THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA DAVIS \y GC^GA^C/I^I/ TURNER ON BIRDS Sontion: C. J. CLAY AND SONS, CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS WAREHOUSE, AVE MARIA LANE. 50, WELLINGTON STREET. ILetpjtg: F. A. BROCKHAUS. THE MACMILLAN COMPANY. anfc Calcutta: MACMILLAN AND CO., LTD. TURNER ON BIRDS: A SHORT AND SUCCINCT HISTORY OF THE PRINCIPAL BIRDS NOTICED BY PLINY AND ARISTOTLE, FIRST PUBLISHED BY DOCTOR WILLIAM TURNER, 1544- EDITED, WITH INTRODUCTION, TRANSLATION, NOTES, AND APPENDIX, BY A. H. EVANS, M.A. CLARE COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE. CAMBRIDGE : AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS 1903 LIBRARY .laSITY OF CALIFORNIA DAVIS PRINTED BY J. AND C. F. CLAY, AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS. PREFACE. IN translating this treatise it has been thought advisable to adhere as closely as possible to the original text of Turner, though in many places a more modern style of phraseology would doubtless have better pleased the ear of the non-scientific reader. Not a few difficult points of interpretation have arisen in the course of the work, and the Editor welcomes this opportunity of expressing his gratitude to Professor Newton and to Mr R. D. Archer- Hind of Trinity College for the invaluable help that he has received from them in elucidating the hard passages and in revising the proofs. The Editor's thanks are also due to the Syndics of the University Press for undertaking the present publication. 9, HARVEY ROAD, CAMBRIDGE. July, 1903. NOTE. It may be remarked that the pages of Turner's work are not numbered in the original; but, for convenience of reference, the pagination is marked in the margin— the numbers being included in square brackets. INTRODUCTION. WlLLTAM TURNER, author of the rare treatise here re- published, was a native of Morpeth in Northumberland and is supposed to have been the son of a tanner of that town. By the aid of Thomas, the first Lord Wentworth, he was enabled to enter Pembroke Hall in the University of Cambridge, where he graduated B.A. and was elected a fellow of his College in 1530. At Pembroke he became acquainted with Ridley (who instructed him in Greek) and Latimer, two of the most earnest advocates of the Reformed doctrines, which he him- self, both then and afterwards, strenuously embraced ; but there is no need to dwell upon his theological views or the polemical works in which they were set forth. While at Cambridge Turner was a zealous student of botany, and in 1538 published a Libellus de re herbaria. About two years later he left this University for Oxford, and soon after suffered imprisonment for preaching without a licence. On his release he quitted England, and travelled by way of the Netherlands and Germany to Italy, attending the botanical lectures of Luca Ghini at Bologna, where, or at Ferrara, he took the degree of M.D. Thereafter he proceeded to Switzerland, forming a close friendship with the great naturalist Conrad Gesner of Zurich, Professor of Medicine and Philosophy in the School of that city, who held him in high esteem, and with whom he after- wards kept up a correspondence. He seems to have been at Basel in 1543, but early in 1544 he was at Cullen (Cologne), where he published not only the present work — dedicated viii Introduction to Edward Prince of Wales (afterwards King Edward the Sixth) — -but also edited the Dialogus de Avibus of his friend Gybertus Longolius of Utrecht, who died the preceding year. He pursued his botanical studies in several parts of Germany, as well as in the Netherlands, including East Friesland, for he became physician to the Count of Emden, and visited the islands of Juist and Norderney lying off the coast of that province. On the death of King Henry the Eighth he returned to England, becoming chaplain and physician to Lord Protector the Duke of Somerset ; but he lived at Kew, where he established a botanic garden. He was, moreover, incor- porated M.D. of Oxford, and was appointed a prebendary of York. In 1550 the Privy Council sent letters for his election as Provost of Oriel College in Oxford, but the post had been already filled, and a similar disappointment awaited him in regard to the Presidency of Magdalen College in the same University. He then applied to Sir William Cecil for leave to return to Germany, but was soon after consoled by being appointed Dean of Wells, and, having in 1551 published the first part of his New Herbal, was during the next year ordained priest by his old friend Ridley, then Bishop of London. On the accession of Queen Mary Turner had to vacate his deanery, and betook himself for safety once more to the Continent, visiting Rome and several places in Germany and Switzerland. When Queen Elizabeth ascended the throne he returned to England, and recovered his deanery, to which was attached the rectory of Wedmore in Somersetshire ; but in 1564 he was suspended for nonconformity and seems to have come to live in London. In 1557 he had addressed a letter on English Fishes to Gesner, which was included in that naturalist's Historia Animalium; and in 1562 he published the second part of his Herbal, which he dedicated to Lord Wentworth, the son of his original benefactor. On the /th of July 1568 Turner died at his house in Crutched Friars in the City of London, and was buried in the church of St Clave, Hart Street. Introduction ix Turner married Jane, daughter of George Ander, Alder- man of Cambridge, by whom he had issue Winifred, Peter and Elizabeth. It must be understood that, his scientific work apart, nearly the whole of Turner's life was spent in religious controversy, and he published a considerable number of polemical works, the titles of which may be seen in the bibliography appended to the excellent ' Life ' prefixed to Mr Jackson's facsimile reprint of the Libellus de re herbaria'*', whence all the particulars above given are taken. Other lists of Turner's works may be found in Cooper's Athenae Cantabrigienses (I. pp. 257 — 259) and the Dictionary of National Biography (LVII. pp. 365, 366). Turner's object in writing the present treatise is fully set forth in his ' Epistola Nuncupatoria ' prefixed to it. While attempting to determine the principal kinds of birds named by Aristotle and Pliny, he has added notes from his own experience on some species which had come under his observation, and in so doing he has produced the first book on Birds which treats them in anything like a modern scientific spirit and not from the medical point of view adopted by nearly all his predecessors; nor is it too much to say that almost every page bears witness to a personal knowledge of the subject, which would be distinctly creditable even to a modern ornithologist. This knowledge is especially evident in his account of the habits of the Hobby (p. 19), Hen-Harrier (p. 19), Water- Ousel (p. 23), Moor-Buzzard (p. 33), Osprey (p. 37), Godwit (p. 45), Wheatear (p. 53), Sandpiper (p. 57), Fieldfare (p. 59), Cuckoo (p. 69), Black-headed Gull (p. 77), Black Tern (p. 79), Swallows (p. 101), Cormorant (p. in), Shrike (p. 119), Redbreast and Redstart (p. 157); while his keen eye for distinctions is shown in his descriptions of the Black Cock and Grey Hen (p. 43), Godwit (p. 45), Tree-Creeper (p. 53), 1 Libellus de re herbaria novus, by William Turner, originally published in 1538, reprinted in facsimile, with notes, modern names, and a Life of the Author, by Benjamin Daydon Jackson, F.L.S. Privately Printed. London: 1877. a 5 x Introduction Doves (p. 59), Lapwing (p. 77), Nutcracker (p. 95), Reed- Bunting (p. 103), Kites (p. 117), Bullfinch (p. 161) and others. He is most careful to tell us whether he observed the various species in England or abroad and their comparative abund- ance, and to note the breeding of the rarer species, such as the Spoonbill (p. 151), and Crane (p. 97) within our islands— that of the Crane being of special interest ; the whole account of the Cuckoo (p. 69) is also most noticeable, as is that of the curious Walt-rapp (p. 95) of which Gesner writes as follows: GESNER De Corvo Sylvatico1 (p. 337). AuiS, cuius hie effigies habetur, a nostris nominatur uulgo ein Waldrapp', id est coruus sylvaticus...Sunt qui phalacro- coracem hanc auem interpretentur, quoniam & magnitudine & colore fere coruum refert: & caluescit, ut uidi, cum adultior est. Turnerus Aristotelis coruum aquaticum & Plinij phala- crocoracem, & coruum syluaticum nostrum auem unam esse arbitratur, tertium genus graculi. Coruus syluaticus Helue- tiorum, inquit, auis est corpore longo et ciconia paulo minore, cruribus breuibus, sed crassis : rostro rutilo, parum adunco (curuo) & sex pollices longo : alba in capite macula, & ea nuda, si bene memini....Sic ille. Doubtless Turner's work is not free from errors, as in the case of the very old story of the breeding of the Bernicle-Goose (which, however, he was most loth to credit even when assured of its truth by an Irish Divine), in his confounding of the Onocrotalus with the Ardea stellaris and the Cornish with the Alpine Chough ; yet these are but small blots on a very excellent treatise, which compares most favourably with other writings of his time. It is quite evident from various passages that Turner was acquainted with Aristotle's works in the original Greek, and especially with his History of Animals •; but he preferred quoting that author from the Latin translation of Theodorus 1 Conradi Gesneri Tigurini medici & Philosophise professoris in Schola Tigurina Historic Animalium Liber III. qui est de Auium natura/ Tiguri apud Christoph. Froschovervm, Anno M.D.LV. Introduction xi Gaza of Thessalonica, the most celebrated Scholar of his day, who, fleeing from the sack of Constantinople, played a con- spicuous part in the rise of the " New Learning," and after a course of teaching in Rome, entered successively the service of the Popes Nicholas the Fifth and Sixtus the Fourth, eventually dying in poverty in Lucania about 1484. Exact transcription of a text was considered by no means necessary in those days: consequently we find many obser- vations and explanations inserted in the text of Aristotle and Pliny, which had no place in the original1. Besides referring to Gesner, Turner mentions other learned men by name and occasionally quotes from their works; while his pages also inform us of many places that he visited. The following excerpts from Gesner not only give in- stances of correspondence between him and Turner, but also shew that the former was accustomed to correct the latter from his wider knowledge of Ornithology. De Branta vel Bernicla... (p. 107). Ide [Turnerus] post librum suum de avibus publicatum, in epistola ad me data, Berniclas siue Brantas (inquit) ex putridis nauis malis fungorum more nasci, minime fabulosum esse doctorum & honestorum uirorum oculata fides mihi per- suasit. Branta anserem palustrem ualde refert : his tamen notis ab eo differt. Branta breuior est, a collo quod rubescit nonnihil, ad medium usq,, uentrem, qui candicat, nigra est. anserum more segetes populatur. In Vuallia (quse pars est Angliae) in Hibernia & Scotia aues istae adhuc rudes & im- plumes in littore, sed non sine forma certa & propria auis passim inueniuntur. Et rursus, Praeter brantam aut berniclam est alia auis, quee originern suam arbori refert acceptam. Arbores sunt in Scotia ad littus maris crescentes, e quibus prodeunt ueluti fungi parui, primum informes, postea pau- latim integram auis formam acquirunt, perfectae tandem magnitudinis illae, rostro aliquantisper pendent, paulo post in aquam decidunt, & turn demum uiuunt. Hoc tot tantaec^ integritatis uiri affirmauerunt ut credere audeam, & aliis cre- dere suadea. Haec ille. Eliota Anglus &c 1 The precise references to Aristotle and Pliny are now supplied, from the texts of Aubert and Wimmer, and Sillig respectively. xii Introduction De Vulpansere (p. 1 56). Chenalopex (inquit Turnerus Anglus) ab ansere & uulpe nomen habet... Et rursus in epistola ad me, Vulpanserem Angli vocat a Bergander, nidulatur in cuniculoru foueis more uulpium, anate maior, minor ansere, alis ruffis. Eliota Anglus... De Pygargo (p. 199). Pygargum (inquit Turnerus) literatores quidam inepte trappum a Germanis dictum (tardam, uel bistardam) inter- pretantur. Sed pygargus Anglorum lingua, nisi fallar, erna vocatur, an erne. Ego ernam audio dici genus aquile quod apud Frisios ad Oceanum Germanicum per hyemem degat, colore nigro, quod cornices quaedam ut ex escarum eius re- liquijs uictitent sequantur. Pygargus est forte quam Anglice dicimus ringetayle, Eliota. Sed Turnerus ringtalum Anglis dictum ab albo circulo caudam circumeunte, buteone mi- norem, subbuteonem Aristotelis esse suspicatur. Quod si minor est buteone, non poterit esse pygargus. De Caprimulgo (p. 235). [Having quoted Turner] Idem postea in litteris ad me missis, caprimulgum se uidisse scribit prope Bonnam (Ger- manise ciuitatem ad ripam Rheni, supra Coloniam) ubi a uulgo appellatur Naghtraiien, id est coruus nocturnus. Nos auis illius quae Argetin^ vocatur NacJitram, corrupto forsan nomine, alibi Nachtrap, effigiem infra ponemus cum historia nycticoracis. De Cardnele (p. 235). ...Auis Aristoteli thraupis, OpavTrls, dicta a Gaza carduelis conuertitur : quod & Hermolao probatur. Turnero quidem non assenserim, qui chloridem nostram (Grunting uulgo vocant) thraupin esse conijcit. De Rala terrestri (pp. 481 — 482). ...Perdix rustica vel rusticula Plinij (inquit Turnerus in epistola ad me) ab Anglis vocatur rala. Est autem rala duplex, altera cibum e ripis fluminum petit, altera degit in ericeto in locis sylvestribus. Aquaticam illam Coloniae diu alui, & male uolare deprehendi, & egregie pugnacem. Ro- strum & crura erat rubra, plume; multis maculis respers?. Introduction xiii Montana vero ilia & syluestris crura habet multo breuiora aquatili, & plumas undic^ magis cinereas, sed rubra interim crura habet & rostrum, auis utrac^ apud nos regium epulum (real Itali regium vocant, Galli royal, & forte hinc ductum est raise vocabulu. a colore crurum forte erythropus merit) vocatur. Hsec ille. De Cinclo (p. 592). Turnerus cinclum auem Anglice interpretatur a water swallow, (quasi dicas hirundinem aquaticam,) Germanice eiu Steinbcisser, (sed nostri aliam aue, coccothrausten nostrum, Steinbeisser appellant.) Auicula (inquit) quam ego cinclum esse puto, galerita paulo maior est, colore in tergo nigro, uentre albo, tibiis longis, & rostro neutiquam breui. Vere circa ripas fluminum ualde clamosa est & querula, breues & crebros facit uolatus. 1[ Huic Turneri descriptioni cognata uideri potest merula aquatica nostra : magis uero ilia, quam circa Argentoratum Lyssklicker appellant : quam non similem modo Turned cinclo, sed prorsus eandem esse conijcio, cuius figuram sequens pagina cotinet. De Motacilla quam nostri albam cognominant (p. 593). Turnerus in libro de Auibus Cnipologon Aristotelis (id est culicilega interprete Gaza) hac auem esse putat... [quo- tation].... Sed postea in epistola ad me, Culicilegam Aristotelis (inquit) in terra Bergensi uidi, tota cinerei fere colons est, & speciem habet pici Martij, ilia uero quam culicilegam esse putaba, est uariola nisi fallor. De Nycticorace (pp. 602 — 604). TURNERUS in litteris ad me missis caprimulgum auem se uidisse scribit prope Bonnam (Germanise ciuitatem ad ripam Rheni, supra Coloniam,) ubi a uulgo appellatur Naghtrauen, id est coruus nocturnus. Nos in praecedente pagina effigiem adiecimus auis quae circa Argentoratum, ut audio Nachtram, alibi Nachtrab nominatur. quae tamen nec^ caprimulgus neq> nycticorax mihi uidetur. [The figure is of the Night-Heron, unmistakably.] De Onocratalo (pp. 607 — 608). Onocrotalus Machliniensis, quse Vogelhain a Brabantis uocatur, quinquaginta annis, ut ipsi ferunt, Machliniae uixit, cygno maior est. penne. foris albicant, in fundo uero rubrum xiv Introduction quiddam ostendunt. collum duas spithamas longum est, aut paulo longius, rostrum, quod rubrum habet, dodrantali longitu- dine est & quatuor uncias longius, & in fine hami propemodum more incuruum & uersus finem latius latiusq^ proturbinatur. crura anserinis similia, breuia, nimirum pro magnitudine tanti corporis : in pectore magnum habet ueluti sacculum protube- rantem Alis est longissimis, & ipsis in summa extremitate nigris, Guil. Turnerus in epistola ad me Bononiae uisus est mihi onocrotalus (uerba sunt ex epis- tola Angli cuiusdam amici ad me) plumis cinereis tectus, cygno maior, palmipes, capite mergi, rostro quatuor palmas fere longo, & in fine adunco, collo deplumi, amplissimo, ut anatem deuorare posset. Captam aiebat in lacu Benaco.... Solis uictitat piscibus, & bis tantum anno bibit. Tur- nerus... Pisces praesertim anguillas auidissime uorat botaurus auis, Turnerus. idem amicus quidam de onocrotalo ad me scripsit. ego onocrotalum quidem hoc facere non dubito : de botauro dubitari potest, praesertim cum multi etia non indocti cum onocrotalo eum confundant. De Per dice (p. 644). ...Quae Aristoteles & Ouidius de perdice scribunt, omnia nostrae perdici uulgari conueniunt, nempe uolandi nidulandiq., ratio, astutia, circa prolem solicitudo, corporis grauitas, & uocis stridor, a quo etiam nomen accepisse uidetur, Turnerus in epistola ad nos. The 'Avium praecipuarum...Historia) was reprinted by Dr George Thackeray, Provost of King's College, Cam- bridge, in 1823; but the reprint is as rare as, if not rarer than, the original. Two copies are in the Library of King's College. The following is a list of the Birds determined by Turner. ALAUDID/E. Alauda arvensis. ALCEDINID^E. Alcedo ispida. Lerk or Laverock. German Kynges fissher. G. Eissvogel^ Lerch, p. 80. pp. 18 — 22. A. arborea. Wodlerck, p. 80. [Turner recognised two kinds A. sp. ? Wilde Lerc or Heth of Kingfishers described by Lerk. G. Heid Lerch, p. 80. Aristotle and Pliny, but Galerita cristata. [No English does not state what they name.] G. Copera, p. 80. are]. Introduction xv ANATIDJE. Anas boscas. Duck, pp. 22, 48. Anser (2 species.) Gose. G. Ganss, p. 22. Bernicla leucopsis. Brant or Bernicle Gose, p. 26. Cygnus olor. Swan. G. Swdn^ p. 120. Marecapenelope. Wigene, p. 48. Nyroca ferina. Pochard, p. 48. Qtterquedula crccca. Tele, p. 48. Tadorna cornuta. Bergander, p. 24. ARDEID^:. Ardea sp. ? (white). Cryel or Dwarf Heron, p. 38. A. cinerea. Heron. G. Reyger, p. 36. Botaurus stellaris. Bittour, But- tor, Buttour, or Myre Dromble. G. Pittour, Rosdont) pp. 38, 40, 122. CAPRIMULGID^E. Caprimulgus europceus. [No English name], p. 48. GERTRUDE. Certhia familiaris. Creper, p. 52. CHARADRIID^E. Charadrius pluvi- al is. Pluver. G'. Pulver, p. 132. Vanellus milgaris. Lapwing. G. Kywit, pp. 76, 174. Ciconia alba. Stork. G. Storck, Sax. Ebeher, p. 54. Cinclus aquaticus. Water-Craw, p. 22. COLUMBID^:. Columba sp. ? Dove. G. Taube, Sax. Ditve, p. 59. [Venice Dove, p. 62.] C. anas. Stocdove. G. Holtz- taube, p. 60. C. palumbus. Coushot or Ring- ged Dove. G. Ringel Taube > p. 60. Turtur communis. Turtel Duve, p. 60. CORVID^E. Corvus corax. Raven. G. Rabe, p. 64. C. cornix. Winter Crow, p. 64. C. cor one. Crow. G. Krae, Kraeg, p. 64. C. frugilegus. [No English name], p. 64. C. monedula, Caddo, Chogh, Ka. G. Dol, Sax. Alke, p. 92. Garrulus glatidarius. Jay. G. Mercolphus, p. 144. Nucifraga caryocatactes. [No English name.] G. Nous- brecher, p. 94. Pica rustica. Py, Piot. G. Elster, Atzel, pp. 142, 144. Pyrrhocorax graculus. Cornish Choghe. G. Bergdol, p. 90. [Confounded with P. alpinusJ] CUCULID^:. Cuculus canorus. Cuk- kow, or Gouke. G. Kukkuck, p. 66. CYPSELID^:. Cypselus apus. Chirche Martnette. Rok Marti nette. G. Kirch Swalbe, pp. 100, 102. C. melba. Great Swallow. G.Geyr S-ivalbe, p. 102. FALCONID^:. Actipiter nisus. [No English name], p. 66. Aquilayp. ? Right Egle. G. Edel Arn, p. 36. Astur palumbarius [?] Sparhauc. G. Sperwer, p. 18. Buteo vulgaris. Bushard, p. 16. Circus cEruginosus. Balbushard, p. 32. C. cyaneus. Hen-Harroer, Ring- tale, p. 1 8. [Turner calls the male Hen- Harroer, the female Ringtale, erroneously considering them two species.] Falco czsalon. Merlin. G. Smerl, p. 1 6. XVI Introduction FALCONID^E. F. subbuteo. Hobby, p. 18. Gypaetus barbatus [?]. [No Eng- lish name], p. 128. Haliaettis albicilla. Egle or Erne. G. Am, Adler, p. 30. Milvus ater. [No English name], p. 116. M. ictinus. Glede, Puttok, or Kyte. G. Weye, p. 116. Tinnunculus alaudarius. Kastrel, Kistrel, or Steingall, p. 166. FRINGILLID^E. Carduelis elegans. Goldfinche. G. Distelfinck, Stigelitz, pp. 40, 50. C. spinus. Siskin. G. Zeysich, Engelchen, p. 108 (cf. p. 50). Emberiza citrinella. Yelovvham, Yovvlryng. G. Geelgorst, p. 1 06. E. miliaria. Bunting. G. Gerst- hammer, pp. 134, 158. E. sch&niclus. Rede Sparrow. G. Reydt Muss, pp. 102, 134. Fringilla Calebs, Chaffinche, Sheld-appel, Spink. G. Buck- Jink, p. 72. F. montifringilla. Bramlyng. G. Rower t, p. 72. Ligurinus Moris. Grenefinche. G. Kirsfincke, pp. 104, 106. Linota cannabinat Linot. G. Flasfinc, pp. 50, 158. Passer domesticus. Sparrow. G. Musche, Spats, Liiningk, Sax. Sperlingk, p. 132. Pyrrhula europcea. Bulfinche. G. Blodtjinck, p. 160. Serinus canarius. Canary Bird, p. 1 08. GRUID.E. Grus communis. Crane. G. Kran, Kranich, pp. 94, 96. HlRUNDINID^. Cotile riparia. Bank Martnet. G. Uber Sivalbe, Speiren, p. 102. Hirundo rustica. Swallowe. G. Schwalb, Sax. Swale, pp. 96, 100, 102. . Comatibis eremita. [Red- cheeked Ibis]. G. Waltrap, pp. 92, 94. E. Lanius excubitor. Schric, Shrike, or Nyn Murder. G. Nuin Miirder, Neun Murder, pp. 116, 118, 168. Lanius minort [No English name], p. 168. LARID^E. Hydrochelidon nigra. Stern, p. 78. Larus sp. ? [Grey Gull.] Se Cob or See Gell, p. 78. L. sp.? [White Gull.] White Semaw. Se Cob or Seegell. G. Wyss niewe, pp. 74, 78. L. ridibundus. White Semaw with a blak cop, pp. 74, 76. MEROPID^E. Merops apiaster. [No English name], p. 112. M OTAC I LLI D.E. A nth u spraten st 's. Titlyng, p. 68. Motacilla lugubris or M. alba. Wagtale. G. Wasser Steltz, Quikstertz, p. 64. ORIOLID^E. Oriolus galbula. Wit- wol. G. Witwol, Weidwail, Kersenrife, pp. 148, 172, 174. OTIDID^E. Otis tarda. Bistard or Bustard. G. Trap or Trap Ganss, pp. 130, 166. PANDIONID^E. Pandion haliaetus. Osprey. G. Visharn, pp. 34, 36. Parus cceruleus. Non. p. 132. Introduction xvn . P. major. Great Tit- mous, or Great Oxei. G. Kol- meyse, p. 130. P. palustris or P. ater. Less Titmous. G. Meelmeyse, p. 130. PHALACROCORACID^E. Phalacro- corax carbo. Cormorant. G. Ducher, p. no. P.graculusJ Douker (pt), Loun, Ducher (pt.), p. 176. PHASIANID^E. Attagen [possibly Bonasa sylvestris, the Hazel Grouse], pp. 42, 44. Gallus ferrugineus (domesticus). Cok, Hen. G. Han, Hen, Sax. Hon, p. 82. Numida meleagris. [No English name?] Kok of Inde? pp. 82, 86, 140. Pavo cristatus. Pecok. G. Pffaw, Sax. Pagelihi, p. 136. Perdix cinerea. Pertrige. G. Velt hbn, Kaphbn, p. 138. Phasianus colchicus. Phesan. G. Fasant, Fasian, p. 140. PHCENIX. [No English name], p. 140. PICID^E. Dendrocopus major? Specht, or Wodspecht. G. Elsterspecht, pp. 146, 148. Gecinus viridis. He whole, Hu- hol, Raynbird ? G. Griinspecht, pp. 88, 112, 114, 146, 148. lynx torquilla. [No English name], pp. 146, 148. Picus martins. [No English name]. G. Craspecht, p. 148. PLATALEID^E. Platalea leucorodia. Shovelard. G. Lefler, Loffel Ganss, pp. 38, 150. PODICIPEDID^E. Podidpes minor, Douker (pt), Ducher (pt), p. 176. PROCELLARIIDyE. PtlffinUS sp. ? Bird of Diomede, p. 70. PSITTACID^E. Parrot. Popinjay. G. Papegay, p. 150. RALLID^E. Crex pratensis. Daker Hen, Rale (?) G. Schryk, S eric a, pp. 70, 128, 140. Fulica nigra. Cout, pp. 32, 76. Gallinula chloropus. Mot Hen or Water Hen. G. Wasser Hen, p. 170. Porphyrio ccelestis. [No English name], p. 152. SCOLOPACID^. Actitis hypoleuca. Water Swallow. G. Steynbisser, pp. 54, 56. Limosa belgica. Godwitt or Fedoa, p. 44. Scolopax rusticula. Wodcok. G. Holtz Snep/. pp. 42, 86. Totanus calidris. Redshanc, p. 102. SITTID^:. Sitta ccesia. Nut-jobber. G. Nushakker, Meyspecht, p. 162. STRIGID^E. Asio otus. Horn Oul. G. Ranseiil, Schleier Eul, p. 130. Bubo ignavus. Lyke Foule. G. Schuffaitss, Schiiffel, Kautz, p. 46. Strix stridula (?) Owl, H owlet. G. Eul, Sax. We, p. 120. STRUTHIONID^E. Struthio camelus. Oistris. G. Strauss, p. 164. STURNID^E. Sturnus vulgaris. Sterlyng. G. Star, Stbr, p. 164. SULID^E. Sula bassana. Solend Guse, p. 28. SYLVIID^E. Accentor modularis (?) Hedge-sparrow, or Dike Smou- ler. G. Grassmusch, Koelimtssh, p. 136. Daulias luscinia. Nyghtyngall. G. Nachtgal, p. 108. XV111 Introduction Erithacus rubecula. Robin Redbreste. G. Rotbrust, Rotkelchen, p. 154. Pratincola rubicola. Stonchatter or Mortetter. G. Klein Brach- vogelchen, p. 158. Kegulus cristatus(t\ [No English name.] G. Gold Hendlin, pp. 154, 1 68. Rutidlla phccn 2 cunts. Rede Tale. G. Rotstertz, p. 154. Saxicola cenanthe. Arlyng, Clot- burd, Smatche or Steinchek. G. Brechvogel) p. 52. Sylvia atricapilla (?). [No Eng- lish name.] G. Grasmuklen, p. 44. 