Anqa (ʿanqāʾ)

Medieval Arabic compendia present the Anqa as a singular, marvelous female bird occupying the far limits of the world. Etymologically the name ʿanqāʾ is the feminine of ʾaʿnaq meaning "long-necked," and compounds such as ʿanqāʾ al-muḡrib (Anqa al-Mughrib) emphasize remoteness and strangeness (muḡrib: west/setting of sun, strange/distant). Some lexical and narrative strands recorded by medieval authors also associate the word with calamity: later usage recorded the Anqa as originally created with perfections but becoming a scourge and thus linked to misfortune in certain traditions.

Medieval descriptions portray the Anqa as a very beautiful, colorful, composite bird with a prominent long neck (etymologically stressed) and features said to resemble many living beings. Sources report a humanlike face and multiple wings (described in some accounts as four pairs, i.e., eight wings) and note a whiteness in the neck in some reports. These attributes are recorded descriptions from medieval compendia rather than literal biological claims.

Medieval cosmographers attribute extraordinary longevity and prodigious life‑cycle details to the Anqa: Qazwini's summary reports a life‑span of 1,700 years, mating at about 500 years, and a chick that after the egg breaks remains inside and only emerges after 125 years. It is said to feed only on very large prey (reports say elephants and large fish). The bird is presented as wise and experienced — in Qazwini it is described as giving admonitions and moral advice — and figures in narrative material (e.g., an early tale in Dala'il al-Nubwah records the Anqa speaking in a discussion about fate with Solomon). The Anqa is extremely rare and remote in accounts, said to fly far away and appear only once in ages at liminal locations such as the place of sunset or Mount Qaf. Some traditions also preserve an ambivalent moral profile in which the perfect creature becomes harmful in certain tales.