. But no argument can be founded on the arrangements of Scripture, in matters of this kind; because the inspired writers do not always observe a strict order, or scientific classification. It ought also to be remembered, that in the passage quoted from Isaiah, the yansuph is connected with the raven, which is not an aquatic bird. The owl and the raven are associated with greater propriety in scenes of desolation, to which they have been assigned by the common suffrage of the human race, and accordingly regarded as inauspicious birds, and objects of fear and aversion. "Foeda que fit volucris venturi nuntia luctus Ignavus bubo dirum mortalibus omen." Ovid. The presence of the owl and the raven, two hateful birds, in company with the cormorant and the bittern, greatly heighten the general effect of the picture delineated by the prophet: "But the cormorant and the bittern shall possess it; the owl also and the raven shall dwell in it; and he shall stretch out upon it the line of confusion, and the stones of emptiness." The Pelican. The pelican is another bird of the desert, to which the sacred writers sometimes allude. Its Hebrew name is kaath, literally the vomiter, from the Hebrew word kaah, to vomit. The reason assigned for this name by the ancients is, that it discharges the shells it had swallowed, after they have been opened by the heat of its belly, in order to pick out the fish, which form its principal food. This fact, says Bochart, is so generally attested by the writers of antiquity, that it cannot be called in question; and then cites a great number of authorities in its support. But with all deference to this learned writer, it may be justly doubted, if this bird really takes the shell fish on which it feeds, into its stomach, in the first instance; it is more probable that it deposites them in the bag or pouch under its lower chap, which serves not only as a net to catch, but also as a repository for its food. In feeding its young ones, (whether this bag is loaded with water or more solid food,) the pelican squeezes the contents of it into their mouths, by strongly compressing it upon its breast with its bill; an action which may well justify the propriety of the name which it received from the ancient Hebrews. To the same habit, it is probable, may be traced the traditionary report, that the pelican, in feeding her young, pierces her own breast, and nourishes them with her blood. Shaw contends, that kaath cannot mean the pelican, because the royal Psalmist describes it as a bird of the wilderness, where that fowl must necessarily starve, because its large webbed feet, and capacious pouch, with the manner of catching its food, which can only be in the water, shew it to be entirely a water fowl. But this objection proceeds on the supposition, that the deserts which it frequents contain no water, which is a mistake; for Ptolemy places three lakes in the interior parts of Marmorica, which is extremely desolate; and Moses informs us, that the people of Israel met with the waters of Mara, and the fountains of Elim, in the barren sands of Arabia. Besides, it is well known that a water fowl often retires to a great distance from her favourite haunts; and this is confirmed by a fact, which Parkhurst states from the writings of Isidore, that the pelican inhabits the solitudes of the Nile. This far famed river, as we know from the travels of Mr Bruce, rolls its flood through an immense and frightful desert, where water fowls of different kinds undoubtedly find a secure retreat. Mr Bruce himself sprang a duck in the burning wilderness, at a considerable distance from its banks, which immediately winged her flight towards it; a clear proof of her being famili arly acquainted with its course. From this circumstance we may infer, that the pelican is no stranger to the most desert and inhospitable borders of the Nile. It also appears from Damir, the Arabian naturalist, quoted by the learned Bochart, that the pelican, like the duck which Bruce found in the desert of Senaar, does not always remain in the water, but sometimes retires from it to a great distance; and indeed its monstrous pouch, which, according to Edwards, in his natural history of birds, is capable of receiving twice the size of a man's head, seems to be given it for this very reason, that it might not want food for itself and its young ones, when at a distance from the water. Bochart is of opinion, that kaath, in some passages of Scripture, is intended to express the bittern, which differs from the pelican, by his own admission, only in the form of the bill. Thus, the holy Psalmist complains, "I am like a pelican (bittern) of the wilderness; I am like an owl of the desert *." The clear and consistent exposition of this passage, he