6*. rufa ? Lingett. G. Graes- musch, Grassmusch, p. in, [cf. P- 136]- TETRAONID^E. Coturnix commu- nis. Quale. G. Wachtel, p. 62. Lagopjis mutus. [No English name], p. 104. L. scoticiis. (?) Morhen, p. 86. Tetrao tetrix. [No English name], p. 42. TROGLODYTID^E. Troglodytes par- vulus. Wren. G. Kuningsgen\ Zaunkiiningk, p. 152. TURDID^:. Turdus iliacus, mu- sicus, viscivorus. Thrusche, Thrushe, Throssel, Mavis, or Wyngthrushe. G. Drossel, Durstel, Weingaerdsvoegel, pp. 170, 172. T. merula. Blak Osel or Blak- byrd. G. Merl, Amsel, p. 114. T. pilaris. Feldfare or Feldefare. G. Krammesvbgel) Wachholter- vogel, pp. 58, 170. [Confounded with Mistletoe Thrush?] UPUPID^E. Upupa epops. Howpe. G. Houp, Widhopff, p. 174. VULTURID^E. Vultur sp. Geir. G. Geyr, p. 176. AVI V M PR AEG I PV ARVM, QVARVM APVD PLINIVM ET ARI- ftotelem mentio eft, breuis & fuccinfta hiftoria. Ex optimis quibufque fcripto- ribus contexta, fcholio il/u Jlrata & aufta. Adieftis nominibus Grtecls, Germanicis Britannicis. Per Dn. Guilielmum Turnerum, artlum £sf Me- dicines doflorem. Colonicz excudebat loan. Gymnicus^ Anno M. D. XLIIII. itrodiiction L. scoticus. (?) Morhen, p. 86. trao tetrix. [No Englis p. 42. Troglodytes pa i. Kuningsgi DE HISTORIA AVIUM. Epistola Nuncupatoria [P. 3] Illuftriffimo VValliae principi, Eduuardo filio haeredi, fereniffimi & potentif- fimi Henrici VIII. regis Anglias, Franciae, & Hiberniae, Guilielmus Turnerus S. P. D. RUDENS admodum, &, fi quid ego intel- ligo (illuftriffime princeps) neceffaria im- primis regij prophetae fuit admonitio, qua reges, principes & iudices terrse, ut intelligerent, & eruditionem confequerentur, admonuit. Nam ut fummus ille reru architectus Deus optimus maximuscj*, caput fuper omnes reliquas corpo- ris partes in homine, qui perfectiffime in fe [p. 4] Reipublicae fimulachrum gerit, collocauit, & omnes quinq* fenfus fimul in eo repofuit, ut pro reliquis omnibus mebris (quibus folus ta6lus eft conceffus) uideret, audiret, guftaret & odoret, & eorum faluti confuleret : ita principem Reipublice, corpori ex multis memb-ris conflato, ueluti caput praefecit, ut prudentia, eruditione, & fenfibus fuis non tarn exterioribus, qua inte- rioribus, totius Reipublicae commodis & faluti profpiceret. In pedibus uifum, in tibijs audi- tum, in manibus olfactum, in brachijs odoratum nemo requirit: fed hacc omnia in capite requi- runtur. Epistle Dedicatory To the most illustrious Prince of Wales, Edward, son and heir of the most serene and mighty Henry VIII, King of Eng- land, France and Ireland, William Turner wishes long life and health. EXCEEDING wise, and if I understand aright, necessary above all things, most illustrious Prince, was the warning of the royal prophet, in which he admonished kings, princes, and judges of the earth that they should have understanding and seek learn- ing. For, as that architect supreme of the universe, God most good and great, placed the head above all the remaining parts of the body in man, who in him- self shews forth the image of a most perfect State, and stored up in it all the five senses at once, that it should see, hear, taste, and smell for all the remaining members (to which touch alone has been allowed), and should consult for their well-being ; so he hath set the Prince, as it were a head, over the State, a body welded together of many members, that he should provide for the advantage and well-being of the whole State by his wisdom, learning and senses, not so much external as internal. No one demands sight in the feet, hearing in the legs, smell1 in the hands, or smell in the arms ; but all these things are necessary in the head. 1 This should probably be "taste" (gustum). 4 Epistola Nuncupatoria Quum igitur tot fenfus in capite uni tantu corpori prefeclo requirantur : quot fenfus, quan- tum fapientiae & eruditionis ab eo capite exi- [p- 5] guntur, cui plus quam trecentorum milium corporum praefeclura committitur ? Quod fi quis forfan refpondeat, non in principe, fed in ijs folis, qui illi a confilijs funt, eruditionem & prudentiam requiri : hunc ego dignum cenfere, qui pro tali refponfo, omnibus fenfibus, excepto taclu, orbatus in media fylua uepribus & fpinis denfa, caueis & foffis formidabili, quatuor du- cibus comitatus ftatueretur, nobis diclurus, nu proprijs malit uti fenfibus an alienis ? & num tutius illi fit, ducum fuorum incertorum fenfibus, an proprijs duci ? & qua ratione caecus & furdus odoratu & guftu deftitutus ipfe, ceci'ne an ui- detes fui fint duces, dignofcere poffit ? In confiliarijs fummam prudentiam & eru- [p. 6] ditionem non uulgarem requiri, non diffiteor : uerum non in ijs folis, nam fi illi, qui principi funt a confilijs, ad tempus bene confulant, & poftea in ipfius perniciem male fuadeant, ut Abfaloni Achitofelem feciffe legimus : quomodo perniciofum illortim confiliu ipfe fubodorabitur & depraehendet, nifi eruditione & prudentia con- filiarios fuos aut fuperet, aut faltem sequet ? Quare no in confiliarijs tantum, fed in principe ipfo eruditio & fapietia requiruntur. Non de- funt, qui fatis effe principi exiftimant, quo caete- ris mortalibus praeftet, fi regio ueftitu, diuitijs, copijs, fcite pulfando teftudinem, & tela dextre uibrando, fubditis fuis preluceat : uerum fortif- [p. 7] fimi quiqj & fapientiffimi reges longe diuerfum Epistle Dedicatory 5 Inasmuch therefore as so many senses are requisite in the head, which is set over one body alone, how many senses and what a wealth of wisdom and learn- ing are demanded from that head, to whom more than three hundred thousand bodies are given in charge ? But if any should chance to answer that learning and wisdom are needed not in the Prince, but only in those who are his councillors, I should consider it fitting that he for such a reply should be set, accom- panied by four guides, in the midst of a wood tangled with briers and thorns, and dangerous with its pits and ditches, deprived of all his senses, except that of touch, and should tell us whether he preferred to use his own senses or those of others : or whether it would be safer for him to be led by the senses of his doubting guides or by his own ; and in what way he, being blind and deaf, and destitute of smell and taste, could determine whether his guides were blind or able to see. I fail not to confess that the highest wisdom, and learning of no common sort, are requisite in coun- cillors, but not in them alone ; for if they who are the advisers of the Prince, give good counsel for the time, and afterwards prompt him ill to his de- struction, as we read that Achitofel did in the case of Absalom, how shall he smell out and detect their fatal advice, unless he either excels or at least equals his councillors in learning and wisdom ? Wherefore not only in councillors but in the Prince himself are learning and wisdom requisite. There are not want- ing those who think it enough for a Prince, as matters in which he should surpass other mortals, if he out- shines his subjects in royal garb, in riches, in resources, in cunningly striking the lyre, and in skilfully throwing the spear; but all the bravest and wisest kings have 6 Epistola Nuncupatoria fenferunt. Na Mithridates rex Poti & Bithy- nie, fe regnorum fuorum caput effe intelliges, et tot corporibus, quot preerat, unica uernacula fuam lingua minime fufficere, uiginti duas linguas getium, quas fub ditione fua habuit, ita perfecle didicit & percalluit, ut uiginti illarum gentium uiris fine interprete prompte refponde- rit, & fua cuique lingua non fecus atque gentilis fuiffet, locutus fuerit. Ide rerum abditas natu- ras ita peruefligauit, & in re medica ita foeliciter fuit uerfatus, ut aduerfus lethalia uenena anti- dotum, quod hodie etiamnum ab eo nomen fortitum, Mithridatium appellatur, fuo Marte inuenerit. Alexander ille Macedonum rex, tarn [p. 8] naturae quam fortunae dotibus iure fufpici- endus, tanto bonarum artium & philofophiae potiffimum ftudio flagrauit, ut etia in zelotypiam quandam literariam incident. Nam is cum omnem prope Afiam armis & exercitu teneret, ubi primu Ariftotelem libros fuos de ausculta- tione phyfica inuulgaffe acceperat, in tantis negocijs cum Ariftotele, miffa ftatim epiflola de editis libris, his uerbis expoftulabat : Quod difciplinas d/cpoa/xartfcas edidifti, non recle fe- cifti. nam qua alia re caeteris praeftare poteri- mus, fi ea, quae abs te accepimus, omnium pror- fus fuerint communia ? Quippe ego doctrina anteire malim, quam copijs atqj opulentijs. Haec Alexander. Diuino approbatus oraculo rex ille Dauid, Epistle Dedicatory 7 thought quite differently. For Mithridates, king of Pontus and Bithynia, understanding that he was the head of his domains, and that his native tongue alone was by no means sufficient for the numerous bodies, over which he reigned, learned so perfectly and understood so thoroughly the twenty-two tongues1 of the nations, which he had under his sway, that he gave immediate answers to twenty men of those nations without an interpreter, and spoke to each in his own tongue just as if it had been native to him. He also so thoroughly traced out the hidden natures of things, and occupied himself to such good purpose in the science of medi- cine, that he discovered by his own exertions an antidote to deadly poisons, which even to-day is called Mithridatium, a name derived from him. The great Alexander, king of the Macedonians, rightly renowned as much for the gifts of nature as for those of fortune, burned with so great a zeal for the noble arts, and philosophy in particular, that he even descended to a sort of literary jealousy. For though he was holding almost all Asia by force of arms and his troops, when first he heard that Aristotle had made public his books ' De Auscultatione Physica,' in the midst of such great concerns he expostulated with Aristotle in the following words, a letter having been at once sent off concerning the publication of the books: "In that you have published your teachings called aKpoa^ariKol you have not done rightly ; for in what other thing shall I be able to excel the rest, if those things, which I have heard from you, become henceforth the common property of all ? For I should prefer to stand first in learning rather than in re- sources and wealth." Thus said Alexander. The great king David, approved by the voice of 1 'Duas' is perhaps a misprint for 'duarum.' 8 Epistola Nuncupatoria [p. 9] qui & propheta fuit diuino numine adflatus, atqj ideo qd regi maxime neceffariu foret, cogno- fcens, ante omnia literas, nempe facras expetiuit, ut fibi teperare non potuerit, quin diceret, Bene- diftus es domine, doce me iuftificationes tuas, in uia mandatoru tuoru deleclatus fum, ficut in omnibus diuitijs : in mandatis tuis exercebor, & confiderabo uias tuas. Reuela oculos meos, & confiderabo mirabilia de lege tua. Bonitate & difciplina & fcientiam doce me : ego autem in toto corde meo fcrutabor mandata tua. Nifi quod lex tua meditatio mea eft, tune forte perif- fem in humilitate mea. Quam dulcia faucibus meis eloquia tua, fuper mel ori meo. Bonum mihi lex oris tui fuper milia auri & argeti. [p- I01 Lucerna pedibus meis uerbum tuum, & lumen femitis meis. Declaratio fermonum tuorum il- luminat, & intelleclum dat paruulis. Haclenus rex Dauid, & pace & bello omnium regum il- luftriffimus. Rex Solomon huius films, omniu, quos un- qua terra genuit, fapientifs. cuius unius autori- tati plus tribuendum eft, quam fexcentis adula- toribus diuerfum fuadetibus, cum totius orbis conditor & omnium bonorum largitor Deus pater, illi, quod fibi optimum, & ex ufu fuo maxime fore iudicaret, ultro offerret, & pofcenti mox fe daturu promitteret, ad hunc modum, ut diuinae literse teftantur, refpondit. Nunc domi- ne Deus, tu me regnare fecifti feruum tuum pro [p- IJ1 Dauide patre meo, ego autem fum puer par- uulus, & ignorans ingreffu, & introitu meu : & feruus tuus in medio eft populi, quern elegifti, Epistle Dedicatory 9 God, who was moreover a prophet filled with divine inspiration, and therefore well aware of what was especially necessary for a king, sought before all things learning, and that of course divine, so that he was unable to restrain himself from saying " Blessed art thou, O Lord, teach me thy righteousness, I have delighted in the way of thy commandments, as in all riches : in thy statutes will I exercise myself, and I will consider thy ways. Open thou mine eyes, and I will consider the wonderful things of thy law. Teach me goodness and instruction and learning ; but with my whole heart will I examine thy command- ments. Unless thy law had been my meditation, then should I perchance have perished in my low estate. How sweet are thy sayings to my mouth, better than honey to my lips. The law of thy mouth is a good to me beyond thousands of gold and silver. Thy word is a lantern unto my feet, and a light unto my paths. The telling of thy discourses giveth light and understanding to babes." Thus far king David, the most illustrious of all kings both in peace and war. King Solomon, his son, the wisest of all that earth ever bore, to whose single authority more weight is to be given than to six hundred flatterers persuading to a different course, when God the Father, maker of all the world and giver of all good things, of his own accord offered to him what he should judge to be best for himself and for his greatest advantage, and promised that he would grant it at once on his request, replied in this manner, as the Scriptures testify. " Now, O Lord God, thou hast made me, thy servant, to reign in the room of David my father, but I am a little child, and know not my coming in and entering ; and thy servant is in the midst of the people whom thou hast chosen, an in- io Epistola N lineup at or ia populi infiniti, qui numerari & fupputari non poteft pre multitudine. Dabis ergo feruo tuo cor docile, ut populum tuum iudicare poffit, & difcernere inter bonum & malum : quis enim potefl iudicare populum iftum, populum tuum hunc multum ? Hue ufq$ Solomon, qui in phi- lofophia tarn diuina quam humana ita non multis poft annis profecit, ut de flirpibus a cedro ufq$ ad hiffopum difputauerit, & de beftijs, uolucribus, reptilibus, & pifcibus differuerit Quare, prudentiffimi quique principes, & [p. 12] fortiffimi, no fatis habebant, fubditos fuos di- uitijs, honoribus, ueftitu, inceffu, & bellica gloria excellere, nifi literis, linguis, philofophia tarn diuina quam humana infuper multum fupera- rent, & a tergo relinqueret. Quod pater tuus omnium regum, qui hodie uiuunt, eruditiffimus, fatis ut regem tantum decet, intelligens, & cui Reipub. gubernaculum committitur, quam necef- faria literae & philofophia fmt, prudenter fecum perpendens, liberos fuos femper eruditiffimis quibufque praeceptoribus commifit. Duci enim Richmundiae, piae memoriae, fratri tuo Geor- gium Folberium praeceptore olim meum, uirum infigniter doclum, et mirum recle inftituendae iuuentutis artificem, & tibi nuc uirum longe [p- 13] doctiffimum (uti audio) praefecit. Qua de caufa, illuftriffime & optime prin- ceps, fapietiffimorum & fortiffimorum regum exempla fecutus, atq* potentiffimi & eruditiffimi patris tui confilio obtemperans, qui te ad me- liores imbibendas literas, nunquam non inuitat, incitat & hortatur, dum aetas tua adhuc tenera Epistle Dedicatory 1 1 numerable people, a people which cannot be numbered or counted for their multitude. Thou shalt give therefore to thy servant a heart that may be taught, that he may be able to judge thy people, and to discern between good and evil : for who is able to judge this people, this great people of thine ?" Thus far spoke Solomon, who not many years afterwards so excelled in philosophy both divine and human that he disserted about plants from the cedar even to the hyssop, and discoursed of beasts, birds, reptiles, and fishes. Wherefore all the most wise and brave Princes have not considered it sufficient to surpass their sub- jects in riches, honours, garb, gait, and warlike glory, unless beyond this they excelled them far in learning, tongues, and philosophy both divine and human, and left them in the rear. And this your father, the most learned of all the kings who are alive at the present day, well understanding, as becomes so great a king, and one to whom the helm of the State is entrusted, wisely pondering in his mind how necessary learning and philosophy are, always committed his children to the care of the most learned of instructors. For over your brother the Duke of Richmond, of pious memory, he set Georgius Folberius, once my tutor, a man of remarkable learning, and a wondrous handicraftsman for rightly instructing youth, and now over you (as I hear) a man by far the most learned of all. Wherefore, most illustrious and worthy Prince, following the steps of the wisest and bravest kings, and yielding to the advice of your most powerful and learned father, who so constantly invites you to the draught of superior learning, spurs you on, and exhorts you, while your years are yet tender and 12 Epistola Nuncupatoria eft, & literaru capaciffima, omne genus bona- rum literarum obuijs ulnis amplectere, difce, & imbibe, & exantlati in bonas literas laboris olim te minime poenitebit. Sed ut ad propofitam metam minori cum negocio poffis peruenire, libellum De hiftoria auium, in quo Latinis nominibus Grseca, Germanica & Britanica in [p. 14] gratiam tuam appofui, ex Ariftotele & Plinio, & optimis quibusq* fcriptoribus contexui. Hunc ego nominis tui celebritati dedico, & dono : etia atq$ etia te obteftans, ut hoc meum qualecunq* munufculum aequi boni'q* confulas. Quod fi te facturum intellexero, & hunc libellum figuris & auium moribus, & medicinis auclum, & de herbis alium etiam librum, breui, uolente Deo, in lucem emittam. Vale. Dominus lefus te nobis fanftiffimis moribus inftitutum, & optimis lite- ris imbutum, quam diu- tiffime inculumem conferuet. Coloniae 5. Idus Februarij, Anno M.D.XLIIII. Epistle Dedicatory 13 most amenable to learning, embrace with open arms every kind of noble literature, learn and drink it in, and hereafter you will surely not repent of the labour expended upon this noble literature. But that you may be able to reach with less trouble the goal that is laid before you I have compiled from Aristotle and Pliny and all the best writers this little book on ' The History of Birds,' in which I have placed for your pleasure the Greek, German, and British names side by side with the Latin. This I dedicate and offer to the glory of your name : again and again praying you to receive this little gift, such as it is, with fair and favourable consideration. And if I understand that you will do this, I will shortly, God willing, bring to the light of day a further edition of this little book with figures of the birds, their habits, and curative properties, as well as another book on plants. Fare- well. May the Lord Jesus preserve you as long as possible unharmed to us, trained in most holy ways and filled with the best of learning. Cullen [Cologne]. February pth, 1544. [p- 15] De decem generibus Accipitrum. ARISTOTELES1. Buteo. A CCIPITRUM genus praecipuum Buteo J~\_ eft, Triorcha2 a numero teftium nuncupa- Aefaio. tus : fecundum aefalo, tertium circus. Stellaris autem, palumbarius, & pernix3 differunt. Ap- pellantur fubuteones, qui latiores4 funt : alij Percae percae & fringillarij uocantur : alij leeues5 & ru- Frmgiilarij. betarij, qui abunde uiuunt6, atque humiuole funt. Genera non pauciora quam decem effe accipi- trum aliqui prodiderunt, quae modo quoq* ue- nandi7 inter fe diffident. Alij enim columbam humi confidentem, rapiunt, uolantem non appe- tunt : alij fuper arborem, aut tale quid con- fcendentem, uenantur : fin humi est, aut uolat, [p. 1 6] non inuadunt. Alij neq* humi, neq* in fublimi manente, adgrediutur, fed uolantem capere co- nantur. Fertur etiam a columbis quodqj ac- cipitru genus cognofci. Itaqj cum accipiter prouolat, fi fublimipeta eft, manent quo confhi- terunt loco : fed fi humipeta qui prouolat, eft, non manet, fed continue auolant. 1 Hist. An. Bk ix. 128—130. 2 Aristotle has simply Kparia-ros pev 6 Tpiopxns. 3 Other readings are Trrepi/Js, nepvys, Trrepvys. 4 Instead of TrXarurepoi, some texts have TrXaruTrrepot, which would make better sense and mean 'broad-winged.' 6 Xflot, or according to another text eXeioi. 