168 POPULAR SCRIPTURE ZOOLOGY.

mon European species. The kite is named in Leviticus x1:
as an unclean bird, and there only.

Srurx.—The Owl. (Plate XI. Strix flammea, the Barn
Owl.)

This name is mentioned three times in Leviticus xi., as
the “owl,” “little owl,” and “great owl,” and again in
Isaiah xxxiv., the “screech owl ;” but all these are supposed
to point out different birds. The first, ath-hayyanah, trans-
lated “owl,” is generally agreed to denote the ostrich ;
yanshuph, the “great owl,” seems to be the sacred ibis ;
these two will be therefore noticed elsewhere. Cos, the
“little owl,” and éachmas, the “night-hawk,” remain to be
considered: with regard to the latter there seems to be
considerable obscurity as to species, but its original name
signifies a bird of ravenous and predatory habits, and Has-
selquist describes one as “of the size of a common owl, and
being very ravenous in Syria; and in the evenings, if the
windows are left open, flying into houses and killing infants
unless they are carefully watched.” This may be the bird °
in question, but it is quite impossible to come to any satis-
factory decision. ‘The “little owl” is probably the common
barn owl, Série flammea, which is widely distributed over
Europe, Asia, and America; some writers think the sea-