... According to Wilkinson the benu bird was a heron (Ardea cinerea - cǐnis = ashes) and '... standing for itself on an isolated rock or on a little island in the middle of the water the heron was an appropriate image for how the first life appeared on the primary hill which arose from the watery chaos at the time of the original creation.'

'Similarly to the sun the heron rose up from the primary waters, and its Egyptian name, benu, was probably derived from the word weben, to 'rise' or 'shine'. This magnificent wader was also associated with the inundations of the Nile.'