6 The word ew^tcoraroi here, and corresponding expressions throughout the passages quoted in this book, might possibly mean that the birds in question have no particular faults, or are of ordinary respectability. Gaza, however, followed as usual by Turner, seems to have interpreted the word rightly here. 7 These three words are not found in Aristotle. Of the ten kinds of Accipitres. ARISTOTLE. THE chief kind of Accipitres is Buteo, which from the number of its testicles is named Triorcha, y£salo is the second, Circus is the third. Again Stellaris, Palumbarius, and Pernix differ. Those which have more breadth are called Subuteones ; other kinds are named Percae and Fringillarii ; others Laeves and Rubetarii, which get their living most easily, and fly near to the ground. Some have asserted that there are no fewer than ten kinds of the Accipitres which differ from each other in their several modes of hunting. For some sorts seize a Dove when sitting on the ground, but do not touch one flying ; others seek their prey when perched upon a tree, or such like, but if it be on the ground or flying do not attack it. And others seize it neither on the ground, nor when resting aloft, but strive to catch it flying. Moreover it is said that each kind of Accipitres is recognised by Doves. So, when the Accipiter comes forth, if it be such as hunts on high, they stay where they have settled, but, if that which comes be such as takes them on the ground, they stay not, but forth- with fly off. 1 6 Accipitres PLINIUS1. Accipitrum genera fedecim inuenimus. Ex Circus. ijs circon claudum altero pede, profperrimi tpecuarie, augurij nuptialibus negocijs, & fpecuniariae rei2. Triorchen a numero teftiu, cui principatum Buteo. in augurij s Phcemone dedit : buteone hunc appellant Rom. Aefalona Graeci uocant, qui folus omni tepore apparet. Caeteri hyeme Cymindis. abeunt. Nocturnus accipiter cymindis uocatur, [p- J7] rarus etiam in fyluis, interdiu minus cernens : bellum internecinum cum aquila gerit : cohse- rentescj* faepe prsehenduntur. Hsec Plinius. Quanquam A riftoteles decent effe accipitrum genera tradat, & Plinius fedecim : neuter tamen horum h&c ita dtftinxit genera, & defcripfit, ut procliue fit leflori fuum cuique peculiare nomen ex illorum prczfcriptis imponere. Quare a me nemo horum exaftam differ en- tiam, & cuiufque nomen Britannicum aut Germanictim cum Latino & Grceco coniunEtum, itire poterit exigere. Ego tamen, quod nomen Britannicum, cuiq; Latino imponedum effe cenfeo, letJorem minime celabo. Buteo. Buteo rpLop^r)^ Greece diflus, Anglorum busharda eft, nijl fallar : nam miluo magnitudine cequiparatur , femperq-, ipfe cernitur, qualem Ariftoteles ocJauo libro de hijloria animalium bitteonem defcribit. Aefalo. \io-d\wv, quoniam iuxta Plinij fententiam omni tempore apparet, & inter minores accipitres fola merlina fiue fmerla, femper adpareat, rnihi A nglorum merlina, & Germanor. fmerla effe uidetur. 1 Hist. Nat. Lib. X. cap. viii. 2 If the reading pecuarias is accepted, the meaning would appear to be 'for cattle breeding.' Accipitres 1 7 PLINY. Of Accipitres we have found sixteen kinds. Circus among them, halting in a foot, of lucky omen in nuptial affairs and money business. Triorches next, to which Phcemone1 gave the foremost place in auspices, named from the number of its testicles : the Romans call it Buteo and the Greeks ^Esalon : it is the only kind which may be seen at every time. The rest leave us in winter. An Accipiter that flies by night is called Cymindis ; it is rarely found in woodlands, in the day it scarce can see : it wages deadly warfare with the Aquila, and they are often captured clinging to each other. So far Pliny. Though Aristotle may set forth that there are ten kinds of Accipitres, and Pliny that there are sixteen, yet neither of them has distinguished or described the kinds so that it may be easy for a reader to apply to each its proper name from their accounts. So no one can in fairness claim from me their exact difference, nor yet the British or the German name of each, together with the Latin or the Greek equivalent. I will, however, surely not conceal from you, my reader, what I think to be the British name, and to which Latin name it ought to be applied. Buteo, called in Greek rpiopxr)?, if I do not err, is the Buzzard of the English, for it is compared with Milvus as to size ; moreover it is seen at all times, and is such a bird as Aristotle makes his Buteo in the eighth book of the 1 History of Animals.' AtVaXw^, since in Pliny's judgment it appears at every season, and among the smaller Hawks the Merlin or the Smerl alone seems to appear2 at all times, is, I think, the Merlin of the English and Smerl of the Germans. 1 Phcemone, called 'Daughter of Apollo,' was a priestess at Delphi. (See Pliny Hist. Nat. ed. Hardouin : Lipsias, 1791, Index Auctorum, p. 340.) 2 This seems to be the force of the subjunctive here, if it is not an oversight. T. 2 i8 A ccipitres — A Icedo nus. Fringilla- rius. Rubetarius. [p. 1 8] Accipitrem palumbarium ideo Anglorum fparhau- Palumba- cam, & Germanorum fperuuerum effe puto, quod pa- lumbes, columbos, perdices & grandiufculas aues infe- quatur. Fringillarium Anglorum hobbid effe conijcio. Eft autem hobbia accipiter minimus, coloris cceteris nigri- oris. In capite duos habet nigerrimos in pallido neuos. Galeritas & fringillas plerumq; captat, in excel/is ar- boribus nidulatur, & hyeme nufquam cernitur. Rubetarium effe credo accipitrem ilium, quern Angli hen harroer nominant. Porrb ille apud noftros a dila- niandis gallinis nomen habet. Palumbarium magni- tudine fuperat, & coloris eft cinerij. Humi fedentes aues in agris, & gallinas in oppidis & pagis repente adoritur. Prceda fruftratus, tacitus difcedit, nee iin- quam fecundum facit infulttim. Hie per humum om- nium uolat maxime. Subbuteonem effe puto, quern Angli ringtalum appel- lant, ab albo circulo, qui caudam circuit. Colore eftmedio inter fuluum & nigru, buteone paulb minor, fed multb agilior. Prcedam eodem modo, quo fuperior captat. [p. 19] DE ALCEDONE. A.\Kva)i>y alcedo, Anglice the kynges fifsher, Germa- nice e^n eijwogel. ARISTOTELES1. Alcedo non multo amplior paffere est, co- lore turn uiridi, turn cceruleo, turn etiam leuiter purpureo infignis : uidelicet non particulatim colore ita diftinfta, fed ex indifcreto uarie re- fulgens corpore toto & alls & collo, roflrum fubuiride, longum & tenue. Alcedonum 2 quo- 1 Hist. An. Bk ix. 85. 2 Hist. An. Bk vill. 47. Subbuteo. A ccipitres — A Icedo 1 9 The Accipiter palumbarius1 I take to be the Sparrow- Hawk of the English and the Sperwer of the Germans, since it preys on Doves, Pigeons, and Partridges and the bigger sorts of birds. The Fringillarius I guess to be the Hobby of the English. Now the Hobby is a very little Hawk of darker colour than the other kinds. It has upon the head two spots of deep black on a lighter ground. It catches for the most part Larks and Finches, nests on lofty trees, and is not seen in winter anywhere. The Rubetarius I think to be that Hawk which English people name Hen-Harrier. Further it gets this name among our countrymen from butchering their fowls. It exceeds the Palumbarius in size, and is in colour ashen. It suddenly strikes birds when sitting in the fields upon the ground, as well as fowls in towns and villages. Baulked of its prey it steals off silently, nor does it ever make a second swoop. It flies along the ground the most of all. The Subbuteo I think to be that Hawk which English- men call Ringtail from the ring of white that reaches round the tail. In colour it is midway from fulvous to black ; it is a little smaller than the Buteo, but much more active. It catches prey in the same manner as the bird above. OF THE ALCEDO. rA\KV(w, alcedo, in English the kynges fisher, in German eyn eissvogel. ARISTOTLE. The Alcedo, not much larger than the Passer, is remarkable for being in its colour green and blue, and even slightly purple, not, that is to say, in sepa- rate parts, as if it had the colour perfectly distinct, but variably shining over every part alike of the whole body, with the wings and head. The beak is greenish, and is long and thin. The tribe of 1 Later authors are probably more correct in applying this name to the Goshawk, which suits even Turner's account better. 2 2 2O A Ice do que genus aquas adamat, quod duplex eft : alterum uocale, harundinibus infidens, alterum mutum, quod ampliore corpore eft . utrique dor- fum cceruleum. Sed alcedo apud mare quoque uerfatur. PLINIUS \ Ipfa auis paulo amplior pafcere2, colore [p. 20] cyaneo, ex parte maiore, tantum purpureis & candidis admixtis pennis, collo gracili ac pro- cero. Alterum genus earum, magnitudine dif- tinguitur, & cantu. Minores in harundinetis canunt. Halcyonem uidere rariffimu eft, nee nifi Vergiliarum occafu, & circa folftitia, bru- mam'ue, naue aliquando circumuolata, ftatim in latebras abeuntem. Fcetificant bruma, qui dies Halcionides uocatur, placido mari per eos & nauigabili, Siculo maxime. In reliquis partibus eft quidem mitius pelagus. Siculu utiq* tracla- bile. Faciunt autem feptem ante brumam die- bus nidos, & totidem fequentibus pariut. Nidi earum admirationem habent, pilae figura paulu eminente, ore perquam angufto, grandium [p. 21] fpongiarum fimilitudine, ferro intercidi non queunt, franguntun^ i6lu ualido, ut fpuma arida maris. Nee unde confingantur inuenitur. Pu- tant ex fpinis aculeatis, pifcibus enim uiuunt. Subeunt & in amnes. Pariunt oua quina. 1 Hist, Nat. Lib. X. cap. xxxii. 2 Lege 'passere.' A Ice do 21 Kingfishers, of which there are two sorts, is fond of watersides : one is a vocal bird, which sits on reeds, the other, which is of a larger size, is mute. The back is blue in both. The Kingfisher, however, also haunts the sea. PLINY. This bird is little bigger than the Passer, for the most part blue in colour, with the wings alone of purple mixed with white, and with a long and slender neck. Each of the two kinds may be distinguished by its size and voice. The lesser sing in reed-beds. It is very rare to see the Halcyon, and this occurs only towards the setting of the Pleiades and near the solstice or in winter-time, when, after circling round the ship awhile, it hurriedly departs again to its retreat. They breed in winter, at the season called the Halcyon days1, wherein the sea is calm and fit for navigation, the Sicilian sea particularly so. Elsewhere indeed the ocean is less boisterous. The Sicilian is certainly gentle enough. Now these birds build their nests in the seven days before the winter solstice, and hatch out their young in the seven following. Their nests compel our wonder, of a ball-like shape, with a small jutting part and very narrow hole, like sponges of great size ; they cannot be cut open with an iron tool, but may be broken by a vigorous blow, as dry sea-foam2 may be. It is not known of what these are composed. Some think of pointed bones, since the birds live on fish. They also dive in rivers, and lay five eggs each. 1 For the origin of this ancient tradition, the reader may be referred to any work dealing with Greek mythology. 2 By 'dry sea-foam' Pliny probably meant masses of whelks' eggs. 22 A nas — A user Prater ha>v£ eats other creatures' eyes, for Aristotle says : /idXto-ra yap eo-nv o0$aA/zo/3dpo$' ra>v 6pvi6(*)v. 6 Hist, An. Bk vm. 46. Ardea 39 ARISTOTLE, Of Ardeae there are three kinds, Pella, Alba, and Stellaris, but the last has the by-name of Piger. The coupling of Pella is difficult, for it screams while it couples and (they say) emits blood from its eyes : it also brings forth painfully and with extreme distress. The Pella is sagacious, quick at getting food1, and always busy. It is wont to be astir by day ; yet it is mean in colour, with the belly wet. Of the re- maining two the Alba, fair of colour, couples, nests and brings forth well ; it feeds in marshes, on a lake, in fields and meadow-ground. But the Stellaris, by- named Lazy (in the fable it is said of old to have been changed from a slave to a bird), as its by-name imports, is slow and indolent. The bird called Phoix has beyond all others this peculiarity that it especially attacks the eyes. The Ardea and the Albardeola, which is of smaller size and has a broad and elongated bill, seek lakes and rivers. The Pella builds its nest in England on the lofty trees that grow not far from the banks of streams. The upper part of the body is blue, the lower is, however, somewhat white. It routs Eagles or Hawks, if they attack it suddenly, by very liquid mutings of the belly, and thereby defends itself. Of this kind I have seen some white, though they are rare, which differed from the aforesaid neither in their size nor shape of body, but in colour only. Furthermore the white has been observed in England to nest with the blue, and to bear offspring. Wherefore it is clear that they are of one species. I have only once seen — and that was in Italy — the Albardeola, which is called Xeu/cepeoSto? in Greek ; it is much smaller than the Pella and by no means shuns the sight of man so much as does the blue. Had I not seen it, I should have declared the Albardeola to be the English 1 That is, for its young. 4O A rdea — A urivittis — A ttagen lardam albardeold effe iudicaffem. Stellaris eft, qua [p- 35] Angli buttourum, aut bittourum, & Germani pittourum abuttour & rofdommum nominant : nam aids eft toto corporis em pittour. 7 , •; / • / • • /- • / • • /- • ein rofdo. habitu ardeis reaquis ftmihs, ex pifcium uenatu ad ripas palladium & amnium uiuens, pigerrima & ftoli- dijfima, ut quce in retia ab equo faclicio agi poteft facilime. Colore eft fere, quantum memini, phafiani, roftro limo indito, afininos ronchos uoce refert: cculos hominum auidijfimc omnium aiiium appetit. Quare ft quid impediat, quo minus ftellaris effe pqffit, (quod Phoix. mi/ii nondum cernere datum eft} phoica effe oportebit, quam A riftoteles oculos maxime appetere teftatur, quan- quam & cater ce ardece idem facere fcepe uif&funt, DE AVRIVITTE. Xpfo-oyLttVpt?, no ut quidam codices habent, pvo-o/nrj- rpiis, auriuittis, Anglice a gold finc/ie, Germanice ei)ii biftelftucf, ober e\)u fttgelt^. Auriuittis. Auriuittis una eft ex auiculis, qua carduorum femine uictitanP, & uermes etiam oblatos, non attingunt. Alij goldfincam, aut difteluincam, fpmum, alij cardue- lem effe uolunt. Sed ft quis, ex fpiniuoris prceter Jianc aliam aurea uitta redimitam oftederit, cui magis auri- uittis nomen competat, quam huic, opinionem meant facile patiar explodi, alioqui non ttideo, quin digna fit, qua probetur. [p. 36] DE ATTAGENE. Array T)P, array as, attagen, attagena. A ttagen, ut fcribit A riftoteles, gallinagini fimilis eft color e. Attagenam uarijs diftinctam ejfe maculis, Ariftophanes* his uerfibus teftatur : Si quis ex uobis erit fugitiuus atq\ uftus notis, A ttagen fane apud nos uarius appellabitur. 1 Aristotle's groups of Birds are as follows: (i) (crooked-clawed) ; (2) o-KcoA^Ko^uya (worm-eating) ; (3) adya (eating thistle seeds) ; (4) o-Knrocfrdya (? grub-eating) ; (5) Tre/jio-repoeifi?) (dove-like) ; (6) ea enim alba eft. Cceteru nigredo Indus nonniJdl fplendefcit, ad enm fere modum, quo columborum nigrorum torques circa colla fplendefcunt. ad uiriditatem igitur proxime ac- cedit. in capite rubrum quendain Jiabet^ fed carneiini cirru, & circa genas duos habet uehiti lobos rubrost & eos carneos. Foemina tot a maculis diftinc~ta eft, & a perdice, nifi maior effet, & ruffa magis, cegre dignofci 1 Hist. Nat. Lib. X. cap. xlviii. 2 Petrus Gyllius was the author of the work De vi et natura Auinialium etc. Lugd. Bat. 1533. Attagen 43 PLINY OF THE ATTAGEN. The Attagen is most renowned as an Ionian bird ; it usually is noisy, in captivity however it is dumb. In former times it was considered rare, but now it is taken in Gaul, in Spain, and on the Alps. PETRUS GYLLIUS. The Attagen is rather larger than the Perdix, and is marked with particoloured feathers on the back, in colour it is reddish, and it feeds on grain. It has short wings, and rolls itself in dust. Accordingly our British schoolmasters are wrong who make their Woodcock the Attagen, which lives only on worms and never touches grain. Indeed I seriously doubt whether Attagenes be found in England or not, for those who give descriptions of the Attagen, do not distinguish the male from the female, whence I infer that they have the same colours and are like in form. But in the kind of bird which with us comes the nearest to the Attagen in form, the male differs so greatly from the female that they might appear to be of separate kinds to the man inexperienced in things like this. Nevertheless I will describe each bird. The male1 is somewhat less than a domestic cock and is entirely black, save that part of the tail which overlies the vent, for that is white. Moreover the black colour of the bird is somewhat glossy, very nearly as the collar round the neck of our black pigeons is. So it approaches very near to green. Upon its head it has a red but fleshy sort of comb2, and round its cheeks two red lobes as it were and those fleshy. The hen is wholly marked with spots, and, were she not a bigger bird and more rufous, could scarcely be distinguished from a Partridge. Both frequent 1 Turner here undoubtedly refers to the Blackcock (Tetrao tetrix). 2 The Blackcock has two erectile patches of red skin over the eyes, which in the breeding season even reach above the top of the head ; and the word ' cirrum ' must be taken to mean such a patch here. 44 A ttagen — A tricapilla pojfit. In defertis facts & plants, erica potiffimum conjitis, ambo degunt. grano uefcuntur, et fummis ericce ger minibus. Breues Jiabens alas, & brenes fa- ciunt twlatus. Hcec auis, fi attagen no fit, gallina uidetur ejfe Varronis riijlica. Erafmus in Adagio, Attagence nouilunium, aitagenam anem paluftrem facit, & narijs maculis diftinttam. quod fi fatis exploratum [p. 38J mihi effet, Anglorum goduuittain,fiue fedoam, attage- nam ejfe, indnbitanter auderem adfirmare. Eft autem ipfa gallinagini ita Jimilis, ut nifi paulb maior effet, & pettoris color magls ad cinereu uergeret, altera ab altera difficulter pojjit diftingui. uiuit in locis palujlri- bus, et ad ripas fluminu. roftrum habet longuni, fed capta triticum non fecus atque columbi, comedit. triplo pluris quam gallinago apud nos uenditur, tantopere eins caro magnatiim palatis arridet. harum Ji nentra Jit attagena, attagenani nufquam nidi. DE ATRICAPILLA. M.e\avKopvo<;y atricapilla, in German, as is supposed, eyn grasmuklen. ARISTOTLE. The Atricapilla, as some report, lays the most eggs of all, next to the Struthio of Africa. No fewer than seventeen eggs of the Atricapilla have been found, but it lays even more than twenty and, as some narrate, in number always odd. It also nests in trees and feeds upon small worms. It is peculiar to this and the Luscinia beyond all other birds that they have no point to the tip of the tongue. Fice- dulae and Atricapillae change in turn. For when autumn sets in the bird becomes a Ficedula, from autumn onwards it becomes an Atricapilla, nor is 1 See Prof. Newton's Diet. Birds, p. 248. 46 Atricapilla — Bubo nee inter eas difcrimen aliquod, nifi coloris & uocis eft. Auem effe eandem coftat, quia dum immutaretur hoc genus, utruque confpe6tum eft, nondum abfolute mutatum, nee alterutrum adhuc proprium ullum habens appellationis \ Hsec Aristoteles. Atricapillam in Anglia nunquam nidi, neq, fcepius in hita quam femel, idq\ in Italia in domo Ducis Ferra- rienjls. Eamfy mihi uir ntrinfq, linguce no uulgariter doc~tus, D. Francifcus, dud a facris concionibus exlii- buit. Angloru lingettce, & Germanornm grafmufcho >, quod ad corporis magnitudinem attinet, fimilis erat : fed atrnm habebat caput, & reliqunm corporis colorem magis ad cinerium uergentem. [p. 40] DE BVBONE. Bua?2, bubo, Anglice, alyke fonle, Germanice eV)n fc^uffauf / e^n fc^iiffel / e\)n fauft. ARISTOTELES 3. Bubo e noftuarum genere eft, & nocluae fpecie quidem fimilis, fed magnitudine non minor quam aquila. PLINIUS 4. Bubo funebris, & maxime abominatus, pub- licis prsecipue aufpicijs, deferta incolit, nee tantum defolata, fed etiam inacceffa : noclis monftrum, nee cantu aliquo uocalis, fed gemitu. Volat nuquam quo libuit, fed tranfuerfus au- fertur. Hec Plinius. Hanc atiem femel Venetijs iujla aquilcz magnitn- dine uidi, fed crura erant paulb breuiora quam aquilce crurafolent effe. Ccetera aquilce fimilis erat. 1 Aristotle has eKare'/D<» I8i6v rt inrrjp^fv ovdev according to one text. He has no word to represent ' appellationis.' 2 Or Epvas. 3 Hist. An. Bk VIII. 39. 4 Hist. Nat. Lib. X. cap. xii. Atricapilla — Bubo 47 there any difference between the two, save that of colour and of voice. That the bird is the same is evident, since, while this kind is undergoing the change, each of the two is seen, not fully changed as yet, and neither having so far any proper name. Thus far Aristotle. In England I have never seen the Atricapilla, nor yet but once in life, and that in Italy within the house of the Duke of Ferrara. And Don Francisco of the Holy Council of the Duke, a man uncommonly well versed in both the tongues, shewed it to me himself. The bird was like the English lingett and the German grasmuschen, so far as size of body went ; but it had a black head, and the remaining colour of its body verging more to grey. OF THE BUBO. Btw, bubo, in English alyke foule, in German eyn schuf- fauss (eyn schiiffel), eyn kautz. ARISTOTLE. The Bubo is of the race of Noctuae, and is in aspect very like a Noctua, but not less than an Aquila in size. PLINY. The Bubo is a fatal bird, of evil omen beyond other sorts, especially at public auguries ; it lives in desert places, and not merely those that are un- peopled, but those also hard of access : monster of the night it utters not a song, but only a groan. It never flies where it intends, but is borne off aslant. So Pliny says. This bird I saw at Venice once, of a full Eagle's size1, its legs, however, were a little shorter than an Eagle's legs are wont to be. But it was like an Eagle otherwise. 1 Turner probably meant the Eagle Owl (Bubo ignavus}. 