Identifier: egyptianbirdsfor00whymuoft (find matches)
Title: Egyptian birds : for the most part seen in the Nile Valley
Year: 1909 (1900s)
Authors: Whymper, Charles, 1853-
Subjects: Birds -- Egypt
Publisher: London : A. and C. Black
Contributing Library: Gerstein - University of Toronto
Digitizing Sponsor: MSN

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ngs of black,brown, and grey. Large wing-feathers and bxil broadlybarred witli blackish brown ; chin and upper throat white;under-plumage bright golden buff, with blotches and streakson the flanks ; beak black; eyes of most intense flame-likeorange. Total length, 20 inches. This name Eagle Owl is almost more imposingthan the bird itself, as, though large, it is muchsmaller than the Eagle Owl of Europe. It is to be found in some of the very largestof the temples, ruined or otherwise, but, as faras my own knowledge goes, not in many of thesmaller buildings. Its principal haunts are thesteep cliff-like sides of the hills and mountains. When staying in the Valley of the Tombs ofthe Kings, every night regularly as the sun sankbehind the ridge, the first weird Booom rangout, soon to be answered by another similar callfrom another part of the hills, and then, soon andsilently, there floated past the big dull brown form.Sailing aw^ay to the opposite side, with my glasses 42 EGYPTIAN EAGLE OWL
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EGYPTIAN EAGLE OWL 43 I could see it stretch out its legs forward asit settled on to some favourite ledge of rock,and turning its great head round, so that I couldsee its glorious coloured eyes, would utter a stilllouder booming challenge. This was so absolutelyregular that when working I knew exactly wherecertain purple-blue shadows would be across theface of the otherwise golden cliff-side, when Iheard its first call. Twice I had one in cap-tivity ; one died, but the other seemed to recoverso well from a damaged wing, that as soon as Ihad finished the studies needed, I decided to letit go free, and let it out; but, stupefied byconfinement, or else because the wing was notreally strong enough to make flight easy, it onlyhopped and walked about in a rather aimlessway, and was in danger of being attacked by thedogs of our camp. So I had to catch, and inmy arms carry my captive right high up theDeir-el-Bahari cliffs—and any that have beenthere know what that means—and at a safe plac

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