Roc (bird)

   The roc or rukh was a legendary bird of gigantic size, known from the stories in the book of the Arabian Nights. The roc resembled an eagle, but was by far greater in size. It was large enough to seize an elephant in its talons. In the Arabian Nights, Sinbad the Sailor tells of seeing the roc's egg, which was fifty paces in circumference. The roc was assumed to live on the island of Madagascar. Marco Polo heard the people of the island report that at a certain season of the year the roc appeared from the south.