contends, requires the word kaath to be rendered bittern; because the sacred writer compares himself to the bittern and the owl, or more properly the ostrich, on account of his groaning. It is therefore natural to conclude, that both these animals have a mournful cry. Many reasons have been advanced, to prove that the chos, rendered in our translation the owl, is in reality the female ostrich; of which this is one, that it has a most hideous voice, resembling, in a very remarkable manner, the lamentations of a human being in deep affliction. That the Psalmist may be consistent with himself, the same thing must be asserted of the kaath, which it would be difficult to admit, if that term signified only the pelican; for natural historians *Psa. cii. 6. observe a profound silence in relation to the voice of that bird. But if the name kaath is common to the bittern and the pelican, the difficulty vanishes, for the former has a clear voice. All the ancient natural historians agree, that the bittern, by inserting its bill in the mud of the marsh, or plunging it under water, utters a most disagreeable cry, like the roaring of a bull, or the sound of distant thunder. But the opinion of that celebrated writer, in this instance, rests upon a false, or at least an uncertain foundation. The afflicted Psalmist seems to refer, not so much to the plaintive voice of these birds, as to their lonely situation in the wilderness. One of the first and most common effects of pungent grief, is the desire of solitude; and on this occasion, the royal Psalmist, oppressed with grief, seems to have become weary of society, and like the pelican, or the female ostrich, to have contracted a relish for deep retirement. Besides, as our author allows that the pelican and the bittern differ only in the form of the bill, the translation for which he contends is of no real importance; and it is certainly a good rule to admit of no change in a received translation, unless it can be shewn, that the new term or phrase expresses the meaning of the original with greater justness, propriety, or elegance. The Stork. This bird has long been celebrated for her amiable and pious dispositions, in which she has no rival among the feathered race. Her Hebrew name is hasida, which signifies pious or benign; to the honour of which, her character and habits, as described by the pen of antiquity, prove her to be fully entitled. She is thus celebrated by an ancient poet, "Ciconia etiam grata, peregrina, hospita Pietati-cultrix."--- Petronius. Her kind and benevolent temper she discovers in feeding her parents in the time of incubation, when they have not leisure to seek their food, or when they have become old, and unable to provide for themselves. This attention of the stork to her parents, is confirmed by the united voice of antiquity; and we find nothing in the Scriptures to invalidate the testimony. She was classed by the Jewish lawgiver among the unclean birds, probably because she feeds on serpents, and other venomous animals, and rears her young by means of the same species of food. This fact is attested by Juvenal in these lines, serpente ciconia pullos Nutrit et inventa per devia rura lacerta." In the challenge which the Almighty addressed to Job, the wings and feathers of the ostrich are compared with those of the stork; "Gavest thou the goodly wings unto the peacocks, or wings and feathers unto the ostrich;" or as it is rendered by the learned Bochart, and after him by Shaw: "the plumage of the stork." Natural historians inform us, that the wings are tipped with black, and a part of the head and thighs are adorned with feathers of the same colour; the rest of the body is white. Albert says, the stork has black wings, the tail, and other parts white; while Turner asserts, that the wings are white, spotted with black. From these different accounts, it is evident that the feathers of the stork are black and white, and not always disposed in the same manner. She constructs her nest with admirable skill, of dry twigs from the forest, and coarse grass from the marsh; but, wisely yielding to circumstances, she does not confine herself to one situation. At one time she selects for her dwelling the pinnacle of a deserted tower, or the canal of an ancient aqueduct; at another, the roof of a church or dwelling house. She frequently retires from the noise and bustle of the town, into the circumjacent fields; but she never builds her nest on the ground. She chooses the highest tree of the forest for her dwelling; but always prefers the fir, when it is equally suitable to her purpose. This fact is clearly stated by the Psalmist, in his meditation on the power of God: "As for the stork, the fir trees are her house *." In another passage, the Psalmist * Psa. civ. 17. |