תחמס, Lev. xi, 16; Deut. xiv, 15. That this is a voracious
bird seems clear from the import of its name; and interpreters are
generally agreed to describe it as flying by night. On the whole, it
should seem to be the _strix orientalis_, which Hasselquist thus
describes: It is of the size of the common owl, and lodges in the large
buildings or ruins of Egypt and Syria, and sometimes even in the
dwelling houses. The Arabs settled in Egypt call it massasa,” and the
Syrians banu.” It is extremely voracious in Syria; to such a degree,
that if care is not taken to shut the windows at the coming on of night,
he enters the houses and kills the children: the women, therefore, are
very much afraid of him.
bird seems clear from the import of its name; and interpreters are
generally agreed to describe it as flying by night. On the whole, it
should seem to be the _strix orientalis_, which Hasselquist thus
describes: It is of the size of the common owl, and lodges in the large
buildings or ruins of Egypt and Syria, and sometimes even in the
dwelling houses. The Arabs settled in Egypt call it massasa,” and the
Syrians banu.” It is extremely voracious in Syria; to such a degree,
that if care is not taken to shut the windows at the coming on of night,
he enters the houses and kills the children: the women, therefore, are
very much afraid of him.