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roc
Introduction References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics
Quick Facts
Also spelled:
Rukh
Arabic:
Rukhkh
Related Topics:
myth
Bird
See all related content
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roc

legendary bird
Also known as: rukh, rukhkh
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History

roc, gigantic legendary bird, said to carry off elephants and other large beasts for food. It is mentioned in the famous collection of Arabic tales, The Thousand and One Nights, and by the Venetian traveler Marco Polo, who referred to it in describing Madagascar and other islands off the coast of eastern Africa. According to Marco Polo, Kublai Khan inquired in those parts about the roc and was brought what was claimed to be a roc’s feather, which may really have been a Raphia palm frond.