48 Bosca — Caprimulgus [p. 41] DE BOSCA. Bofca, aids eft aquatica, anati fimilis, fed minor. Quum multce fint aues aquaticcs anati fimiles, fed mino- res, lit ftmt, teles uocatce ab Anglis Vuigene & pochards, earn puto bo f cam ejfe, qua proxime ad magnitudinem & fimilitudinem anatis accedit. Hoc quum pocharda faciat, illam Arijlotelis effe bofcam iudico. DE CAPRIMVLGO. Caprimulgus, al^o6r)\a^. ARISTOTELES \ Caprimulgus, auis eft montana, magnitudine paulo maior, quam merula, minor quam cuculus, moribus mollior. Parit duo oua, aut tria cum plurima. Sugit, caprarum ubera aduolans, unde nomen accepit. Cum uber fuxerit, extingui, capram(^ excsecari aiunt, parum clare interdiu uidet, fed noclu perfpicax. PLINIUS 2. [p. 42] Caprimulgi appellantur grandiores merulae afpeftu, fures nofturni, interdiu etiam uifu carent. Cum ejjfem apud H elite tios, fen em quendam con- fpicatus, capras pafcentem in montibus, quos herbas qucerendi gratia afcenderam, rogabam num auem no- uijfet merulce magnitudine, interdiu ccecam, noc~tu per- fpicacem, qua caprarum ubcra noctu fugere foleat, unde capra poftea ccecce euadunt ? qui refpodit, fe in Helne- tiorum montibus ante quatuordecim annos, multos ui- dijfe, & mnltas iniurias ab ipfis paffum, ut qui feme I 1 Hist. An. Bk ix. 109. 2 Hist. Nat. Lib. X. cap. xl. Bo sea — Caprimulgits 49 OF THE BOSCA. The Bosca is a water fowl, like to a Duck1, but smaller. Since there are many water fowls like to the Duck, but smaller (as there surely are), called Teles, Wigenes and Pochards by the English, I believe the Bosca to be that which comes nearest the size and likeness of a Duck. And since the Pochard does so, I decide that it is Aristotle's Bosca. OF THE CAPRIMULGUS. Caprimulgus, alyod^Xo?. ARISTOTLE. The Caprimulgus is a mountain bird, in size a little bigger than the Merula, less than the Cuculus ; in disposition it is milder. It lays two eggs or three at most. Flying to the udders of she-goats, it sucks them, and thus gets its name. They say that the udder withers2 when it has sucked at it, and that the goat goes blind. By day the bird sees dimly, but quite well at night. PLINY. Caprimulgi, as they are called, look bigger than a Merula, and act as thieves by night ; by day they even lack the power of sight. When I was in Switzerland I saw an aged man, who fed his goats upon the mountains, which I had gone up intent on search of plants : I asked him whether he knew a bird of the size of a Merula, blind in the day-time, keen of sight at night, which in the dark is wont to suck goats' udders, so that afterwards the animals go blind. Now he replied that he himself had seen many in the Swiss mountains fourteen years before, that he had suffered many losses from those very 1 That is, the Wild Duck (Anas boscas). 2 This rendering appears much preferable to translating this word 'the goat dies,' as, judging from the punctuation, some would have it. T. A 50 Caprimulgus — Car due Us fex capellas a caprimulgo occacatas habuerat. ccetern nuc omnes ad unum ab Heluetijs ufque ad inferiores Germanos, ubi Jiodie non folum capras lac~te priuant & occcecant, fed & ones infuper occidunt, auolaffe. Nomen aids qncerenti, paphum, id eft, facerdotem did refpodit. Sed iietulns ille mecu forte iocatns eft. Ego uerb, fi- ne iocatns fuerit, fine ferib locnttis, aliud Germanicu caprimulgi nomen qua quod me docuit ifte, non teneo. 51 qm Jint, qni meliiis & aptius nomen in proptn habeant, proferant. DE CARDVELE. Cardttelis,Ji Gazce credimus, Greece OpavTrls dicitur, 43] & inter fpiniuoras auiculas A riftoteles recenfet. Nee phira de carduele apnd Ariftotelem lego. Plinius1 fcri- bit cardneles auiitm minimas imperata facere, nee noce tantum.fed pedibus & ore pro manibns. Prceter aniculam illam fpiniuoram aurea uitta redimitam, aliam noui fpiniuoram colore uiridem, quce non fecus atq; auriuittis roftro e dnabns Jitnlis nicijjlm afcendentibns & defcendentibiis , cibum ex una, & potu ex altera defnmit. Quin & hoc facit miliaria, quam linotam noftrates appellant. Eade qnoq; hominc qnid- nis cdtante, uoce imitatnr. Quare no fola ilia, quce Greece 6 pawn Is, & Latine Theodoro cardnelis dicitur, imperata facit) & roftro & pedibus pro manibns ntitnr. Dic~tu mihi difficile iddetnr, qnam'nam e tribus, qnum omnes illce carduornm femine nefcantiir, Plinius cardnelem fecerit, nu thranpin aut acanthin, ant chry- 1 Hist. Nat. Lib. X. cap. xlii. Caprimulgus — Car due Us 51 birds ; so that he had once had six she-goats blinded by Caprimulgi, but that one and all they now had flown away from Switzerland to Lower Germany, where nowadays they did not only steal the milk of she-goats, making them go blind, but killed the sheep besides. And, on my asking the bird's name, he said that it was called the Paphus, otherwise the Priest. But possibly that aged man was jesting with me. Yet whether he was jesting, or spoke gravely, still I have no other German name than what he gave to me for Caprimulgus. If there be any then who have in readiness a better or a fitter name than this, let them produce it. OF THE CARDUELIS. The Carduelis, if we believe Gaza, is in Greek called Aristotle also numbers it among small thistle- eaters1. I find in Aristotle nothing more than this about the Carduelis. Pliny writes that Cardueles, smallest of all birds, perform set tasks, and not in song alone, but with their feet and beak in place of hands. Besides that thistle-eating little bird2 adorned with band of gold I know another thistle-eating sort, in colour green3, which with its beak takes up its food from one of two small buckets moving up and down alternately, its water from the other, as the Aurivittis does. The Miliaria moreover does the same, which bird our countrymen call Linot. Furthermore it mimics with its song a man when singing anything. And so it is not only that one kind, in Greek called dpavjris and in Latin named by Theodorus4 Carduelis that performs the tasks that it is bid, and uses beak and feet in place of hands. It seems to me then difficult to say, since all three birds feed upon thistle-seeds, which of them Pliny meant by Carduelis, whether it should be the Thraupis, or the Acanthis, or the Chrysomitris. And should it be the Thraupis, as 1 See p. 35. 2 The Aurivittis, p. 35. 3 Probably Turner means the Siskin (Carduelis spinus\ 4 Theodorus Gaza. 4—2 5 2 Car due Us — Cceruleo — Certh ia fomitrc. Si thraupin, ut Gaza credit, auis ilia aureis plumis carduelis non erit: nam ilia apud Ariflot. no QpavTrls, fed Chryfomitris eft. Qucend igitur auis carduelis Jit, non audeo prommciare. DE CCERVLEONE. Kvavos, cceruleo, Anglice, a clotburd, a fmatche, an arlyng, a fteinchek, German, etytt bred? uocjel. [p. 44] ARISTOTELES \ Coeruleo maxime in Scyro2 colit, faxa amans : magnitucline minor quam merula, maior paulo qua fringilla : pede magno 3 eft, fcandit4* faxa : colore coeruleo : roftro tenui & longo : crure breui, fimiliter ut pipo eft. Cceruleo, Ji ea Jit auis, quam conijcio effe, in cuni- culorum foueis, & fub lapidibus in Anglia nidulatur, & in hyeme non apparet. DE CERTHIA. ARISTOTELES 4. Certhia, auicula eft exigua, cui mores au- daces, domicilium apud arbores, ui6lus ex coffis, ingenium fagax in uitae officijs. Auis eft qucedam, quam Angli creperam, id eft, reptitatricem nominant, quod fuper arbores femper repat, quam certhiam effe credo. Ea reguto paulb maior, pecJore pallido, ccetera fufca & maculis nigris diftincta 1 Hist. An. Bk ix. 97. 2 Another reading is Nio-vpw. 3 /ifyaXoTrous, but some read p 4 Hist. An. Bk IX. 92. Car due Us — Coeruleo — Certhia 5 3 Gaza believes, that bird with golden feathers will not be the Carduelis, for with Aristotle that is not the Opawjrls, but the Chrysomitris, Therefore I dare not pronounce what bird the Carduelis is. OF THE CCERULEO. o9, coeruleo, in English a clot-burd, a smatche, an arlyng, a steinchek, in German eyn brech vogel. ARISTOTLE. The Coeruleo chiefly dwells in Scyros and loves rocks ; in size it is a little smaller than a Merula, a little larger than a Fringilla : it has large feet, and climbs on rocks : in colour it is blue : the beak is long and thin : the legs are short as in the Pipo. The Coeruleo1, if it be the bird which I conjecture, nests in rabbit holes and under stones in England, and does not appear in winter. OF THE CERTHIA. ARISTOTLE. The Certhia is a very little bird of bold habits ; its home is upon trees, its food is grubs ; it shews wise instinct for the needs of life. There is a certain bird which Englishmen call Creeper, that is Climber, for it always climbs about on trees : this I believe to be the Certhia. It is a little bigger than the Regulus, having a whitish breast, the other parts dull brown, but varied with black spots; its note is sharp, its 1 Whatever bird Aristotle's may be, Turner's is certainly the Wheatear. Belon and Gesner seem to think that the former is the Blue Thrush, but Sundevall is certainly wrong in suggesting that it is the Wall-Creeper (Tichodroma murarid]. 5 4 Certh ia — Ciconia — Cine his [p- 45] eft, ^loce acuta eft, & roftro tenni, & leidter in fine adunco, nunquam qniefcit, fed femper per arbores picorum more fcandit, & cojfos e corticibns eruens, comedit. DE CICONIA. TleXapyos, ciconia, Anglice a ftork, Germanice etylt ftorcf, & Saxonice ei)it ebefyer. Ciconia, nt Germanis aids eft notiffima, ita Bri- tannis meis pier if q\ omnibus tam ignota eft, quam quce omnium ignotijfima. Nee minim, qnum nufquam in infula noftra nifi captiua Ciconia nideatnr. Apud Germanos in fnmmis teclis, aliqnando in ipfis fnmmis fnmarijs nidulatur. Auis eft medics magnitudinis inter gruem & ardeam, pennis albis & nigris diftincla : crura longa habet, roftrum grninam,fed rubrnm & craffuin : circa lacus & paludes degit, ranas, bnfones, angnes, & pifces comedens. PLINIUS DE cicoNiis1. Ciconiae, quo'nam e loco ueniant, aut quo fe referant, incompertum adhuc eft. E longin- quo uenire, non dubium, eodem, quo grues modo, illas hyemis, iftas seftatis aduenas. Abi- [p. 46] turae congregantur in loco certo : comitatae^, fie ut nulla fui generis relinquatur, nifi captiua & ferua, ceu lege prsedicla die recedut. Nemo uidit agmen difcedentium, cum difceffurum ap- pareat, nee uenire, fed ueniffe cernimus. Vtrum- que no6lurnis fit temporibus. Ciconiae nidos eofdem repetunt, & genetricum fene6lutem educant. DE CINCLO. K/7/cXo9, r; <7etcro7ri'y/9, Anglice a uuater fuuallouu, Germanice etytt fte^nbiffcr. 1 Hist. Nat. Lib. X. cap. xxiii. Certkia — Ciconia — Cinclus 5 5 beak is slender and is slightly hooked towards the tip ; it never rests, but is for ever climbing up the trunks of trees after the manner of the Woodpeckers, and it eats grubs, picking them from the bark. OF THE CICONIA. lleXo.^709, ciconia, in English a stork, in German eyn storck, and in Saxon eyn ebeher. The Stork, though one of the best known of birds among the Germans, is to nearly all my countrymen of Britain as unknown as the most unknown bird. And little wonder since a Stork is nowhere to be seen, save as a captive, in our island. With the Germans the bird nests upon roofs or even chimney tops at times. It is a bird of middle size between a Crane and a Heron and distinguished by feathers of black and white : it has long legs and a beak like a Crane's, but red and stout ; it lives near lakes and marshes, eating frogs, toads, snakes and fishes. PLINY ON CICONIA. From what parts the Ciconiae may come, or whither they betake themselves, is not yet ascertained. It is indubitable that they come from far in the same manner as the Grues, but the former arrive in winter and the latter in summer. When ready to depart these birds collect at some fixed place, and after gathering, so that none of their tribe, unless a prisoner or a slave, is left behind, they disappear, on an appointed day, as if by law. No one has ever seen the whole array in very act to go, though it may haply shew itself when ready to depart ; nor do we view it coming, but when it has come. Both these events take place at night. Ciconiae seek the same nests again, and tend their parents in old age. OF THE CINCLUS. Kt7«rXo?, rf o-eicroTrvyfc, in English a water swallow, in German eyn steynbisser. 5 6 Cinclus — Chalcis ARISTOTELES '. Cinclus ex mari & fluuijs uiclu petit, aflutus eft, & captu difficilis : fed captus, omnium maxi- me mitefcit. Lefus hie eft, incontinens enim parte fui pofteriore. Auicula, qua ego cinclu effe puto, galerita paulb maior eft, colore in tergo nigro, uentre albo, tibijs longis, & roftro neutiquam breui: uere circa ripas [p- 47] flnminuni, ualde clamofa eft & querula, brenes & crebros facit uolatus. DE CHALCIDE. ARISTOTELES 2. Chalcis raro apparet, montes etenim incolit. nigro colore eft, rnagnitudine accipitris, quern palumbarium nominant : forma longa ac tenui, lones cymindem appellant, cuius Homerus etiam meminit in Iliade cum dicit : Chalcida dij perhibens^ homines dixere cymindem 3. Sunt, qui eandem hanc aue non aliam effe atque ptyngem uelint. Interdiu minus apparet, quia non clare uidet, fed noclu uenatur, more aquilae : pugnat uero cum aquila adeo acriter, ut fsepius ambae implexse, deferantur in terram4, 6 uiue a paftoribus capiantur. Parit hec oua duo, & faxis fpelunciscj* nidulatur. 1 Hist. An. Bk ix. 76. 2 Hist. An. Bk ix. 79 — 80. 3 Iliad, Bk xiv. 1. 291. 'Perhibens' is a misprint for 'perhibent.' 4 Aristotle has not these five words. Cinclus — Chalcis 5 7 ARISTOTLE. The Cinclus seeks its food from the sea and from rivers. It is cunning and is hard to catch, but grows the gentlest of all birds when caught. It is more- over maimed, being without control over its hinder parts. The little bird which I believe to be the Cinclus1 is a little bigger than the Galerita, with black colour on the back, and a white belly ; while it has long shanks and a bill by no means short : in spring it is exceeding clamorous and querulous about the banks of rivers, where it takes short and incessant flights. OF THE CHALCIS. ARISTOTLE. The Chalcis is not often seen, for it haunts moun- tains. It is of a black colour, and of the size of the Accipiter which they name Palumbarius. Its form is long and slender ; the lonians call it Cymindis. Of it furthermore Homer makes mention in the Iliad, wherein he says :— The Gods know it as Chalcis, men say Cymindis. Some there are who would make this very bird none other than the Ptynx. By day it shews itself but little, since it does not see clearly, although it hunts by night, after the manner of the Aquila ; yet with the Aquila so keenly does it strive, that frequently both birds fall to the ground clutching each other, and are caught alive by shepherds. It lays two eggs, and nests in cliffs and caves2. 1 Turner evidently means the Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypo- leucus). 2 Sundevall says that Kiilb thought that this bird was the Hawk Owl, but himself refers it doubtfully to the Glossy Ibis (Plegadis falcinellus], which however is not a night bird and does not live on hills. Belon and Gaza thought that it was an owl of some kind. 58 Collurio — Columbi [p. 48] DE COLLVRIONE. Ko\\vpld)v, collurio, Anglice, a feldfare aut a felde- fare. Qnibnfdd German. etyii frammejuogd. ARISTOTELES 1. Collurio ijfdem, quibus merula uefcitur, magnitudo eius eadem quae fuperioribus, id eft, uireoni & mollicipiti 2, capitur potius hyberno tempore. Auis, quam colhirionem effe puto, turdum mqgni- tudine csquat^ fed caudam Jiabet longiorern, & magis mobilem, & pectns niacnlofum. In ceftate apud nos ant rarb ant nunqnam nidetur : in Jiyenie nerb tanta copia eft, nt nullins anis maior Jit. baccis aquifolice arboris, forbi minima, & Jimilium arbornm nefcitur. gregatim nolat, & inter uolandzim obftrepera eft. DE COLVMBIS. HepKrrepd, columba, Anglice a doue> Germanice etyn taitbe. Saxonice ei)it buue. ARISTOTELES 3. Columbacei uero generis plures fpecies funt. Liuia. Eft enim liuia a liuore di6ta, diuerfum certe a columba genus, quippe minor quam columba fit, & minus patiens manfuefcere : liuet enim plumis, & pene nigricat, & pedibus rubris fca- brofiscjj eft. Quas ob res, nullus id genus cel- lare alit. Maximo inter hec genera funt corpore Palumbes. palumbes. Secundum magnitudinis locum ui- Vinago. nago obtinet, paulo maior quam columbus 4 eft. Turtur. Minimum ex his turtur eft. pariunt columbae omnibus anni temporibus, pulloscjj educant fi locum apricum habeat & cibum. Sin minus, 1 Hist. An. Bk ix. 99. 2 These five words are not represented in Aristotle. Moreover the TrdpdaXos is here omitted, and is placed later (p. 107 of the original work), but there seems to be some doubt as to the correct reading in the Greek. 3 Hist. An. Bk v. 43. The readings vary in places, but the rendering is decidedly free. 4 Gaza and Turner make indiscriminate use of ' Columbus ' and 'Columba' for the same kind of bird. Collurio — Columbi 5 9 OF THE COLLURIO. ^, collurio, in English a feldfare or a feldefare. According to some Germans eyn krammesvogel. ARISTOTLE. The Collurio feeds on the same meat as the Merula. Its size is that of the aforesaid kinds — that is, the Vireo and the Molliceps — it is caught chiefly in the winter time. The bird which I consider to be the Collurio equals a Thrush in size, but has a longer and more flirting tail, also a spotted breast. Rarely or never is it seen with us in summer : yet its plenty is so great in winter that of no kind is there more. It eats the berries of the Holly, the Least Service, and like trees. It flies in companies, and on its flight is very noisy. OF DOVES. Hepiarepd, columba, in English a dove, in German eyn taube, in Saxon eyn duve. ARISTOTLE. Of the Dove-kind, however, there are many sorts. For first there is the Livia, named from its livid colour, which is certainly a different kind from the Columba, inasmuch as it is smaller and less ready to be tamed : and it is livid in its plumage, verging upon black, and has moreover red and roughened feet. Wherefore nobody keeps this kind in cotes. Of great- est size among the several sorts are the Palumbes ; the Vinago holds the second place herein, a little bigger than the Columbus. The smallest of them is the Turtur. The Columbae breed at all times of the year, and rear their young, if they have but a sunny place and food. If otherwise they breed 60 Colum&i seflate tantummodo foetant. Sed proles prae- ftantior uere eft, quam autumno, deterrima aefta- te, & omni tempore calidiore. De ijfdem in alio libro J ad hunc modum fcribit, Alia frugibus uiuunt, ut palumbes, co [p. s°] lumbus, uinago, turtur. Vifuntur femper co- lumbi, atque palumbes, fed turtur aeflate tantii, hyeme fe condit, latitat2 enim fuo tempore. Vinago autumno & confpicitur, & capitur, cui magnitude maior, quam columbo, minor qua palumbi eft. Liuia. IleXaa?, quarra, Latine palumbes fine palumbus, dicta ab Anglis a coushot a ringged done, & a Germanis etyll ringet taube appellatur. Hcec longe aliter atqne liuia nidulatur. Nidificat autein liuia in cauis aliquando arboribtts, interdum & in templorum muris. Palumbes uerb in condenfa hedera, aut fuper ramum arboris ex pauculis ligniculis tranfuerjim pofitis, tenuijfimum nidum conftruit. Quod ft quis mihi parum hac in re fidat, torquatos columbos esse palumbes ueterum, A riftotelem diligentius legat, & Martialem 3 poetam de ijfdem ita fcribentem audiat, [p. 51] Inguina torquati, tardant kebetantqi palumbi Non edat hanc uolucrem, qui uolet effe falax. Politianus* de palumbis ita fcribit : Dum fua torquata repetunt dic~tata palumbes. Turtures in Ger mania funt multb frcquentiores qua Turtur. ^ Anglia. Turturem Angli & Saxones communi uocabulo turtel t>uue nominant. 1 Hist. An. Bk vm. p. 45. 2 The Greek is 0a)XeI yap. But how far Aristotle referred to birds ' hibernating ' is very doubtful. 3 Epigr. Lib. xin. Ixvii. 4 A poet and scholar of the Renaissance. Columbi 6 1 only in summer. Yet in spring the young are better than in autumn, they are worst of all in summer and at every hotter season. Of the same he writes in another book after this manner : — Other birds live on crops, as the Palumbes, the Columbus, the Vinago and the Turtur. The Columbi and Palumbes may be always seen, the Turtur only in the summer. In the winter it lies hid, for it con- ceals itself at the due time. But the Vinago is both seen and caught in autumn, of which bird the size is greater than that of the Columbus, but less than that of the Palumbes. ?, which in Latin is called Livia, is that dove of the woodlands which the English name a stocdove, and the Germans eyn holtztaube. O«rra, in Latin Palumbes or Palumbus, is called by Englishmen a Coushot or a Ringged Dove, and by Germans named eyn ringel taube. It nests far otherwise than does the Livia, for that bird sometimes breeds in hollow trees and sometimes even in the walls of churches. But the Palumbes builds a nest of the frailest of a few small twigs laid crosswise in a mass of ivy or upon a bough. Now in this thing if there be anyone who places little confidence in my opinion that our collared doves are the Palumbes of the ancients, let him read with greater care his Aristotle and give ear as well to Martial the poet writing thus of the same birds : — Ringed doves make a man's loins slow and dull ; Who would be lusty should not eat this bird. Politian writes of the Palumbi thus :— While ringed doves seek again their accustomed haunts. Turtle Doves are much more plentiful in Germany than in England. English and Saxons in common call it turtel duve. 6 2 Columbi — Co turn ix Vinago. OiW?, quce Latine uinago dicitnr, mihi nunqua Jiaclenus uifa eft, nee quid habeat nominis apnd noftros, aut apud Germanos camper turn Jiabeo. Vidi tamen Venetijs columbos hijs noftratibus fefquialtera portione maiores : fed hos non uinagines fuijfe credo, fed colnm- bos e Campania ad Venetos adueclos, ubi P limns co- lnmbos fcribit effe grandiffimos. DE COTVRN1CE. °PTV£> coturnix, Anglice a qnale, Germanice e\)n PLINIUS1. Coturnix parua auis, & cum ad nos uenit, terreftris potius quam fublimis. Aduolant & h^ fimili modo, quo grues & ciconiae, non fine [p. 52] periculo nauigantium, cum appropinquauere ter- ns. Quippe uelis faepe infidunt, & hoc Temper noclu, merguntcj? nauigia. Coturnicibus, uera- tri, fiue ut alij legunt, ueneni : femen gra- tiffimus cibus. quam ob caufam eas damna- uere menfae, fimul^ comitiale propter morbum defpui fuetum, quern fol^ animaliu fentiunt praeter hominem. Quce, qnnm ita fe habeant, demiror qnis mains genius Britannis meis in mentem immifit, ut eas tantopere in delicijs habeant, quum tot malis, ueneno fcilicet, et comitiali morbo, i liar ft caro Jit obnoxia. Co- turnix per did Jlmilis eft: fed multis partibus minor. Coturnix^ ut fcribit Arijlot. hoc Jibi peculiare & pro- prium uindicat, ut & ingluuiem, & gulam prope uentri- culum amplam & latam habeat. 