The _swan_, or tinshemet of the Hebrews, is a very doubtful bird. The Seventy render it by _porphyrion_, which signifies a purple hen, a water-fowl well known in the East. Dr. Geddes observes that the root or etymon of the term _tinshemet_ denotes _breathing_ or _respiring_,--a description which is supposed to point to a well-known quality in the swan, that of being able to respire a long time with its bill and neck under water, and even plunged in mud. Parkhurst thinks the conjecture of Michaelis not improbable, namely, "that it is the goose, which every one knows is remarkable for its manner of breathing out or hissing when provoked." The latter writer observes, "what makes me conjecture this is, that the Chaldee interpreters who in Leviticus render it _obija_, do not use this word in Deuteronomy, but substitute the 'white kak,' which, according to Buxtorf, denotes the goose." Norden mentions a goose of the Nile whose plumage is extremely beautiful. It is of an exquisite aromatic taste, smells of ginger, and has a great deal of flavour. Can this be the Hebrew _tinshemet_, and the _porphyrion_ of the Seventy? Again, it is conjectured by modern naturalists that the heron should be included among storks. Commentators, it is true, are quite at a loss in regard to the precise import of the original term _anapha_, and some of them accordingly leave it altogether untranslated. It is not improbable that the Long-neck mentioned by Dr. Shaw may be the animal alluded to by the sacred lawgiver. This bird, we are told, is of the bittern kind, somewhat less than the lapwing. The neck, the breast, and the belly are of a light yellow colour, while the back and upper part of the wings are jet-black. The tail is short; the feathers of the neck are long, and streaked with white or a pale yellow. The bill, which is three inches long, is green, and in form like that of the stork; and the legs, which are short and slender, are of the same colour. In walking and searching for food, it throws out its neck seven or eight inches; whence the Arabs call it Boo-onk, or Long-neck.[200]