The Vulture (Nesser).— Excepting the ostrich, this is the largest bird in Africa; it is common in all places where the gum ammoniac plant grows, and it is said to feed on the horned beetle, which lives upon that plant. In the plains east of El Araiche, where the plant abounds, I have seen at least twenty of these birds in the air at once, darting down on the insects with astonishing rapidity. They build their nests on lofty precipices, high rocks, and in dreary parts of the mountains. Mr. Bruce calls this bird the Nessir, or golden eagle, but I apprehend he has committed an error in denominating it an eagle, the generical name of which, in the Arabic language, is El Bezz.
The Eagle.—Bezz el Horreh designates the largest species of eagle, with undescribably clear and beautiful eyes of an orange colour. I shot one of these birds in crossing the Atlas mountains between Marocco and Terodant, and attempted to preserve it for the purpose of sending it to Europe, but it died on the third day. This is the bird which is reported by the Africans to engender the dragon on the female hyæna; a chimera originating undoubtedly in some Arabian fable or allegorical tradition, though generally credited by the inhabitants of Atlas, who affirm the dragon thus engendered to have the wings and beak of an eagle, a serpent’s tail, and short feet like a hyæna, the eye-lids never closed, and that it lives in caves like the hyæna.
Hawks and Falcons.—The Shereefs and Bashaws, and higher orders of society, are much attached to falconry. Muley Teib, brother to the present Emperor, was passionately fond of this kind of sport, and had the best falcons in the country. They teach these young hawks dexterously to fly at and catch ducks, wild-geese, partridges, hares, bustards, and antelopes; the latter, however, is too strong to be held by the falcon, which hovers about its head, and impedes its progress, till the greyhounds come up with it and secure it. I have hunted with the prince Muley Teib and his falconers several times, accompanied by Dr. Bell, an English surgeon who attended him.
White Herons (Bufullel).—The white heron differs from the garde bœufs[107]) ox-keepers; it is called bufula in the singular number; the garde bœuf is called by the Arabs Teer el bukkera, which signifies the cow bird, as the large red-spotted lizard is called Erdar el bukkera, because it sucks the cows’ milk. A person might, however, easily mistake the garde bœuf for the white heron, as I did once myself; having killed about a hundred at different times, I have often shot the former for the latter; the Arabs always persuaded me they were not the same; and in fact so I found, for I never saw a heron killed near a cow; they are found on the banks of rivers, where they feed on worms; at a distance of fifty yards, they are exactly the same in appearance; the heron, however, when examined, appears to differ in the colour of the legs, which are black, whereas those of the garde bœuf are yellowish, or brown: the heron has two long narrow feathers on the crown of the head, hanging over the neck; the garde bœuf has none: the heron has from twenty to a hundred aigrette feathers on its back; the garde bœuf has none. With regard to what is said in the note below,[108] it may be observed that the transposition or omission of one point or dot, in the Arabic language, is sufficient to make bufula, bukula; nay more, what is bukula in the west, is written the same in the east, and pronounced bufula, for the k of the western Arabs is the s of the eastern. But the curlew is called bukula, and the white heron, or egret, bufula in the east, as well as in the west.
The Bustard abounds in the provinces of Temsena, Benihassen, and Duquella; some are also found in Abda and Suse: being a shy bird, the Arabs approach it gradually, and in a circular line: when they reach within a hundred yards, they fall down, and creep along the ground gently till they come within shot. The flesh of this bird is much esteemed, and is considered an acceptable present by men of high rank.
The Stork (B’elharge.)—The general colour of the stork’s plumage is white, the extremities of the wings being tipped with black; they are from two to three feet in height from the feet to the bill. During the summer, the old towns of West Barbary are frequented by these birds, which go generally in pairs: they are migratory, and when they do not return to their usual haunts at the accustomed season, it is considered ominous of evil. Any person that should presume to shoot this sacred bird, would incur the resentment of the whole city, and be accounted a sacrilegious infidel; for, besides being of the greatest utility in destroying serpents and other noxious reptiles, they are also emblematical of faith and conjugal affection, and on that account held in the highest estimation by all true Mooselmin. They build their nests, which are curious, on the top of some old tower or castle, or on the terraces of uninhabited houses, where they constantly watch their young, exposed to the scorching rays of the sun. They will not suffer any one to approach their nests.
The cities and towns of Mequinas, Fas, Marocco, Muley Driss Zerone, Rabat, Salée, El Araiche, Azamore, and Saffy, are annually visited by the stork; there are none at Mogodor, it being not only a new town, but situated on a peninsula, at the extremity of vast heaps of moving sand, which separate it from the cultivated country, and prevent serpents and other noxious animals from harbouring there.
The Partridge.—This beautiful bird abounds in every part of West Barbary; it is larger, and finer feathered than that of Europe; the legs are red. The Moors have a peculiar manner of hunting the partridge: in the plains of Akkermute and Jibbel Hedded, in Shedma, they take various kinds of dogs with them, from the greyhound to the shepherd’s dog, and following the birds, on horseback, and allowing them no time to rest, they soon fatigue them, when they are taken by the dogs: but as the Mooselmin eats nothing but what has had its throat cut, he takes out his knife, and exclaiming (Bismillah), “In the name of God,” cuts the throat of the game, and by letting it bleed destroys the flavour; for this reason game is not esteemed at the repasts of the Arabs, where mutton and beef are preferred; lamb and veal are unlawful, it being an injunction of the Mohammedan law to eat nothing till it is full grown, which is one cause of the great quantity of cattle which feed in the plains.
El Rogr.—This bird is similar to the English partridge, having however darker plumage; it is found only in arid stony places, where the shrubs are stunted, and in all (harushe) plains or places covered with basaltic rocks; but I believe no where else, except when on the wing to drink at some river, which they do regularly at noon and at sun-set; basking in the sun all the day, and pecking at the harsh stunted shrubs found in the above mentioned situations. The Rogr is unknown in Europe, according to Dr. Broussonet, an eminent botanist, for whom I shot several during his residence at Mogodor, in the quality of French Chargé des Affaires.
Pigeons.—Pigeons, denominated El Hammem by the Arabs, are in prodigious numbers all over West Barbary, tame as well as wild: the turtle dove (called El Imam) also abounds in the woods and gardens, adding considerably, by their plaintive notes, to the soothing pleasures of the country. There are immense quantities of wild pigeons in the island of Mogodor, which build their nests in the holes, and excavated rocks of the island; and as it is unlawful to shoot there, it being the state prison of the empire, they are harmless and domesticated. Early in the morning, they fly in immense flocks, to the adjacent province of Haha, where they feed on the corn and vegetables during the day, and return about an hour before sun set.