1 Hist. Nat. Lib. X. cap. xxiii. Columbi — Cotnrnix 63 ?, in Latin called Vinago, has never met my eye up to this time, nor have I yet found out what name it bears among our countrymen or among Germans. But I have seen doves in Venice half as big again as those of our own land, although I do not think that they could be Vinagines, but birds brought to those parts out of Campania, where Pliny notes the Doves to be exceeding large. OF THE COTURNIX. oprvj;, coturnix, in English a quale, in German eyn wachtel. PLINY. The Coturnix is a little bird, and, when it comes to us, keeps on the ground Tnore than aloft. Yet it flies hither just as Grues and Ciconise, not without danger to sea-faring men, when they approach the land. For these birds often settle on the sails, and that always at night, and so sink ships. The seed of Veratrum, or, as others read, Venenum, is a very grateful food to the Coturnices, and for this cause men have condemned them for the table ; further- more it is the custom for them to be spurned on account of the falling sickness, to which, they alone of animals, save man, are subject. Now since these things are so, I marvel much what evil genius put it into the mind of my fellow Britons to esteem them thus among their delicacies, when their flesh is liable to ills so many, namely poison and the falling sickness. The Quail is like the Partridge, although many times smaller. As Aristotle writes, it claims a property peculiar to it of having both crop and gullet large and wide near to the stomach. 64 Cornix — Corvus — Culicilega DE CORNICE. Kopwvr), comix, Anglice a crouu, Germanice etyn frae, & etylt fraeg. Cornix auis eft omniuora, nam carnes, pifces, & grana inter dum nor at, circa littora mar is, & ripas fluminum multinn uerfatur, ut ea animalia, qua [p- 53] unda eiecit, tangat. Cornix tota nigra eft. & media magnitudine inter monedulam & con mm. Eft & marina quczdam comix, quam aliqui hy- bernam cornicem uocant, capite, cauda, & a Us nigris, ccetera cineria: an hanc aliquando uiderint Ariftoteles & Plinius, dubito: nam de ea nufquam mentionem fecerunt. Supereft adJmc & alia comix graniuora, roftro albo, ccetera nigra. Hac (T7r€p/jLo\oyov, id eft, frugilegam Ariftotelis Longolius effe coniecit. DE CORVO. K6pa%, cornus, Anglice a rauen, Germanice etylt rabe. Coruus, quum Jit auis cornice maior, tota nigra & carniuora, omnibus fatis notus eft. Corui locis arclio- ribus & ubi fatis pluribus non Jit, duo tdtum incolunt, & fuos pullos cum iam poteftas uolandi eft, primum nido eijciunt, deinde regione tota expellunt. Parit cormis quatiwr aut qiiinq;. DE CVLICILEGA. ~Kvi7ro\6yo<;, culicilega, Anglice a uuagtale, Ger- manice etyn nniffcv ftel^. ei)n qiiiffter^. ARISTOTELES \ Culicilega, magnitudine eft quata fpinus, [p. 54] colore cinerea, diftincla maculis, uoce parua, quse & ipfa lignapeta2 eft. Culicilegam effe iudico auiculam, quam aliqui mota- cillam nuncupant. eft autem ilia albo & nigro uarie 1 Hist. An. Bk viu. 44. 2 The Greek is eo-rt Se KOI TOVTO ^V\OKOTTOV. Corn ix — Corvus — Culicilega 6 5 OF THE CORNIX. 7, comix, in English a crow, in German eyn krae and eyn kraeg. The Crow1 is an omnivorous bird, for it eats flesh and fish and sometimes grain ; it much frequents sea-coasts and river-banks, that it may there obtain those animals which the tide has thrown up. The Crow is wholly black and is midway in size between a Daw and a Raven. There also is a certain Sea Crow, which some call the Winter Crow2, with black head, tail, and wings and the remainder grey : but whether Aristotle or Pliny ever saw this bird I am uncertain, for they have not mentioned it in any place. There still remains another Crow3, a grain-eater, with white beak, but black otherwise. Longolius conjectured this to be Aristotle's 0-^6/9^0X0709, that is frugilega. OF THE CORVUS. Ko/oaf, corvus, in English a raven, in German eyn rabe. The Raven, inasmuch as it is bigger than the Crow, quite black, and a flesh-eater, is sufficiently well known to all. In places with less space, and where there is not room for many, Ravens dwell only in pairs, and, when their young have just gained power of flight, the parents first banish them from the nest, and later drive them out of the whole neighbourhood. The Raven has a brood of four or five. OF THE CULICILEGA. Kz/iTToX^o?4, culicilega, in English a wagtale, in German eyn wasser steltz, eyn quikstertz. ARISTOTLE. The Culicilega is a bird of the same size as the Spinus, ash-coloured, and marked with spots : its voice is poor ; moreover it pecks wood. The Culicilega I judge to be that little bird, which some name Motacilla, inasmuch as it is variously marked with 1 The Carrion Crow (Corvus corone). 2 The Hooded or Grey Crow (Corvus comix). 3 The Rook (Corvus frugilegus). 4 Sundevall thinks that this bird is Certhiafamiliaris. T- 5 6 6 Culicilega — Cuculus diftinEla, cauda longa, quam femper motitat. degit pluri- mum ad ripas fluminum^ ubi mufcas captat & uermi- cu/osy quin & aratrum uermiurn caufa fequitur, quos uerfat & exhibet aim gleba aratrum. DE CVCVLO. Kd/c/cuf, cuculus, Anglice a cukkouu, & a gouke, Germanice etyn fuffucf. ARISTOTELES1. Cuculus ex accipitre fieri, immutata figura, a nonnullis putatur : quoniam quo tempore is apparet, accipiter ille, cui fimilis eft, non afpi- citur. Sed ita fere euenit, ut ne caeteri item accipitres cernatur cum primam uocem emifit cuculus, nifi perquam paucis diebus. Ipfe autem breui tempore eftatis uifus, hyeme no [p. 55] cernitur. Eft hie neque aduncis unguibus, ut accipiter, neq$ capite accipitri fimilis : fed ea utraque parte columbum potius quam accipi- trem repraefentat. Nee alio quam colore imi- tatur accipitrem, nifi quod maculis diftinguitur, ceu lineis, cuculus uelut punc~tis. Magnitude atq* uolatus fimilis accipitru minimo, qui magna ex parte non cernitur per id tempus, quo cu- culus apparet. Na uel ambo una uifi aliquando funt. Quin etiam ab accipitre interimi2 cuculus uifus eft, quod nulla auis fuo in genere folet facere. pullos cuculi nemo ait fe uidiffe. parit tame, uerum non in nido, quern ipfe fecerit, fed 1 Hist. An. Bk vi. 41—44. 2 Aristotle has Culicilega — Cuculus 67 black and white, and it has a long tail, which it is always jerking. It mostly haunts the banks of rivers, where it catches flies and little worms ; moreover it follows the plough for the sake of the worms which are turned up and laid bare with the clod. OF THE CUCULUS. KOKKVJ;, cuculus, in English a cukkow, and a gouke, in German eyn kukkuck. ARISTOTLE. By some the Cuculus is thought to come by change of form from an Accipiter1, since, at the season when the former appears, the Accipiter which it resembles is not seen. But commonly it so falls out that the other Accipitres are likewise absent when the Cuculus utters its earliest cry, save for a very few days. Further the bird itself is only seen for a short time in summer ; it is not observed in winter. Nor has it the claws hooked as an Accipiter, nor yet a head like an Accipiter : but in both of these parts it counterfeits a Columbus rather than an Accipiter. In naught but colour does it imitate the Accipiter, except that in its marks, it is distinguished as it were by lines, the Cuculus by spots. The size and mode of flight are like those of the least of the Accipitres, which for the most part at the time wherein the Cuculus appears, is not to be observed. Yet on occasion both have been seen at once. The Cuculus, moreover, has been known to be struck down by the Accipiter, which thing no bird is ever wont to do to one of its own kind. Nobody says that he has seen young of the Cuculus, and yet it breeds, although not in a nest which it has made itself: but sometimes 1 Such a tradition is still common in many parts of this country and on the Continent. 68 Cuculus — Crex interdum in nidis minorum auium, & oua, quae aliena reperit, edit : maxime uero nidos palu- [p. 56J bium petit, quorum & ipforum oua efu abfumit, fua relinquens : parit maiori ex parte fmgula oua, raro bina. Curucae quoque in nido parit, fouet ilia & excudit & educat. Quo quidem praeci- pue tempore1 & pinguis & grati faporis pullus cuculi eft. Genus eorum quoddam nidos facere procul in petris excelfis, praeruptiscj? affolet. Cuculum hie nobis fatis graphice depinxit Ariftoteles, Curuca a fi curucam eadem diligentia defer ipfiffet, non fidffet titlyng. kodie tarn omnibus fere incognita qua nunc eft. Ego fufpicor Anglorum titlingam effe curucam Ariftotelis. Nam nullam auem in uita frequentius cuculi pullum fequentem, & pro fuo educantem, quam illam obferuaui. Eft autem ilia lufcinia minor, fed eadem corporis figura, colore fubtiiridi, culices & uermiculos in ramis arborum fettatur, rarb humi conftftit, hyeme non cernitur. BE CRECE EX ARISTOTELE2. [p- 57] Sed cu omnibus quaterni digiti fmt, tres parte priore habentur, unus parte pofleriore pro cake, ut tute fit, qui minutus ineft ijs, quae longa habent crura, ut in crece euenit3. Eft4 autem crex moribus pugnacibus, ingenio ualens ad uiclum, fed caetera infcelix. Eft auis qucedam apud Anglos, longis cruribus, ccetera coturnici, ni/i quod maior eft, ftmilis, quce in fegete & lino, iiere et in principio czftatis non aliam 1 This apparently means 'when in the nest.' How then does Aristotle say that 'no one has ever seen the young'? The passage may be an interpolation, as may be another which follows referring to Hawks. If so, the fact of nesting on rocks may also refer to Hawks, and be a further interpolation. 2 Hist. An. Bk n. 46. 3 ' ut...evenit.' These words are not in Aristotle. 4 Hist. An. Bk ix. 91. Ciiculus — Crex 69 in the nests of smaller birds, and it devours the eggs of the others that it finds. It mostly seeks the nests of the Palumbes and eats those birds' eggs, leaving its own behind. For the most part it lays a single egg or rarely two. It also lays in the Curuca's nest, and that bird sits upon the eggs, hatches and rears the young. And at that time indeed the offspring of the Cuculus is both particularly fat and of a grateful flavour. A certain kind of Cuculus is wont to make its nest far off on steep and very lofty rocks. Here Aristotle has portrayed the Cuculus to us most graphically, and, had he described the Curuca in the same careful way, it would not at this day have been so little known to almost everyone as now it is. The Curuca of Aristotle I suspect to be the Titling1 of the English. For I have observed no other bird in life more frequently than this following the Cukkow's young and rearing it, as though its own. Now it is less than the Luscinia, but with the same figure of body, and in colour somewhat green ; it hunts for gnats and little worms among the boughs of trees. It seldom settles on the ground, and is not seen in winter. OF THE CREX FROM ARISTOTLE. But seeing that all birds have four toes each, three are directed forwards and one backwards by way of a heel, for safety's sake ; the last is very small in such as have long legs, as happens with the Crex. Further the Crex is of pugnacious habit, clever in procuring food, but of bad omen otherwise. There is a certain bird in England with long legs, otherwise like a Quail, except that it is bigger, which in spring as well as early summer makes no other cry among the corn and flax 1 It is impossible to say with certainty what Turner's ' Titlyng ' was ; but probably he meant the Tree- Pipit, which he confounded with the Titlark. 70 Crex — Aves Diomedece — Ficedula habet uocem, quam crex crex: hdc enim uocem femper ingeminat^ quam ego Ariftotelis crecem ejfe puto. Angli auem illam uocant a daker hen, Germani etyn fcfyrtyf. nufquam in Anglia niji in fola NortJiumbria uidi & audiui. D£ DlOMEDEIS AVIBUS EX PLINIO \ Nec Diomedeas praeteribo aues. lubacata- ractas uocat, & eis effe detes, oculoscj* igneo colore, caetera cadidos trades. Duos femper [p- 58] ijs duces, alterum ducere agmen, alterum co- gere. Scrobes excauare roftro, inde crate cofternere, & operire terra, quae ante egefta fuit, in his foetificare. Fores binas omniu fcro- bibus, orientem fpeclare, quibus exeant in t occafum pafcua, f occidentem, quibus redeant. Aluum exoneraturas fubuolare femper, & contrario flatu. Vno hae in loco totius orbis uifuntur, in infula, quam diximus nobilem Diomedis tumulo, atque delubro, contra Apulie oram, fulicarum fimiles. Aduenas barbaros clangore infeftant. Graecis tantum adulantur, miro difcrimine, uelut generi Diomedis hoc tribuetes, aedemcj^ eius quotidie pleno gutture madetibus pennis per- luunt. DE FICEDVLA. [p. 59] SftfaTu?, ficedida Latine (lifla, non eft Germa- norum fneppa, quce locis gaudet humidis, & folis uer- 1 Hist. Nat. Lib. X. cap. xliv. Crex- — Aves Diomedece — Ficedula 71 than crex crex, and moreover it repeats this sound incessantly; I think that it is Aristotle's Crex. This bird the English call a Daker Hen, and the Germans eyn schryk1. I have not seen or heard it anywhere in England, save in Northumberland alone. OF THE AVES DIOMEDE.E FROM PLINY. And I will not omit the birds of Diomede2, which Juba calls Cataractae, telling us that they have teeth and fire-coloured eyes, but otherwise are white. They always have two captains, one to lead the band, the other to bring up the rear. These birds dig furrows with the beak, then cover them with wattlework, and hide this with the earth thrown out at first ; in these places they breed. Each furrow has two openings, one facing east, by which they may go out towards their feeding grounds, the other facing west, by which they may return. They always flutter out to disburden the belly, and against the wind. In one place only of the whole world are they to be seen, namely that island which we have set down as famous for the tomb and shrine of Diomede, over against the shore of Apulia. They are like Fulicae. Strangers who come there they attack with clamour, only on the Greeks they fawn, with wonderful discernment, paying as it were this tribute to the race of Diomede, and every day they purify his shrine with brimming throats and water-laden wings. OF THE FICEDULA. Sv/caX/9, in Latin called ficedula3, is not the sneppa of the Germans, which delights in wet localities, and feeds only 1 Schlegel (Vog. NederL n. 60) says that the Dutch schriek is the Water Rail (Rallus aquaticus), but Turner evidently means the Corn Crake (Crex: pratensis). Naumann (Naturg. Vog. DeutschL ix. p. 496) gives Schrecke as a local. name for the Corn Crake. 2 Apparently Shearwaters of some species are meant. For the story see any work on Mythology. 3 For the supposed change of Ficedula into Atricapilla, see p. 39. 7 2 Ficedula — Fringilla — Montifringilla mibus itefcitur : fed auiciila Ger manor um grafmufcho Jimilis , ficubus & uuis uiclitds, ut pulchre his uerfibus Martialis1 teftatur: Cum me ficus alat, & pafcar dulcibus uuis, Cur potius nomen non dedit inia mihi? DE FRINGILLA. S-Trtfa, fringilla, Anglice a chaffinche, a sheld appel, afpink, Germanice etyn bucfyfmf. Fringillce, autore Ariftotele, ceftate tepidis locis, & hyeme,frigidis degunt, & inde puto apud Latinos nomen accepiffe, quod in frigore plures conuolantes apud nos cernantur, quam ceftate. Pafcerem magnitudine cequat, uarijs coloribus, albo nempe, uiridi & ruffo diftinfta eft. mar is peftus rubefcit, fce.mince pallefcit: can tat mas primo uere. Nidulatur fringilla in fummis fruticum ramis, aut arborum infimis, nidumq-, intus ex lana, forisq; ex mufco facit. DE MONTIFRINGILLA. Opoo-Tuf???, motif ringilla, Anglice a bramlyng, Ger- manice etyn ronjert. ARISTOTELES 2. [p. 60] Montifringilla fringillae fimilis eft, & magni- tudine proxima : fed collo cceruleo eft, & in montibus degit, unde nomen accepit. Auicula, quam ego montifringillam ejfe credo, frin- gilltyf mett>e. Recentiores Greed, qui poft Ariftotelem fcripferunt, larum & cepphum eandem auem fecerimt, lit Erafmtts in Adagio, \dpos /centos, ex Arijlophane1 & eius inter- prete oftendit. Ariftoteles nerb duas facit diuerfas aues libro de hiftoria animalium oflauo his uerbis, eari 8e Xa/)o? 6 Xeu/co? KOI /ceTrtyos. lam qua nam ratione autores iftos concilie, nefcio, niji dicam poet as rerum peculiares & proprias notas, & difcrimina, philofophis multb negligentius obferuantes, aues corporis figura, natalibus, & ui£lus ratione fi.miles, licet manifeftis notis differentes,eafdem aues feciffe, quas feueriores philosophi ad amujfim omnia expendentes, in diuerfas fpecies dif- tinxerunt. Sed inter huius cetatis grammaticos, non minor eft opinionum uarietas de fulica, qu&'nam ilia Jit, qudm [p. 62] inter Grcecos de nomine controuerjia fuit. Simt enim 1 Hist. An. Bk vm. 41 and Bk ix. 18, 22, freely rendered. 2 Pax, 1. 1067. By 'interpreter' is evidently meant the Scholiast, who says that the Proverb is used of those who promise much, and perform little. Flo rus — Fulica 7 5 OF THE FLORUS FROM ARISTOTLE. The Anthos, that is Florus, feeds on worms ; its size is that of the Fringilla. It gets victual round waters and marshes ; its colour is fair, and its life easy to it. It holds the Horse in hatred, inasmuch as it is driven by the Horse from the grassy pastures where it feeds. It is purblind and nowise keen of eyesight, while it imitates the neighing of the Horse, and flying at it puts the Horse to flight, yet sometimes it is caught and then killed by the Horse. The Florus has so great a hatred of the ^Egithus that it is stated that the blood of these two birds, even when dead, cannot be mixed. OF THE FULICA. KeV^o?, fulica, in English a white semaw, with a black cop, in German eyn wyss mewe. The later Greeks, who have written after Aristotle, have made the Larus and the Cepphus the same bird, which fact Erasmus in his Proverb Xa/oo? KCTT^O^ shews, from Aristo- phanes and his interpreter. But Aristotle in the eighth book of his History of Animals keeps the two birds distinct, using the following words: — "There is the \dpos that is white, also the /te7n£o9." Now in what way to reconcile these authors I know not, unless I say that poets who observe more negligently than philosophers the peculiar properties of things, and their diversities, have made these birds the same, which are alike in form of body, breeding-time, and way of feeding, although differing in manifest respects, whereas philo- sophers, more strict than they, gauging all things exactly, have distinguished them as different kinds. And yet there is not less diversity of opinion among the critics of our day about the Fulica, and what that bird may be, than there was controversy among the Greeks about its name. For there are teachers of a sort1 in Lower 1 ' Literatores ' is here apparently used in a somewhat scornful sense. 7 6 Fulica in inferiori Germania literatures aliqui, qui fulicam kyuuittam fuam ejfe uolunt, ex eo forfan opinionem fuam adftruentes, quod apud Plinium fulicce cirrum tribui Angloru legerint. Eft autem Germanorum kyuuitta cornice apuumga. minor, plumis fere uiridibus, et nigris per to turn dorfum et caput et collii : uentre albo, longa, & femper erec~la in capite: crifta plumea, alis obtufeoribus, & inter uo- landum magnum ftrepitum edentibus, unde & uannellus a barbaris dicitur: aquis uermium gratia, quibus folis uiclitat, appropinquat, fed ipfas non ingreditur, in planis & in locis erica confttis, plurimum degit. Ad depopulandum uermes, noftrates in hortis fcepe ahmt. Sed hanc effe fulicam non patitur, quod Vergilius de fulica Georgico rum primo 1 ad hunc modum fcribit : lam Jibi turn curuis male temperat unda carinis, Ciim medio celeres reuolant ex cequore mergi^ Clamoremfy ferunt ad littora^ cumfa marines In ficco ludimt fulicce. Hinc fatis liquet kyuuittam non effe fulicam, quum non Jit auis marina nee aquatica. Non defunt qui fulicam gallinam illam nigram aquaticam, alba in fronte macula, effe uolunt. Sed ifti Vergil, et Arifto- [p. 63] telis autoritate facile err or is conuincuntur, quorum alter auem facit marinam, alter, nempe Ariftoteles lib. oflauo hiftoricz animalium, apud mare tiiuere teftatur. Quare quum paluftris ilia gallina neque auis Jit marina, neq; apud mare uictum pet at, fed in ftagnis, paludibus, & recentibus aquis perpetub degat : nee Vergilij fulica, nee Ariftotelis ^eV(/)09 effe poterit. Sed iam reftat, ut quam auem fulicam effe iudicem, ojhndam. Eft auis marina, magnitudine monedulce, fed alis acutioribus & longioribtts, colore tota albo, excepto nigro, quern in capite gerit cirro : roftro etiam & pedibus puniceis. Hanc ego fcepe in mari nauigans, ex eo 1 Lib. i. 1. 360—3. Fulica 77 Germany, who will have it that the Fulica is their Kywit, possibly resting their opinion on what they have read in Pliny of a tuft being attributed to the bird Fulica. The Kywit of the Germans is, however, smaller than a Cornix, with the plumage almost green and black on the whole back and head and neck, the belly white, a long and always upright feathery crest upon the head, and somewhat rounded wings, which during flight make a great hurtling, whence it is even named by foreigners Vannellus. It approaches waters for the sake of worms, on which alone it feeds, but does not enter them. It mostly lives in open country, and in places overgrown with heather. Our people often keep this bird in gardens, to destroy the worms. And yet what Vergil in this manner writes in the first book of his Georgics of the Fulica will not permit this bird to be his Fulica : — "And now the waters scarce restrain themselves from the ships' curving keels, while the swift Mergi wing their way once more out of the Ocean's midst, bringing their noisy voices to the shore, and while the Fulicae, frequenters of the sea, disport themselves on land." Hence it is clear enough that the Kywit is not the Fulica, since it is not a sea-bird nor a water-bird. There are not wanting those who would have that black Water Hen, with a white frontal patch, to be the Fulica1. But on the strength of Vergil and Aristotle such are easily convicted of mistake, for one of these makes it a sea-bird, and the other, namely Aristotle in the eighth book of his History of Animals, bears witness that it lives about the sea. Wherefore, since that Marsh Hen is neither a sea-bird nor seeks its food about the sea, but constantly haunts pools, and marshes, and fresh waters, it can neither be the Fulica of Vergil nor the /ce-Tr^o? of Aristotle. But it still remains that I should shew what bird I judge the Fulica to be. There is a sea-bird2, like a Daw in size, but with the wings sharper and longer, wholly white in colour, save for a black patch which it bears on the head, and with the beak and feet of purplish red. I often, journeying upon the sea, have had 1 I.e. the Coot (Fulica atra). 