GIER EAGLE

רחם , Lev. xi, 18; Deut. xiv, 17. As the root of this word signifies tenderne and affection , it is supposed to refer to some bird remarkable for its attachment to its young; hence some have thought that the pelican is to be understood; and Bochart endeavours to prove that the golden vulture is meant; but there can be no doubt that it is the percnopterus of the ancients, the ach-bobba of the Arabians, particularly described by Bruce under the name of rachamah . He says, “We know from Horus Apollo, that the rachma , or she vulture, was sacred to Isis, and adorned the statue of the godde ; that it was the emblem of parental affection; and that it was the hieroglyphic for an affectionate mother.” He farther says, that “this female vulture, having hatched her young ones, continues with them one hundred and twenty days, providing them with all nece aries; and, when the stock of food fails them, she tears off the fleshy part of her thigh, and feeds them with that and the blood which flows from the wound.” Ha el quist thus describes the Egyptian vulture: “The appearance of the bird is as horrid as can well be imagined. The face is naked and wrinkled, the eyes are large and black, the beak black and crooked, the talons large, and extended ready for prey, and the whole body polluted with filth. These are qualities enough to make the beholder shudder with horror. Notwithstanding this, the inhabitants of Egypt cannot be enough thankful to Providence for this bird. All the places round Cairo are filled with the dead bodies of a es and camels; and you sands of these birds fly about and devour the carca es, before they putrify and fill the air with noxious exhalations.” No wonder that such an animal should be deemed unclean.