Gorab
Gorab arabice corvus.
Apparatus:
coruus AC f | cornus B e {'u' misread as 'n'}
Translation:
Gorab is Arabic for Latin corvus {"raven"}.
Commentary:
Cf. Wehr (1976): ﻏﺮﺍﺏ /ġurāb/ "crow; raven".
Lane (1984: 2243): ﻏﺮﺍﺏ /ġurāb/ "a certain black bird … well known; … [the corvus or crow;] of which there are several species; [namely, the raven, carrion-crow, rook, jackdaw, jay, magpie, etc.] …
Ornithological remarks:
Just as is the case nowadays one can assume that only few people in the Middle-East were able to distinguish between species of crow [[1]] and raven [[2]].
Following Lane's account, the species of the genus Corvus {"ravens"}, whose distributions include the Middle East and/or North Africa, and which are therefore the most likely candidates for identification are:
- the "common raven", Corvus corax L. [[3]];
- the "fan-tailed raven", Corvus rhipidyrus Harpert [[4]];
- and the "brown-necked raven", Corvus ruficollis Lesson, [[5]].
Of the crows the "hooded crow", Corvus cornix L. [[6]] comes to mind, whereas the "carrion crow", Corvus corone L. is absent from North Afica and the Middle-East.
- And of jackdaws it is the "western jackdaw", Corvus monedula L. [[7]].
Lane also mentions jays and magpies, but they have a very distinct plumage and are less likely to be bundled under the term ﻏﺮﺍﺏ /ġurāb./
WilfGunther 14:47, 26 August 2014 (BST)