2 The Black-headed Gull (Larus ridibundus). / 8 Fulica — Gavia tempore, quo hiftoriam animalium Arijlotelis legeram, conftderaui, tti prcefertim, quando uel deficiente uento, uel flante contrario, emijfa anchora, uentum fequundi- orem quiefcentes expeclauimus. Hp,gallus, Anglice a cok, Germanice et)tt f)an. AXeVropt?, gallina, Anglice a hen, Germanice, etyn fyen. Saxones dicunt e^n ()on. VARRO2 DE RE RUSTICA LIBRO TERTIO. Rufticse Gallinae rufticse, funt in urbe rarse, nee fere manfuete fine cauea uidentur Romse, fimiles Villatic^. facie non his uillaticis gallinis noilris, fed Africanis afpeftu, ac facie incontaminata. In ornatibus publicis folent poni cum pfiticis ac merulis albis, item id genus rebus inufitatis. Neque fere in uillis oua ac pullos faciunt, fed in fyluis. Africang. Gallinae Africanae, funt grandes, uariae, gib- Meleagrides. berae, quas Meleagrides Graeci appellant. Hae nouiffimae in triclinium ganearium introierunt, [p. 68] e culina propter faftidium hominu. Venerunt3 propter penuriam magno. De tribus generibus, gallinae faginantur maxime uillatice. Eas in- 1 Undoubtedly the reading should be : — eV a/zouo-ots- = among those with little voice. Both these proverbs are to be found in the Adages of Erasmus, Chil. II. Cent. ii. 92. 2 Bk III. cap. ix. 3 No doubt a misprint for ' veneunt' = are sold. Galerita — Galli and Gallince 83 and the non-crested) has no song of its own, but feebly imitates the notes of other birds with which it feeds, I am assuredly led to believe that it must be the Corydos of the later Greeks, of which mention is made in the proverb below : — 'Ez>a/LtoL>7ra£. Gallinago — Colius, sive Galgulus Gallinagines apud noftrates nunquam, nijl hyeme uidentur, quare de prole & modo nidulandi, nihil habeo, quod died. Capitur apud Anglos diluculo potiffimum & crepufciilo in fyluis, retibus in loco arboribus uacuo, fufpenfts, & ueniente aue demi/fis. DE COLIO, SIVE GALGULO1, UT VERTIT GAZA, EX ARISTOTELE. [p. 72] Galgulo magnitude quanta fere turturi eft : color luteus, lignipeta hie admodum eft, mag- na'que ex parte macerie2 pafcitur, uoce emittit grandem, incola maxime Peloponefi hec auis eft. Omnia, quce Ariftoteles hactenus colio, fine galgulo tribuit, Anglorum huhulo, & Germanorum grunfpecJito (Ji incolam maxime effe Peloponefi exceperis) conue- niunt. Nam turturem fere magnitudine cequat, ligni- peta eft: maceriem conttmdit, & uocem grandem emittit. Sed nihil hie definio, fed inquiro tantum. Galgulus Plinio icleros Greece dicitur, & Ariftoteli.Ji Theodoro fidimus, etiam /ceXeo?. Quanquam mihi textum Gree- cum confulenti, alia auis /coXto?, & alia /ceXeo? nidetur : nam /coXio? ecrrt ^fXo/co?ro9 o$pa, Kal vefjuerai eVt T&v gv\a)v ra TroXXa. Id eft> colitis eft lignipeta ualde, & magna ex parte ad ligna pafcitur, o JJLGV yap /ceXeo9 Trapa Trora/jiov olicei Kal XoXyLta?3, quce uerba Theodorus circa fruteta & nemora reddidit fed recJe'ne an fecus, docJis iudicandum relinquo. Vidi in Alpibus abieti inftdentem auem, magnitudine turturis, itiridibus uel- uti macnlis in luteo diftinttam, quce tota corporis effigie [p. j-^picti Martium retulit, fed caput reliquo corpori {fecus 1 Hist. An. Bk vni. 44. 2 Possibly a misprint for ' materie.' 3 Hist. An. Bk ix. 22. In his errata Turner alters \6\p.as to -, but evidently he means Gallinago — Colius or Galgnlus 89 Woodcocks are never seen with us save in the winter, wherefore I have naught to say about their young or mode of nesting. They are chiefly caught in England in the woods at daybreak and at dusk, by means of nets hung in some place devoid of trees, and dropped when the bird comes. OF THE COLIUS, OR GALGULUS, AS GAZA RENDERS IT, FROM ARISTOTLE. Of the Galgulus the size is almost that of the Turtur : it is yellowish in colour, and hacks timber very much, and for the most part feeds on trees : it utters a loud cry. This bird is mainly an inhabitant of the Peloponnese. All that Aristotle has so far attributed to the Colius or Galgulus is in agreement with the Huhol of the English and the Grunspecht of the Germans (if one may except its being chiefly an inhabitant of the Peloponnese). For it is nearly equal to the Turtle-Dove in size ; it hacks the timber, hammers rotten wood, and utters a loud cry. But I give no decision here, I only ask. The Galgulus of Pliny is said to be called the Icteros in Greek, and if we trust to Theodorus [Gaza] is also the /ceXeo occurs (and it occurs not seldom) renders it by Graculus, in this thing following by no means Theodorus Gaza — though at other times he does so freely — who in every case renders /coXoto? by Monedula. And in this thing I also have determined for divers reasons here to imitate Erasmus rather than Gaza. ARISTOTLE ACCORDING TO THE TRANSLATION OF GAZA. Of Monedulae there are three sorts : the first, which is called Graculus, in size as big as Cornix with a curved red bill. The next, also named Lupus, small, and a mimic. The third, which is well known in Lydia and Phrygia, is web-footed. Now the first kind of Graculi, which the Greeks call /copa/cias, is the Pyrrhocorax of Pliny and the Cornish Choghe of Englishmen, eyn bergdol of the Germans. It is a little smaller than the Cornix, with a yellow bill1, not large, and somewhat hooked towards the tip, it is abundant in the Alps and in Cornwall in England. It has a sharper and more querulous cry than the Monedula. The second sort called Xu/co? and /3o>yu,oXo%o nigrum & albis maculis per totum corpus, more fturni diftinc~tum, gar- riditate fuperiora genera multum fuperans, femper in fyluis & montibus degens : cui Rheti nucifragce nomen, a nucibus quas roftro frangit & comedit, indiderunt. DE GRVE. os, grus, Anglice a crane, Germanice e^n fran / ober e^n frarttc^. ARTSTOTELES \ Alia de ultimis prope ueniunt, ut grues faciunt, quae Scythicis ad paludes Aegypto2, unde Nilus profluit, ueniunt : quo in loco pug- [p. 77] nare cu pygmeis dicuntur. Non enim id fabula eft, fed certe genus turn hominum turn etiam equorum pufillum, ut dicitur eft, deguntcj? in ca- uernis, unde nomen troglodytse, a fubeundis cauernis accepere. Grues3 etiam multa pru- denter faciunt : loca enim longinqua petunt, fui commodi gratia, & alte uolant, ut procul profpi- 1 Hist. An. Bk vin. 75—76. 2 A variant reading is ra ara> rfjs Alyvirrov. 3 Hist. An. Bk ix. 70. Graculi — Grus 95 And now, that you may know what sort of bird the Svvitzers' Waltrapus may be, which I conjecture is the Phala- crocorax, and the third kind of Graculus, it is a bird long in the body, which is rather less than that of the Ciconia, and the legs short but stout, the bill reddish, a little hooked, and six inches in length — further it had a white spot on the head, and that, unless my memory fails me, bare. If it be web-footed and swim at times, I should affirm that it un- doubtedly was the third kind of Graculus; but, though I have myself had the bird in my hands, I do not now remember whether it was web-footed or not, nor whether it was bald. Wherefore I will determine nothing, until I shall have a surer knowledge of these things. Besides the said three kinds of Graculi described by Aristotle I know a fourth, which I have seen upon the Rhaetic Alps, smaller than Aristotle's Lupus, black and marked with spots of white on the whole body, as a Starling is ; it far surpasses all the above-named kinds in chattering ; it always lives in woods and mountains. Now to this the Rhetians have given the name of Nucifraga, from the nuts which it breaks with its bill and eats. OF THE GRUS. o9, grus, in English a crane, in German eyn kran, or eyn kranich. ARISTOTLE. Others come almost from earth's utmost parts, as do the Grues, which come from the Scythians to the Egyptian marshes, whence the Nile flows forth : in which place they are said to fight with Pygmies. And this is no mere fable, but assuredly there is, as it is said, a dwarf race both of men and horses, and they live in caves, whence they have got the name of Troglodytae, from dwelling in caves. The Grues furthermore do many things with prudence, for they seek for their convenience distant places, and fly high that they may look out far, and, if they shall 96 Grus — Hirundo cere poffint, & fi nubes tempeftatem'ue uiderint, conferunt fe in terra, & humi quiefcut. Ducem etiam habent, & eos, qui clament, difpofiti 1 in extreme agmine, ut uox percipi poffit. Cum confiftunt, caeteri dormiunt, capite fubter alam condito, alternis pedibus infiftentes. Dux de- tec~to capite, profpicit, & quod fenferit, uoce fignificat. Pipers. Vipiones Plin. dicuntur minores grues & iuniores, [p. 78] ut pipiones iuniores dicuntur columbce. Apud Anglos etiam nidulantur grues in locis paluftribus, & earum pipiones fcepijjime uidi, quod quidam extra Angliam nati, falfuni effe contendunt. DE HIRVNDINE. XeXiScwz', hirundo, Anglice a fmiallouue, Germanice e^n fcfywalb. Saxonibus eft et)n [male. ARISTOTELES2. Hirundo carnibus uefcitur, bis in anno parit, & tota hyeme latet. Omnino ratio brutorum, magna refert uitae humane fimilitudinem ma- giscjj in minori genere, quam in maiore. uideris intelligentiae rationem, quod primum in auium genere hirundo in effingendo coftituendocj* nido ofhendit, confingit implicito luto, feftucis ad normam lutariae paleationis, & fi quado luti inopia eft, fe ipfa madefaciens, uolutat in pul- [p- 79] uerem omnibus pennis. Stragulum etiam facit more hominum duriore primum fubijciens, & modice totum confternens, pro fui corporis magnitudine. 1 'dispositi' is here apparently attracted to 'qui.' 2 Four passages are incorporated in Turner's selection : — Hist. An. Bk vm. 39, Bk vi. 36, Bk vm. 107 and Bk ix. 51, 52. Grus — Hirundo 97 have seen clouds or a storm, betake themselves to earth, and take rest on the ground. They have a leader also and those who, disposed at each end of the band, may call out, that their voice may be per- ceived. The others sleep when they alight, with the head hidden underneath the wing, standing alter- nately on either foot. The leader gazes round him with uncovered head, and by his cry gives notice of whatever he perceives. The smaller, that is younger, Cranes are called by Pliny Vipiones, as young Doves are known as Pipiones. Cranes, moreover, breed in England in marshy places, I myself have very often seen their pipers1, though some people born away from England urge that this is false. OF THE HIRUNDO. XeTuScbz/, hirundo, in English a swallowe, in German eyn schwalb. Among the Saxons it is eyn swale. ARISTOTLE. The Hirundo feeds on flesh, and lays eggs twice a year, for the whole winter also it lies hid. The way of brutes upon the whole bears a marked like- ness to the life of man, and more so in the smaller than the larger kinds. One may observe the under- standing way which the Hirundo foremost in the ranks of birds shews in the constitution and con- struction of its nest. It builds it by applying mud to straws, after the rule of daub and wattle work, and if there ever be a scarcity of mud, it wets itself and rolls itself in dust with all its feathers. It moreover makes a bedding after the manner of men, first laying a foundation of the harder stuff below, and moderately covering the whole in proportion to its size. 1 Young pigeons are still called Pipers in England. T. 7 98 Hirundo PLINIUS 1. Hirundines luto confhruunt, fhramento robo- rant. Si quando inopia eft luti, madefa6lum Hirundinum multa aqua pennis puluerem fpargomt. Ipfum pnmu genus. . . ,' ' 11M , . n . , uero nidum mollibus plumis noccisq* confternunt, tepefaciendis ouis, fimul ne durus fit infantibus pullis. Secundu. Alterum genus eft hirundinum rufticarum & agreftiu, quse raro in domibus, diuerfos figura, fed eade materia nidos confingunt, totos fu- pinos, faucibus porreclis in anguftum, utero [p. 80] capaci : mirum qua peritia occultandis habiles pullis, & fubfternendis molles. Tertium. Tertium hirundinum genus eft, quae ripas t in terra excauant, atque ita t internidificant. Non fa- ciunt hae nidos, migrate^ multis diebus ante, fi futurum eft, ut auftus amnis attingat. DE APODIBUS, EX ARISTOTELE 2. Nonnullae aues depedes3 funt, quae ob earn rem apodes a paruitate pedum nuncupantur. quod genus auiculae, pennis plurimum ualet, ficut & caetera quoque prope fimilia, ut pennis praeualere, fie pedibus degenerare uidentur. ut hirundo & falcula fme riparia4. Haec enim omnia, & moribus, & uolatu, & fpecie proxima [p. 81] inter fe confpiciuntur. Apparet apes omnibus Riparia fme anni temporibus : riparia aeftate tantum cum falcula , . rr • o o • imber incelfit : turn enim & apparet & capitur. 1 Hist. Nat. Lib. X. cap. xxxiii. 2 Hist. An. Bk i. 10. 3 KctKoirodes in the Greek. 4 These two words are probably interpolated. Hirundo 99 PLINY. Hirundines build nests of mud, and strengthen them with straw. And if there ever be a scarcity of mud, they sprinkle a good store of water from their feathers on the dust, which is thus moistened. The nest itself they further line throughout with soft feathers and wool, to thus keep the eggs warm, and also that it may not be too hard for the young chicks. There is another sort of the Hirundines of the country and the fields, which rarely build their nests in houses, different in shape, but of the same material, and facing wholly upwards, having entrances prolonged into a strait with a capacious belly l ; it is wonderful how skilfully they are adapted for concealing young, and soft for them to lie upon. There is a third kind of Hirundines which bore in banks, and thus breed within holes. These make no nests, and migrate many days before, if it be likely that the stream in flood should reach them. OF THE APODES, FROM ARISTOTLE. Some birds are weak- footed, and for that reason from the smallness of their feet are known as Apodes. This kind of little bird is very strong upon the wing, just as some others that are nearly like it seem to lose in strength of foot proportionately as they gain in power of flight, as the Hirundo and the Falcula, in other words Riparia. For all these in their habits, flight, and look seem very near each other. The Apes may be seen at all times of the year, but the Riparia only in summer, when the rains begin : for then it is both noticed and is caught. In 1 Pliny evidently refers to Hirundo rnfula, which builds a flask- shaped nest against a cliff. 7—2 i oo Hirundo Apodes. deniq* rara hsec auicula eft. Apodes *, quos aliq cypfellos uocant, fimiles effe hirudinum, iam dictum eft : baud enim ab hirundine difcerni poffunt, nifi quod tibijs funt hirfutis. Nidum fpecie ciftellae2 produ6lse logius fictae ex luto, imo aditu dato ar6liffimo faciunt, id(j3 locis anguftis3, intra faxa & fpecus, ut & belluas, & homines poffmt deuitare. PLINIUS 4. Apodes. Plurimu uolant, que apodes uocatur, quia caret ufu pedum. Ab alijs Cypfelli appellantur, hirundinum fpecie. Nidificant in fcopulis. Hae [p- 82] funt, quse toto mari cernuntur : nee unquam tarn longo naues, tamcj* continuo curfu, rece- dunt a terra, ut non circumuolitet eas apodes. Csetera genera refidunt, & infiftunt : his quies nifi in nidis nulla : aut pendent, aut iacent. Hattenus P Unites & Ariftoteles, Arijloteles tria tantilm hirundinum genera facit: domefticas, apodes, & falculas. Plinius autem qua- tuor genera facere uidetur : domefticas, rujlicas, apodes & riparias. Quod ft uerum fit, hirundines do- mefticce., fanguinolento pe£lore nobiles, erunt primmn genus. Secundum genus maxima illce & nigerrimcs hirundines gregatim plerumqi uolantes, facere uidentur. Tertium genus, hirundines qua in funnnis trirribus & altis templorum fenejlris nidulantur, efficiunt. Qitar- tum genus riparice fine falculce erunt. Quod fi ifta diuifio parhm arrideat, ad primum genus referantur Hirudines hirundines illce in domibus rujlicorum fempcr nidifi- domeflicg. cantes, quce a reliquis generibus, duce fanguinolentce 1 Hist. An. Bk ix. 108. 2 Kv^f€\eo-iv is the word in Greek. 3 o-rfixo ; another reading is crr€yvw = under cover. 4 Hist. Nat. Lib. X. cap. xxxix. Hiritndo 101 short this little bird is rare. The Apodes, which some call Cypselli, are like Hirundines, as has been said before, for they are not to be distinguished from the Hirundo, save by having hairy legs. The nest which they construct looks like a little basket formed of mud somewhat drawn out, an entrance of the straitest opening beneath ; and this they place in cracks within the rocks and caves, that they may avoid both beasts and men. PLINY. The birds which, because they cannot use their feet, are called Apodes, live chiefly on the wing. They are named Cypselli by some, in aspect they are like Hirundines. They nest in crags. These are they which are seen on all parts of the sea, nor do ships ever leave the land upon so long or so con- tinuous a course but that the Apodes still fly around them. The other kinds alight and settle, but for these there is no rest save in their nests alone, they either hang or lie. So far Pliny and Aristotle. Now Aristotle makes only three kinds of Hirundines, those of the house, the Apodes and the Falculae. Yet Pliny seems to make four kinds, those of the house, the Rusticae, the Apodes, and the Ripariae. If that be true, our House Swallows, well known from their blood-coloured breast, will be the first-named kind. Those very large and black Swallows, that mostly fly in flocks, appear to form the second kind. Those Swallows which make nests upon the tops of towers, and in lofty church windows, constitute the third. And the Ripariae or Falculae will be the fourth. But should the said division not approve itself, then to the first-named kind may be referred those Swallows which in- variably build on the houses of the country people. Two patches of a blood colour, which one may see on each side 1 02 fliwmdo — Hamatopus — Junco maculce, quas utrinque in pectore nideas, diftinguunt, quod Ouidius1 his uerfibus pulclire ojlendit: [p. 83] Alter a tec~ta fubit, nee adhuc de peclore cadis Exceffere notce, Jignataq; fanguim plunia eft. Hoc prinmm genus Angli a fuuallouu nomindt & Germani etyn fcfyttnilb. Apodes. Secundum genus faciunt apodes tarn maiores quam miiiores. maiores uoco maximas illas hirundines, gre- gatim & altius cczteris uolantes, quce in arbore, more kirundinum aliarum nunquam confiftere uifuntur. mi- nores uoco, qua in fcopulis, templorum feneftris ceditiori- bus & fummis tnrribns nidos figunt. Maiores Germani uocant getyr fwalben, A ngli the great funallouues. Mi- nor es A ngli uocant rok martinettes or chirche martnettes, Germani uocant fivc^) fwalben. Falcula fme Tertium genus, quod in ripis nidulatnr, Angli a riparia bank marine?, Germani etyh iiber3 ftvalbe, aut fpetren nominant. DE H^MATOPODIBUS, EX PLINIO 4. Roflrum & praelonga crura rubra haemoto- podi5 funt, multo Porphyrione minori: quaquam [p. 84] eadem crurum altitudine. Nafcitur in Aegypto. Infiftit ternis digitis, prsecipuum ei pabulum mufcae. Vita in Italia paucis diebus. Eft apud Anglos in locis paluftribus auis qutzdam longis & rubris cruribus, noftra lingua redfhanca dic~ta, citi an defcriptio h&motopodis Pliniani conneniat nec- ne> qui apud Anglos degunt, inueftigent & examinent. DE IVNCONE. ^XoivLfcXos, iunco, Anglice a rede fparrouu, Ger- manice ct)ii m)bt muf. Funco, ut fcribit Ariftoteles oc~tauo hiftorioe animalium, & capite tertio, ad ripas lacuum & fluminum uic~litat, & caudam frequenter motitat, & ex eodem conftat, auem effe paruam : nam turdo minorem 1 Metam. Lib. VI. 11. 669 — 70. 2 A misprint for 'martnet.5 3 A misprint for ' ufer.' 4 Hist. Nat. Lib. X. cap. xlvii. 6 Another reading is ' Himantopus,' but the Stilt-Plover has not a red bill. Hirundo — Hcematopus — Junco 1 03 of the breast, distinguish these from the remaining sorts, as Ovid prettily sets forth in these verses :— "The other haunts our roofs, nor have the marks of slaughter yet departed from its breast, and its plumage is stained with blood." The English call this first kind a Swallow, and the Germans eyn schwalb. The Apodes, the greater and the less, compose the second kind. I call greater those very great Swallows that fly in flocks, and higher than the rest, which are never observed to settle on a tree, after the manner of our other Swallows. I call less those which fix their nests to rocks, lofty church windows and the tops of towers. The greater kind the Germans call geyr swalben, and the English the Great Swallowes ; but the less the English call rok martinettes or chirche martnettes, the Germans kirch swalben. The third kind, that which breeds in banks, the English name a bank martnet, the Germans eyn ufer swalbe or speiren. OF THE H^MATOPODES, FROM PLINY. The Hsematopus has its bill and very long legs red, and is much less than the Porphyrio, though of the same height of leg. It is native in Egypt. It stands on three toes to a foot ; flies are its favourite food. It lives in Italy but a few days. There is in marshy places in England a certain bird with long red legs, called Redshank in our tongue, but whether the description of the Haematopus of Pliny agrees with this or not let those who live in England seek out and enquire. OF THE JUNCO. 2%otW;Xo?, junco, in English a rede sparrow, in German eyn reydt muss. The Junco, as Aristotle writes in the eighth book of his Historj' of Animals, and in the third chapter, lives on the banks of lakes and streams, and flirts its tail continually ; and it is clear from him that it is a small bird, for he makes 1 04 Jitnco — L ingu lac a — L agopus — L igit, rinus facit. Ego igitur quum nullam aliam nouerim aui- culam, iuncis & harundinibus infidentem^ prater An- glorum pafferem harildinarium, ilhtm iunconem effe iudico. Auis eft parua, paffere paulo minor \ carida longiufcula & capite nigro. ccetera fufca. DE LINGULACA, EX ARISTOTELE1. Lingulaca, quae Graece yXwrrts dicitur lin- [p. 85] guam exerit longam, unde nome habet, una eft e coturnicum ducibus, formam habet auium lacuftrium. DE LAGOPODE EX PLINIO 2. Praecipuo fapore lagopus eft : pedes leporino uillo ei nomen hoc dedere. Cetero candide3, columborum magnitudine, non extra terrain4, in qua nafcitur, earn uefci : quando nee uiua manfuefcit, & corpus ocoife, ftatim marcefcit. Eft & alia, nomine eodem, a coturnicibus mag- nitudine tantum differens, croceo tinclu cibis t gratiffima. "faptiffima. Huius Jioc uerfu Martialis* meminit: Si meus aurita gaudet lagopede Flaccus. DE LIGVRINO SIVE SPINO. A/cavdis, fpinus, ftue ligurinus, Anglice, a grene finche, ut conijcio, Germanice^ ei)U fir^ftncfc. ARISTOTELES 6. [p. 86] Ligurini, & uita & colore ignobiles funt, fed ualent uocis amoenitate7, & ex auium albo funt, que carduorum femine uefcuntur8. Florus, fpi- nus, & aegithus, odium inter fe exercet. Spinus etiam bellum cum afino gerit. 1 Hist. An. Bk vm. 83. 2 'Hist. Nat. Lib. X. cap. xlviii. 3 After ' dedere ' substitute a comma for the full stop. 4 Pliny seems to have written ' facile ' here, in addition. 5 Epigr. Lib. VII. Ixxxvi. 