NIGHT-HAWK

I believe this is the only animal of any kind mentioned in the Bible, the name of which begins with N. It is named in the Lev 11, among other birds, such as the owl, the cuckoo and the raven, which the children of Israel were not allowed to eat. It is somewhat like the owl in its shape, and in its large, full, round eyes. It flies at evening, and hides itself during the day from the bright light of the sun. It likes to live in lonely, dark woods, and when it comes out at twilight to get the insects that it lives upon, you could hardly hear the sound of its wings, it flies so very gently. It has a very wide, gaping mouth, which helps it to seize upon moths and flies, and its mouth is bordered with a row of stiff bristles, so that the insects may not escape again after they have been caught. The night-hawk belongs to the same family with the whip-poor-will; and, like that bird, it places its eggs on the ground in the shade of some thicket, with only a layer of withered leaves under them instead of making a nest.

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An unclean bird, Le 11:16 De 14:15. Its name seems to indicate voracity, and is therefore thought by many to point out the Syrian owl, a more powerful bird than the nighthawks, and exceedingly voracious; it sometimes attacks sleeping children.

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Night-hawk. Night-hawk
(Heb. tahmas) occurs only in the list of unclean birds (Lev. 11:16; Deut. 14:15). This was supposed to be the night-jar (Caprimulgus), allied to the swifts. The Hebrew word is derived from a root meaning “to scratch or tear the face,” and may be best rendered, in accordance with the ancient versions, “an owl” (Strix flammea). The Revised Version renders “night-hawk.”