6 Three passages are here combined: — Hist. An. vm. 42, ix. 22, IX. 92. 7 The words of Aristotle are (pavr/v /neVroi \iyvpav e^ 8 See p. 35. Junco — L ingulaca — Lagopus — L igurinus 105 it less than a Turdus. Therefore, since I know no other little bird which sits upon the rushes and the reeds, save the Reed Sparrow of the English, I believe that kind to be the Junco. Now this bird is small, a little smaller than a Sparrow, with a longish tail, and a black head. The other parts are brown. OF THE LlNGULACA, FROM ARISTOTLE. Lingulaca, in Greek called yXcorris, puts forth a long tongue, whence comes its name ; it is one of the leaders of Coturnices, it has the form of a lake- haunting bird. OF THE LAGOPUS, FROM PLINY. The Lagopus is in flavour excellent, its feet shaggy as in a hare have given it this name. Otherwise it is white, in size as the Columbi ; it is not eaten except in the land of which it is a native, since it is not tameable while living, and when killed its flesh soon putrefies. There is another bird of the same name, differing but in size from the Coturnices, most excellent for food with yellow saffron sauce. Of this Martial makes mention in the following verse : — If my Flaccus delights in the eared lagopes. OF THE LlGURINUS OR SPINUS. 'A/cavOls, spinus, or ligurinus, in English a grene finche, as I suppose, in German eyn kirsfincke. ARISTOTLE. The Ligurini, commonplace in mode of life and colour, yet excel in pleasantness of song. And they are of the list of birds which feed on thistle-seed. The Florus, the Spinus, and the ^Egithus shew mutual dislike. The Spinus wages war moreover with the Ass. io6 Ligurinus sive Sfonus — Lutea Spinum Ariftotelis grenefincam noftram effe arbi- tror: nam ilia inter fpinas plurimuni degit, & ex herbarum feminibus uic~titat. Atiis, quant fpimtm effe iudico, magnitudine pafferem cequat, tota uiridis eft, prcefertim mas in hoc genere, foemina fere pallida eft. uefcitur carduorum maiorum femine & lapparum, ut auriuittis minorum, nidulatur in ramis falicu aut pru- norum fylueftriu. cantat aincene, & tibuui & potii e Jittdis haurire non recufat. Sed obijciet mihi forfan quifpiaui, Jianc colore uiridi adeoq; amoeno, non poffe fpinnm effe, quem Ariftoteles colore ignobilem effe tcftatur. Sciat uelim, qui hoc mihi obijcit, eundem A rijlotelem uiridem colorem dam- nare^ etiam in aue, qnce tota uiridis eft, & a uiriditate nomen accepit. Verba Ariftotelis^ Jicec funt: Vireo2, qui totus uiridis eft, docilis & ad uite munera [p. 87] ingeniofus notatur, sed male uolat, nee grati eft coloris. Hac A riftoteles. DE LVTEA. XXft)/)ef9, hiteus Jiue lutea, Anglice a yelouu kam, a youulryng. Germanice etyn geelgorft. ARISTOTELES. Luteus a colore partis fuae inferioris pallido diclus, magnitudine alaudae eft. Parit oua qua- tuor aut quinque. Nidum fibi ex fymphyto ftirpitus euulfo facit. Sed ftragulum fubijcit ex lana & uillo. 1 Hist. An. Bk ix. 98, 89. 2 Ligurinus or Spimis — Lutea 107 I think that Aristotle's Spinus is our Grenefinc, for it lives for the most part among thorns, and feeds upon the seeds of grasses. The bird which I believe to be the Spinus in its size equals a Sparrow, and is wholly green, and in this kind the male especially, the female being some- what pale. It feeds upon the seeds of bigger thistles and of burdocks, as the Aurivittis does upon the smaller ; and it nests on branches of the willow or wild plum. It is a pleasant songster, and does not refuse to draw its food and water up in little buckets. But some one may perhaps object to me that this bird with its green and somewhat pretty colour cannot be the Spinus, inasmuch as Aristotle testifies that it is common- place in colour. I should like the man who thus objects to me to know that Aristotle equally condemns green colour even in a bird which is entirely green, and from its greenness has received its name. These are the words of Aristotle : — " The Vireo, which is entirely green, is singled out as easy to be taught, and clever for the business of life ; but it flies badly and its colour is un- pleasing." So far Aristotle. OF THE LUTEA. XX&^eiV, luteus or lutea, in English a yelovv ham, a yowlryng, in German eyn geelgorst. ARISTOTLE. The Luteus, so named from the pale colour of its lower parts, is of the size of an Alauda. And it lays four eggs, or even five. It builds itself a nest of comfrey torn up by the roots, but spreads within a covering of wool and hair. 1 Aristotle in his History of Animals mentions three birds, , and ^Xeope^y : but Turner's quotation with regard to xAeopevy is found in Aristotle under xXcopts in a passage (Hist. An. Bk ix. 83) where there seems to be no alternative reading. io8 Lutea — -Luteola — Luscinia A uicula, quam luteum effe credo, paffere paulb maior eft. Marts pectus & neuter lutea funt : foemince uerb peElus hiteuni, & uenter pallidus eft, in capite dorfo & alts, pennis fufcis lutece intermifcentur. Roftrum utrique firmum & breue, in quo tttbercttm quoddam dentem mentiens, reperias, pr meropem ejfe doceant : fed Ariftotele & Plin. reclamantibus. Picus uiridis nidum 1 Hist. An, Bk ix. 82, freely rendered. 2 Hist. Nat. Lib. X. cap. xxxiii. Mergus — Merops 1 1 3 Herons1. Such as make their nests on sea-cliffs generally live on prey from the sea, but such as breed on trees seek rivers, lakes, and streams to get their food. OF THE MEROPS, FROM ARISTOTLE. There are some who insist that Meropes foster the old age of their parents and thus* take their turn, so that the parents not in age alone are nourished by the labour of their offspring, but as soon as power is given to these : that neither does the mother-bird fare forth nor yet the father, but they stay within a resting place and are fed by the aid of those which they themselves have bred, nourished and reared. The plumage of this bird is pale beneath, but blue above like that in Halcyon : the pinnules at the end of the wings are reckoned red. It lays six or seven eggs in summer in the softer banks, and makes its nurseries by boring into these for quite four cubits, and it also uses hollows in the soil. PLINY. Nor truly is less skill shewn by those birds which make their nurseries in the soil, since the weight of their bodies hinders them from mounting to a height. The kind called Merops feeds its parents in retreat ; the colour of its feathers underneath is pale, the upper surface blue, the former being somewhat red. It breeds within a hole, bored out six feet in depth. In fairness I admit that I have never seen the Merops, nor have I met anyone who ever saw it. Still I am not unaware that there are not unlearned schoolmasters among the Germans, who would teach us that their grunspecht is the Merops, though against the sense of Aristotle and Pliny. 1 Compare with this Sir T. Browne's Notes and Letters on the Natural History of Norfolk (ed. Southwell) p. 11 (1902). T. 8 1 1 4 M crops — Merula Jibi roftro fuo in arboribus facit : nbi enimpicus arbor em tundes, illam ex fono fnbcanam effe deprcehendit, in- Jlante tempore partus, earn in qua poftea nidulaturus eft, rojlro perforat. Nnlla ufpiam arbor tarn alta eft, quam impediente ulla corporis grauitate, non uolatu traijcere pojjit. Penn(B huius qnoqne fuperiores funt uirides, inferior esq;y niji male memini, Lntece aiit faltem pallidce funt, qnare qunm merops proJiibente corporis grauitate, in fublime petere, atq-, ideo in arboribus nidnlari non pojfit, & fnperne colore fit cyaneo, Germanonim picns uiridis, quern Britanni a faciendis foraminibns, hnho- Meropem lam nominant, merops Ariftotelis & Plinij effe non non effe poterit. Germano- rumgrun- DE MERVLA. fpechtum. KoTTTu^o?1, merula, Anglice a blak of el, a blak byrd, Germanice ei)U rnerl, aut ei)n amfel. [p. 93] ARTSTOTELES2. Merularum duo funt genera : alterum ni- grum & uulgare: alterum candidum, magnitudine quidem compari, & uoce fimili, fed circa Cyle- nam Arcadie familiare, nee ufqua alibi nafcens. Eft etiam ex hoc genere, quse fimilis nigrae eft, fed fufca colore, & magnitudine paulo minor, uerfari hsec in faxis & tectis folita eft, nee roftrum rutilum, ut merula habet. Merula3 etiam & colore, & uoce per tempora immutatur. Nam ex nigra redclitur rufa, & uocem emittit diuerfam. Strepitat enim per hyemem, quum per aeftatem tumultuans cantet. PLINIUS4. Merula, ex nigra ruffefcit, canit seftate, [p. 94] hyeme balbutit, circa folftitium muta, roftrum 1 A misprint for 2 Hist. An. Bk IX. 95. 3 Hist. An. Bk IX. 254; freely rendered. 4 Hist. Nat. Lib. X. cap. xxix. Merops — Menla 1 1 5 Now the Green Picus makes itself a nest with its own bill in trees : for when a Picus hammering on a tree discovers by the sound that it is hollow at the core, the breeding season being close at hand, it bores that with its bill in which it afterwards intends to nest. There is not anywhere a tree so tall which this bird cannot reach by means of flight, for any weight of body that it has. Its plumage is moreover green above and, if my memory serves me, yellow underneath, or pale at least. Since then the Merops, hindered by its weight of body is incapable of rising to a height, and thus of making nests in trees, and has blue upper parts, the grunspecht of the Germans, which the Britons from the holes it makes call huhol [that is, Hew- hole], cannot be the Merops known to Aristotle and Pliny. OF THE MERULA. ROTTING?, merula, in English a blak osel, a blak byrd, in German eyn merl or eyn amsel. ARISTOTLE. Of Merulae there are two sorts, one black and common, and the other white, of equal size indeed and having a like voice, but which is well-known round Cyllene in Arcadia, and not bred elsewhere. There is of this kind another also, which is like the black, but dull in colour and a little less in size. It usually haunts rocks and roofs, but has not the bill ruddy like the Merula. The Merula in colour and in voice moreover changes with the season, for it turns from black to rufous, and utters a different cry. For it chatters in winter, but sings lustily in summer1. PLINY. From black the Merula turns rufous, in summer it sings, but in winter it babbles, and about the solstice 1 The readings in Aristotle differ considerably. * Sings lustily ' may go with 'in winter.' 8—2 1 1 6 Merula — Milvus — Molliceps quoqj anniculis in ebur transfiguratur, dutaxat maribus. DE MILVO SIVE miluio. LKTIVOS, mihtus, Anglice, a glede, a puttok, a kyte, Germanice etyn tt>etye. PLINIUS 1. Milui ex accipitru genere funt, magnitudine differentes. I idem uidentur artem gubernandi docuiffe, caude flexibus, in coelo monfhrante natura, quod opus effet in profundo. Milui & ipfi hybernis menfibus latent, non tamen ante hirundines abeuntes. Traduntur & folftitijs affici podagra. ARISTOTELES2. Milui pariunt bina magna ex parte, inter- dum & terna, totidemcj* excludunt pullos. Sed [p- 95] qui Aetolius 3 nuncupatur, uel quaternos ali- quando excludit. Duo miluorum genera noui, mains & minus: mains colore propemodum ruffo eft, apnd Anglos frequens, & infigniter rapax. Pneris hoc genus cibnm e manibns in itrbibus & oppidis eripere folet. Alterum genus eft minus, nigriits, & urbes r anus frequent ans. Hoc genus ut in Germania fczpiffime, ita in Anglia mmquam me uidiffe recordor. DE MOLLICIPITE. MaXa/coKpavevs, molliceps, Anglice a shrike, a nyn murder, Germanice e^n nittn murber. ARISTOTELES 4. Molliceps eodem in loco Temper fibi fedem flatuit, atque ibidem capitur. Gradi & cartila- 1 Hist. Nat. Lib. X. cap. x. 2 Hist. An. Bk VI. 38. 3 Other readings are mywAtos- and 4 Hist. An. Bk IX. 98. Merula — Milvus — Molliceps 1 1 7 it is dumb. In yearlings furthermore the bill puts on a look of ivory, provided they are males. OF THE MILVUS OR MILVIUS. , milvus, in English a glede, a puttok, a kyte, in German eyn weye. PLINY. Milvi are of the race of Accipitres, though differing in size. They seem, moreover, to have taught man- kind the art of steering, by the turning of the tail, nature thus shewing in the sky what might be useful in the sea. Milvi lie hidden in the winter months, yet not until Hirundines depart. They are reported also to be affected with the gout about the solstice. ARISTOTLE. Milvi lay for the most part two eggs each, but sometimes three, and hatch as many young. But that kind which is named /Etolian at times lays even four. I know two sorts of Kites, the greater and the less ; the greater is in colour nearly rufous, and in England is abundant and remarkably rapacious. This kind is wont to snatch food out of children's hands, in our cities and towns. The other kind is smaller, blacker, and more rarely haunts cities. This I do not remember to have seen in England, though in Germany most frequently. OF THE MOLLICEPS. Ma\a,KOKpavevs, molliceps, in English a shrike, a nyn murder, in German eyn nuin murder. ARISTOTLE. The Molliceps invariably takes its stand in the same place, and thereat it is caught. It has a big 1 1 8 Molliceps gineo capite eft, magnitudine paulo minor qua turdus, ore firmo, paruo, rotiido, colore totus cinereo depes1, & penis inualens eft, capitur maxime no6lua. Mollicipitem effe arbitror auiculam, quani Germani nuinmurder non fine caufa nominant. Porrb ut omni- [p. 96] bus perfpicuum fit, qucz'nani & qualis ilia fit, formam aids & mores quanta licebit compendia perjlringam. Magnitudine, minimum turdorum genns cequat, e lon- ginquo contcplanti, tota apparet cinerea. Propins autem infpicienti, mentum, pec~lus & neuter alba apparent, ab utroqne ocnlo ad collnm nfque, longa & nigra macula, fed nonniJiil obliqna porrigitur. Capite tarn grandi efl, nt ani triplo maiori (inodb roftrnm longins & mains ejfef] proportione fna fatis refponderet. Rojlro nigro eft, & mediocriter breui, & in fine adunco, fed omnium firmijfimo & fortijfimo efi, utpote quo mamim femel meant duplici chirotheca munitam,fauciauerit, & aui- um ojfa & capita confringat & conterat quam ocyf/inie. Ala utraque nigra tota efi, nifi quod alba linea graudi- ufcula, mediam utrinque alam tranftierfim difiingat. Caudam piece fimilem habet, logiufculam nimirum, & uariam. Tibias & pedes pro ratione corporis omnium minimos, & eos nigros habet. Alas liabet breues, & iieluti per falttis furfnm atque deorfnm nolitat. Viuit ex fcarabeis, papilionibus, & grandioribus infectis : fed non folis ifiis, nerumetiam, more accipitris, auibus. Occidit enim regulos,fringillas, & (quod ego femel nidi} turdos. Tradunt etiam aucupes kanc picas quafdam [p- W^fyluefires inter dum iugulare, & cornices in fugam adi- gere. Aues, quas occidit, non unguibus, ut accipitres, uolando perniciter adfequitnr, fed ex infidijs adoritur, & mox (quod iam fcepius expertus funt] ingulum petit, Offifraga & cranium rofiro comprimit & confringit. Offa com- f/eius^lli' minuta & contufa deuorat: & quando efurit, tantos magnitude carnis bolos in gulam ingerit, quantos ric~lns oris an- adeffet. guffta potefi capere. Prceter morem etiam reliquarum Nam nee & J , , . 7 moribu9, nee auium, quando ubenor prczda contigtt, nonmkil in fu- 1 CITTOVS. Another reading is Molliceps 1 1 9 and gristly head, and is a little smaller than a Thrush in size ; the bill is strong but small, and curved ; in colour it is wholly grey, while it is weak-footed and feeble on the wing, it is caught chiefly by the Noctua. The Molliceps I think to be that little bird which Germans call nuinmurder, not without a cause. Further that it may be quite clear to all which and what sort of bird it really is, I will touch on its form and habits as compendiously as may be. In size it equals the least of the Thrushes, and to one observing from afar seems wholly grey. And yet, to one inspecting it more nearly, the chin, the breast and belly appear white, and from each eye there reaches to the neck, although somewhat oblique, a long black patch. It has so big a head that (were the bill longer and larger) it assuredly would answer in proportion for a bird of thrice its size. The bill is black and moderately short, and hooked at the tip, but is the stoutest and strongest of all, so much so that the bird once wounded my hand, although protected by a double glove, and very speedily it crushes and breaks up the bones and skulls of birds. Each wing is wholly black, except that a white line of some size marks transversely the middle of the wing on either side. The tail is like that of a Pie, that is to say, longish and particoloured. Of all it has the shortest legs and feet proportionately to its body, and these parts are black. It has short wings, and flies as if by bounds upwards and downwards. It lives on beetles, butterflies, and biggish insects, and not only these, but also birds after the manner of a Hawk. For it kills Reguli and Finches and (as once I saw) Thrushes ; and bird-catchers even report that it from time to time slays certain woodland Pies, and can put Crows to flight. It does not seize the birds it kills with its claws, after a swift flight, as Hawks do, but attacks them stealthily and soon (as I have often had ex- perience) aims at the throat and with its beak squeezes and breaks the skull. Then it devours the crushed and bruised bones, and when anhungered crams into its gullet lumps of flesh as big as the gape's narrowness can take. Again, beyond the habit of the rest of birds, when prey happens to be more plentiful, it lays by some for future scarcity. I2O Molliceps — Noctiia — Olor colore ab ea turam penurid reponit, Mufcas enim grandiores & multum abludit. multum infecla iani capta in aculeis & fpinis arbuftorum figit fufpendit: omnium auium facilime cicuratur, & manfuefac~la> carnibus alitur, qiuz fi fuerint Jicciores, aut prorfus exangues, potum requirit. In A nglia fce- pius quam bis nunquam nidi, in Ger mania fcepijjime. Nonien huius apud noftros neminem inueni, qni nouerit, prater Dominum Francifcum Louellum, tarn animi quam corporis dotibus equitem auratttm nobilijjfimum. lam Jl cui mollicipitis Arijlotelis defcriptio huic non uideatur per omnia conuenire, tyrannorum albo ad- fcribat, aut auem oftendat, cui defcriptio melius competat. DE NOCTVA. FXauf, no£lua, Anglice an ouul, or an houulet, [p. 98] Germanice etyn eul & e\^n u(e Saxonice. ARISTOTELES \ Noftuae, cicuniae2, & reliqua, qu^ interdiu nequeunt cernere, no6lu uenando cibum fibi adquirunt : uerum non tota nofte id faciunt, fed tempore uefpertino et matutino. Venantur autem mures, lacertas, uerticillos, & eiufmodi beftiolas. No6luam3 caeterse omnes aues cir- cumuolant, quod mirari uocatur, aduolantescj* percutiunt4. Qua propter aucupes ea conftituta, auicularum genera multa & uaria capiunt. DE OLORE. Ki>/<;i>o9, olor, Anglice a fuuan, Germanice etyn fn.>an. ARISTOTELES 5. Olor. Olores palmides6 funt, apud lacus & paludes uiuentes, qui nee probitate ui6lus, morum, pro- [p. 99] lis, feneftutis uacant 7. Aquilam fi pugnam 1 Hist. An. Bk ix. 122. 2 Apparently a misprint for cicumae, said to mean 'horned owls.' Aristotle has vvKTiKopaKfs which he identifies in Bk vni. 84 with torot. 3 Hist. An. Bk ix. u. 4 Aristotle has n'XXouo-i = pluck it. 5 Hist. An. Bk ix. 78. 0 That is, palmipedes. 7 Aristotle has ei>/3i'oroi de KCU evrjdcis KOI evTewoi KOI fv Molliceps— Noctua — Olor 1 2 1 For it impales and hangs the bigger flies and insects on the thorns and spines of shrubs, so soon as they are caught : of all birds it is tamed most easily, and when accustomed to the hand is fed on meat, and, should this happen to be somewhat dry or altogether bloodless, it requires drink. In England I have never seen it oftener than twice, although most frequently in Germany. Among our people I have found no one who knew its name, except Sir Francis Lovell, that most noble knight, endowed with equal gifts of mind and body. Now if Aristotle's description of the Molliceps does not appear to any one in all points to agree with this let him ascribe it to the list of the Tyranni, or shew us a bird, which the description fits better than this. OF THE NOCTUA. r\ai>g, noctua, in English an owl or an howlet, in German eyn eul, and in Saxon eyn ule. ARISTOTLE. The Noctuse, Cicumae and the rest, which cannot see by day, obtain their food by seeking it at night : and yet they do not do this all night long, only at eventide and dawn. They hunt moreover mice, lizards, and scorpions, and small beasts of the like kind. All other birds flock round the Noctua, or, as men say " admire," and flying at it buffet it. Wherefore this being its nature1, fowlers catch with it many and different kinds of little birds. OF THE OLOR. KVKVOS, olor, in English a swan, in German eyn swan. ARISTOTLE. Olores are web-footed, and they live on lakes and marshes ; they get food with ease, are peaceable, prolific and attain to a great age. They repulse the 1 Or, possibly, ' the bird being set down on the ground.' 1 2 2 Olor — Onocrotalus cceperit, repugnantes uincunt. Ipfi tamen nun- quam, nifi prouocati, pugnam inferunt. Canere foliti funt, & iamiam morituri. Volant etiam in pelagus longius, & iam quidam cum in mari Africo nauigarunt, multos canentes uoce flebili & mori nonnullos confpexere. Si qnis o lore in uunquam n icier it, & ex hac Arijlo- telis defcriptione 11011 fails qualis fit aids didicerit, fciat auem effe albam, anfere multb maiorem, forma tamcn & uic~tn femilem, pedibus /rigris, & roftro parum turbi- nato, colore rntilo, in cuius finnma parte, qua capiii committitur, nigerrimum tuberculum, atque idrotnnduin^ & in roftrum fefe infleclens, exiftit. DE ONOCRATALO. Onocrotalus. Stint hodie 11011 parum multi eruditione inter otnnes confpicui, qui grandifonam illarn lacnftrem auem, Anglis buttoram & Germanis pittonrum, & rof dom- inant nocatam, Onocrotalum effe contendant. Qtiorfi [p. 100] ego fent entice lubens fubfcriberem, (pulchre enim cum uoce auis nominis etymologia connenit:} nife Plinij autoritas de onocrotalo ad hunc modum fcribentis, uon diffiiaderet. Onocrotali, inquit, olorum fimilitu- dinem habent, nee diftare uidentur omnino, nifi faucibus ipfis ineffet, alterius uteri genus, hue omnia inexplebile animal congerit, mira ut fit capacitas, mox perfe6la rapina, fenfim inde in os reddita, in ueram aluum ruminantis modo refert. Gallia hos feptentrionalis, proxime1 oceano mit- tit. Hcec P Hums'1. 1 This should apparently be ' proxima/ as some texts have it. 2 Hist, Nat. Lib. X. cap. xlvii. I Olor — Onocrotalus \ 2 3 Aquila successfully, should he begin a fight ; and yet, unless provoked, never induce the fight. These birds are wont to sing even when just about to die. They also fly afar over the main, and men ere now, who have been sailing on the African sea have met with many singing mournfully and seen some of them die. Should any one have never seen a Swan, nor learnt sufficiently what sort of bird it be from this account of Aristotle, let him know that it is a white bird, much bigger than a Goose, though like in form and feeding; with black feet, and a bill hardly spindle-shaped1, reddish in colour; on the highest part of which, where it adjoins the head, stands forth a very black and rounded knob, sloping towards the bill. OF THE ONOCROTALUS. There are many to-day conspicuous among all for learning (to no small degree who maintain that the loud-sounding lacustrine bird, called Buttor by the English, and Pittour br Rosdomm by the Germans, is the Onocrotalus. To whose opinion I would willingly subscribe, (the more so as the etymology of the bird's name agrees well with its voice,) did not the authority of Pliny writing of the Onocrotalus after this manner dissuade me therefrom. The Onocrotali, he says, have a similitude to the Olores, and they do not seem to differ in any way, save that there is a kind of second belly in the very jaws. Herein the insatiable animal crams everything at once, so marvellous is its capacity, and presently, the plundering complete, it gradually returns all to the mouth, and thence transfers it to the real belly in the manner of a ruminant. Northern Gaul, where nearest to the ocean, sends us these. So far Pliny. i ' This passage is not easily rendered, as it is difficult to see what Turner intended by ' turbinato.' Turbo is a conical shell, spindle and so forth; but it is hard to say how a Swan's beak could be considered either conical or spindle-shaped. 1 24 OnocrotaliLs Nunc panels auem illam uobis depingam, qua onocrotalum effe affeuerant. Aids eft tota corporis fi- gura Ardece ftmilis. longis cruribus, fed ardece breui- oribus* longo collo, & mire plumofo, & roftro nee breui nee obtufo. caput pennce tegunt nigerrimce. reliquum uerb corpus, fufcce & pallidce maculis nigris denftjjlmc refperfce. Pedes habet longijjimos, nam inter extremos nngues medij digiti pedis unius & calcis eiiifdein, [p. \o\~\fpithames longitttdo intercedit. Vngues habet longiffi- mos, nam ille, qni calcis uicem in anibus gerit, longi- tudine fefquiunciam fuperat, quare ad fricandos denies noftrates utuntur, & argento inferunt. Medins digitus utriufque pedis ^ qui cceteris longior eft, nnguem habet portentofum, nempe dentatum & ferratum, non fecus atqne pec~tunculorum teftce f errata funt, ad lubricas anguillas, quas ccepit1, retinendas, a natnra proculdubio ordinatum. Cauda illi breuijjlma eft, et ftomachus capaciffimus, quo ingluuiei loco ntitur. Ventriculum non cceterarum auium uentricidis, fed canino ftmilem habet, & eum grandem & capacem. Sed ne cui falfa ejfe nideantur, qnce de hac aue iani\ fcripft, ant ex aliornm relatu potius quam certa experi- entia didiciffe nidear: dum prima huins libri folia adhnc fub prcelo effent, auem mihi hanc contemplanti, fecantiq,, & nu tales haberet uentriculum & ftomacJium, quales Plinius illi tribuit, inueftiganti: aderant uir eruditijfimus , & abftrufiormn natnrce arcanorum ftudio- JlJJlmus inueftigator loannes EcJitJtius, Medicus apud Colonienfes celeberrimus : Cornelius Sittardus, Medi- cincz prima laurea decoratus. M. Lubertus Eftitis, artitim liberalium profeffor, ambo fimplicium medica- mentorum pulcJire gnari, & ad miraculum ufque ftndi- [p. 102] oft : & Conradus Embecanus uir non uulgariter doffius, et Gymnicance officince caftigator injigniter diligens, cum alijs aliquot bonarum artium ftudiofts, qui me nihil de hac aue hie fcripftffe teftari poffunt & uolunt, quod cum illis omnibus non niderim. Ad ripas la- cuum & paludium deftdet, ubi roftrum in aquas in- 1 A misprint for ' cepit.5 Onocrotahis 1 2 5 Now in a few words I will portray to you that bird which they assert to be the Onocrotalus. In general make of body it is like the Heron, with long legs, though shorter than that bird's. The neck is long and marvellously thick with plumes, the beak is neither short nor blunt. Very black feathers clothe the head, but on the body generally they are dusky and pale, and most thickly sprinkled with black spots. It has very long feet, indeed there is a span's length from the claw-tips of the middle toe of either foot to the heel of the same. It has very long claws, for that which serves in birds the purpose of a heel exceeds an inch and a half in length, on which account our countrymen use it to pick their teeth, and mount it in silver. The middle toe of either foot, which is longer than the rest, has a prodigious claw, that is to say, toothed and serrated, not unlike the shells of little scallops are, doubtless contrived by nature to retain the slippery eels, which the bird catches. The tail is very short, the gullet most capacious, and it uses it in the place of a crop. It has a belly not like that of other birds, but like that of a dog ; it also is large and capacious. But lest what I have written thus far of this bird seem false to anyone, or lest I seem to have learnt the above from the reports of others rather than from sure experience : while the first pages of this book were still at press, and while I was examining the bird and was dissecting it, and taking note whether it really had a belly and a stomach such as Pliny had assigned to it, there were assisting me Joannes Echthius, a very learned man and a most zealous student of the more abstruse secrets of nature, a physician much renowned among the men of Cullen : Cornelius Sittardus decorated with the highest laurel-wreath of Medi- cine : Marcus Lubertus Estius, professor of the liberal arts, both excellently skilled in that of simpling, and wonderfully earnest, and as well as these Conradus Embecanus, a man well-informed in no common degree, and a remarkably careful corrector in the printing-house of Gymnicus, with certain others versed in learned arts, who can and will bear witness to the fact that I have written nothing here about this bird which I have not observed in company with all of them. It sits about the sides of lakes and marshes, where putting 1 26 Onocrotalus — Ortygometra ferens, tantos edit bombos, lit ad miliarium Italicum facile pqffit aitdiri. Pifces & prcefertim anguillas uorat aiddi/fime, nee ulla aids eft, excepto mergo, qiice ifta uoracior eft. Nunc quid Jimile Jiabet ifta cygno ? NiJiil plane, quod fe oculis confpiciendum offerat. Et Moifes Leuit. undecimo capite, proxime cygnnm inter immundas aues onocrotalum recenfet. Vnde non im- meritb fufpicio quibufdam orta eft in Gallia, ant ludcza auem forma olori ftmilem alicnbi poffe reperiri. Quod ft nufquam talis inneniatnr: probabile eft, aut Plin. a mendacibus relatoribus fnis effe falfum, aut ea, qu besides r)Xi'o>. 4 Aristotle has aKavddv nva KOI V\TJV, so no doubt ' ut ' is a misprint for 4et.' Gaza has 'ut.' Pavo — Perdix 1 39 time draws into a cluster all the eyes upon his feathers, which he is well pleased should be admired. The same bird, having lost his tail, when the trees shed their leaves by annual change, ashamed and sorrowing seeks a hiding place, until it once more grows to- gether with the flowers. He lives for five and twenty years, and in the third begins to shew his colours. He is reported by authorities to be an animal not only proud but also ill-disposed, just as the Goose is bashful. Peacocks have on their heads as it were a bush of hair. OF THE PERUIX. rie/jStf, perdix, in English a pertrige, in German eyn velt hon, or eyn raphon. ARISTOTLE. The Perdix is a bird that dusts itself, and flies not high1 ; moreover it finds safety for its young not in a nest, but in thick shrubs and corn. For birds of heavy body make no nest, such as Coturnices and Perdices, and others of like sort. For to those kinds in which facility of flight is wanting, there is small advantage in a nest ; but in some sunny place (for they breed nowhere else) a space is cleared and sticks and a few briars are collected there sufficient for them to avoid attacks of Accipitres and Aquilae. They lay their eggs and sit ; so soon as these are hatched, they lead their young away forthwith because they cannot supply food to them by means of flight. Both Cotur- nices and Perdices cherish their chicks beneath them, themselves leading them in the same way as hens lead theirs. They do not lay and incubate in the same place (year after year), lest any one should find it through the length of time for which they sit. Should 1 See p. 35. 1 40 Perdix — Phasianus — Phcenix Cum ad nidum quis uenando accefferit, pro- [P. ii4]uoluit fe perdix ante pedes uenantis, quafi iam capi poffit1, atque ita ad fe capiendam hominem allicit, eoufque dum pulli effugiant, turn ipfa uolat, & reuocat prolem. parit oua non pauci- ora quam decem. Eft & alia auis, qua perdix ruftica dicitur, Anglis rala dicta, cuius his uerfibus Martialis*1 meminit: Ruftica ftim perdix, quid refert Ji fapor idem ? Charior eft perdix, Jl faptt ilia minus. DE PHASIANO. Pliafumus, Anglice a phefan, Germanice ei)ll fafant/ ofcer etyn faftan. PLINIUS3. Phafiani geminas aures ex pluma fubmit- tunt, fubriguntcj?. quae ueluti cornicula appa- rent. ARISTOTELES4. Phafianorum oua punclis diftinfta funt ut meleagridum, puluerant ut gallina^ & perdices. [p- "5] Phafiani a pediculis infeftantur, & nifi inter- dum puluerent, eifdem interimuntur. DE PHCENICE. PLINIUS5. Aethiopes atque Indi difcolores maxime & inenarrabiles ferunt aues, & ante omnes nobilem Arable phcenicem : haud fcio an fabulofe, unum in toto orbe, nee uifum magnopere. Aquilae narratur magnitudine, auri fulgore circa colla, caetera purpureus, coeruleam rofeis caudam pen- 1 Aristotle has &>s eV/X^Trroy oyo-a, which means 'as if disabled.' 2 Epigr. Lib. xin. Ixxvi. 3 Hist. Nat. Lib. x. cap. xlviii. 4 Hist. An. Bk vi. 5, Bk ix. 260, Bk v. 140. 5 Hist. Nat. Lib. x. cap. ii. Perdix — Phasianus — Phoenix 1 4 1 any man when hunting come up to the nest, the Perdix casts herself before the hunter's feet, as if she could be caught at once, and thus attracts the man to take her, till the chicks escape, whereon she flies off and recalls her brood. She lays no fewer than ten eggs. And there is yet another bird, which is called Perdix rustica : it is called " rale " by Englishmen, and of it Martial makes mention in the following lines :— I am a country partridge, but what matters it so that the flavour be the same ? The partridge is the dearer, if it tastes less well1. OF THE PHASIANUS. Phasianus, in English a phesan, in German eyn fasant or eyn fasian. PLINY. The Phasiani lower and erect two ears of feathers, which look like small horns. ARISTOTLE. Of Phasiani the eggs are marked with spots, like those of Meleagrides ; they dust themselves, just as Gallinse and Perdices do. Phasiani are a prey to lice, and if they do not sometimes dust themselves, are killed by them. OF THE PHCENIX. PLINY. The ^Ethiopians and Indians tell of birds of very varied colouring and indescribable, and of the Phcenix of Arabia, most noteworthy of all : I know not whether falsely, that there is but one in the whole world, and this not often seen. It is declared to be of the size of an Aquila, with golden sheen around the neck, but purple otherwise, varied with roseate feathers on 1 The text here given is probably corrupt, which makes the rendering uncertain. 1 4 2 Phoenix — Pica nis diftinguentibus, criftis faciem caputcj* plu- meo apice honeftante. Primus atque diligen- tiffimus togatorum de eo prodidit Manilius, fenator ille maximus, nobilis, doftore nullo, autor eft, neminem extitiffe, qui uiderit uefce- [p. 1 1 6] tern. Sacrum in Arabia foli effe, uiuere annis 660. fenefcetem cafia thuriscj? furculis con- ftruere nidum, replere odoribus, & fuperemori. Ex offibus deinde ac medullis nafci primo ceu uermiculum, inde fieri pullum. DE PICA. Kirra, pica, Anglice a py, or a plot, Germanice etytt elfter/ ober etyn afcel. ARISTOTELES '. Pica uoces plurimas commutat, fingulis enim fere diebus diuerfam emittit uocem. Parit oua circiter nouem numero. Nidum in arboribus facit ex pilis & lana, glandes cum deficiunt, colligit, & in repofitorio abditas, referuat. PLINIUS 2. Minor nobilitas, quia non ex longinquo [P- TI7] uenit, fed expreffior loquacitas certo generi picarum eft, quam pfitacis eft. Nee difcunt tantum, fed diligunt meditantesc^ intra femet, cura atq? cogitatione, intentionem non occultant. Conftat emori uiclas difficultate uerbi, ac nifi fubinde eadem audiant, memoria falli, quserentes mirum in modum hilarari, fi interim audierint id uerbum. Nee uulgaris ijs forma, quamuis non 1 Hist. An. Bk ix. 81. 2 Hist. Nat. Lib. X. cap. xlii. Phoenix — Pica \ 4 3 a tail of blue, tufts beautifying the face, a feathery crown the head. First of our citizens and with great care Manilius wrote of it, that noted senator, of such high birth ; of his own knowledge he asserts that nobody exists who ever saw it eat. He says that in Arabia it is considered sacred to the sun, and lives for six hundred and sixty years. When it grows old it makes itself a nest with cassia and twigs of frank- incense, this nest it stores with scents and on the top it dies. Then from its bones and marrow is pro- duced what seems a little worm, but afterwards be- comes a chick. OF THE PICA. Ktrra, pica, in English a py or a piot, in German eyn elster or eyn atzel. ARISTOTLE. The Pica oftentimes changes its notes, for almost every day it utters different cries. It lays about nine eggs. It makes a nest in trees, of hair and wool, and when acorns grow scarce, it gathers them and keeps them hidden in store. PLINY. Less fame, because it does not come from distant lands, though more distinct loquacity characterizes a certain sort of Picae than the Psittaci. Not only do they learn, but they delight to talk, and meditating carefully and thoughtfully within themselves hide not their earnestness. They are known to have died when overcome by difficulty in a word,* and, should they not hear the same things constantly, to have failed in their memory, and while recalling them to be cheered up in wondrous wise, if meanwhile they have heard that word. Nor1 is their beauty of an 1 Or perhaps, ' their form is not commonplace, though not showy to the eye.' 1 44 Pica fpec~tanda, fatis illis decoris in fpecie fermonis human! eft. Verum addifcere alias negant poffe, quam quae ex genere earum funt, quse glande uefcantur, & inter eas facilius, quibus quini funt digiti in pedibus : ac ne eas quidem ipfas, nifi primis duobus uite annis. Nuper et adhuc tamen rara ab Appennino ad urbem [p. n8]uerfus cerni coepere picarum genera, quae longa infignes cauda uarise appellantur, proprium his caluefcere omnibus annis cum feratur rapa. Plinius duo picarum genera facere uidetur: pofterius hoc genus Plinij, picarum genus effe uidetur, quod pajfim in Germania & Anglia longa cauda prceditum, oua & pullos gallinarum populatur. A Hud genus piece, tarn longa cauda ornatum, quam hoc eft, non noui. nojlra quoque pica uulgaris caluefcere quotannis folet. Alterum autem piece genus diu fane dubitaui quod nam effet, & adhuc non fatis tcneo. Cum effem in Italia ad ripam Padi, ambulantibns miJii, & itineris met comi- laia An- tibus, auis qucedam piece fimilis, lingua Britannica glorum, iaia, & Germanica mercolphus appellata, confpicicndam mercolphus ... .. Germanoru. fefe commoaum obtulit, anus nomen Itahcum quum a monacho quodam, qui turn forte aderat, percontarer, picam granatam did refpondit. Qua re cum apud Italicum etiam uulgus non folum priftince linguce Romance, fed & rerum fcientice, non obfcura uejligia adJmc fuperejfe deprcehenderem, fuborta eft mihi hinc fufpicio, auem hanc e generibus picarum ejfe, & quod [p. \\sj\fcirem eandem, alter a uulgari pica, multb exprejfius Hanc mea humanas uoces imitari, ita fufpicionem meam auxit, Perottus1 ut Parum abfai guin credam hanc effe alter ius generis cofirmat, picam, nam & glandibus uefcitur magis omnibus alijs i Probably Reader in Greek to Edward VI. (cf. Diet. National Biogr. XLV. p. 21). Pica 145 ordinary sort, though not considerable to the eye ; for them it is enough honour to have a kind of human speech. However people deny that others are able to learn, save those belonging to the group which lives on acorns — and of these again those with the greatest ease which have five toes upon each of their feet : nor even they except during the first two years of life. Of late, however, and as yet infrequently, towards the city from the Appennines there have begun to be observed some sorts of Picae which being remarkable for the length of their tails have been called "variae." They have this special mark that they grow bald in every year when rape is sown. Of Picae Pliny seems to make two kinds : this latter kind of his would seem to be that Pie which here and there in Germany and England plunders both the eggs and chicks of fowls, possessing a long tail. I do not know another kind of Pie provided with a tail so long as this. And furthermore our common Pie is wont to grow bald every year. Now what the second sort of Pie might be I doubted very long, nor have I yet grasped it sufficiently. But when I was in Italy upon the banks of the Po, and while my fellow- travellers and I were walking out, a certain bird like a Pie, in English called a Jay, in German mercolphus, offered itself conveniently for observation. Thereupon I asked a certain monk, who then by chance was present, its Italian name, and he replied to me that it was called the Seed Pie1. When therefore I perceived that with the common people of Italy not only patent traces of the old Roman tongue still actually existed, but also of things scientific, a suspicion rose within me that this bird was of the group of Pies ; moreover, since I knew that the same imitated human tones much more correctly than the other Pie, which is the commoner, so much was I confirmed in my suspicion that I can scarcely refuse to credit that this Pie was Pliny's second kind, par- ticularly as it lives on acorns more than any other bird. 1 Ghiandaja is the modern Italian name, derived from 'glans' = an acorn. 10 146 Picus Martins DE PICO MARTIO. a rayn Apuo/eoXavrTT;?, picus martius, pipo> iynx, torquella, byrde. turbo, Anglice & Germanice a fpecht, etyll ARISTOTELES \ Alia culicibus2 gaudent, nee alio magis quam uenatu culicum uiuut, ut pipo turn maior turn minor, utrumque picum martium uocant. Si- miles inter fe funt, uocemcj* fimilem emittunt, Galgulum fed maiorem, quae maior eft. Item KO\LOS\ cui mterpretatur magnitude quanta turturi fere eft, color luteus, Gaza. i- • i • i hgnipeta hie admodum eft, magnaq* ex parte more picorum ve^trai eVt TWV f^Xw^, quod eft, id eft, umit ut interpretatur Gaza, ex macerie uiuit : uocem ad hgna. . . ' . „ , ., , . [p 120] emittit magnam, incola maxime Peloponefi hie eft. Obferua tibi Ariftoteles dno tantum picorum genera facit, ibidem ilium galgalum defcribere, & ubi tria facit, eundem omittere, ARISTOTELES4 LIB. 9. CAP. 9. DE HISTORIA ANIMALIUM. Alauda gallinago, & coturnix nunquam in arbore confiftunt, fed humi. Contra atq$ picus martius, qui nunquam humi confiftere patitur. Tundit hie quercus, uermium & culicu caufa, quo exeant : recipit enim egreffos lingua fua, quam maiufculam, & latiufculam habet. Scadit per arborem omnibus modis : nam uel refu- pinus, more ftellionu, ingreditur. Vngues etiam habet commodiores quam monedula5, ad tuti- [p. 121] orem arborum reptationem, his enim adfixis afcendit. Sunt pici Martij cognomine, tria genera : unum minus quam merula, cui rubidae 1 Hist. An. Bk vm. 43—44. 2 Gaza translated Aristotle's o-Kvfy by culex ( = gnat). Most probably it may be used for various small winged creatures. 3 There is another reading, xtXeoy. 4 Hist. An. Bk ix. 66—69. 5 KoXoios may be a misreading here and below for Kf\ebs} but this seems doubtful. Picus Martins 147 OF THE Picus MARTIUS. , picus martius, pipo, iynx, torquella, turbo, in English and in German a specht, eyn specht ARISTOTLE. Some birds delight in grubs, and as a rule live on no other prey, as do the great and little Pipo, both of which people call Picus Martius. Resembling one another they utter like cries, although the greater has the louder cry. Again there is the /coXios, the size of which is, nearly as may be, that of the Turtur, and its colour yellowish. It pecks wood freely, and, as the Pici do, lives for the most part on the trunks, that is, lives on the wood1, as Gaza renders it : it utters a loud cry, and is especially a resident in the Peloponnese. Note that, when Aristotle only makes two sorts of Pici, in that- passage he describes the Galgulus, when he makes three, he does not mention it. ARISTOTLE BOOK 9, CHAP. 9, OF THE HISTORY OF ANIMALS. Alauda, Gallinago, and Coturnix never alight on trees, but always on the ground. It is however other- wise with Picus Martius, which never can endure sitting upon the ground. It hammers oaks for worms and grubs, that they may shew themselves, and when they issue forth it takes them on its tongue, which it has somewhat long and broad. It climbs about a tree in every way, for it even walks upside down, after the way of Lizards. It has claws better formed for creeping safely on the trees than even the Monedula, and climbs with them stuck in. There are three sorts of birds that have the special name of Picus Martius, one less than a Merula, which has some 1 Cf. p. 88. 10 2 148 Picus Martins aliquid plumae inert. Alteru maius quam me- rula : tertium non multo minus quam gallina. Nidulatur in arboribus turn alijs cum oleis. Pafcitur formicis & coffis. Cum coffos uenatur, tarn uehementer excauare, ut fternat arbores dicitur. lam uero mitefcens, quidam amygdalu, quod rimae inferuiffet ligni, ut fixu conftanter i6lum reciperet, tertio iclu pertudit, & nucleum edit. Faucis1 quibufdam utrinque bini ungues ut auiculae, quam lyngem uocant. Haec paulo maior quam fringilla eft, corpore uario. Habet fibi propriam digitorum, qua modo dixi, difpo- [p. 122] fitionem, & linguam ferpentibus fimilem: quippe quam in longitudinem, menfura quatuor digi- torum porrigat, rurfumcj? contrahat intra ro- ftrum, collum etiam porrigit in auerfum reliquo quiefcente corpore, modo ferpentium, unde tor- quilla uulgo appellata eft : quanquam turbo ab antiquis. Vngues ei grandes, & fimiles, ut monedulis exeunt, uoce autem ftridet. Picus mi- nimus. Medius. Maximus. [P- Pritnum pici genus Angli fpechtam, & uuod- fpechtam, Germani elfterfpechtam nominant. Secundum genus Angli ku/wlam, Jioc eft, foraminum dolatorem, Germani grunfprechtd nuncupant. Tertiu germs A nglia no nouit, Germani atit crafpechtam a. cornicinum picum appellat, quod cornicem phimaru colore & magni- tudine etiam pene czquet. Plinius prater hev ei)n votfeld;en. Ruticilla.