'I I t/ /~ y FOR THE PEOPLE FOR. EDVCATION FOR SCIENCE LIBRARY OF THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY TURNER ON BIRDS aonDon: C. J. CLAY and SONS, CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS WAREHOUSE, AVE MARIA LANE. ©lassoto: 50, WELLINGTON STREET. AS i 1 t « 1*1 M i. i * S< Ml Iripjig: F. A. BROCKHAUS. £efo Hork: THE MACMILLAN COMPANY. Bombag anU Calcutta: MACMILLAN AND CO., Ltd. TURNER ON BIRDS: A SHORT AND SUCCINCT HISTORY OF THE PRINCIPAL BIRDS NOTICED BY PLINY AND ARISTOTLE, 5q.sa :oi 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 Camtmtige : 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. Willtam 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 Libellas 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 Inti'odiiction 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 155 1 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 7th of July 1568 Turner died at his house in Crutched Friars in the City of London, and was buried in the church of St Olave, 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 ma)- be seen in the bibliography appended to the excellent 'Life' prefixed to Mr Jackson's facsimile reprint of the Libcllus de re herbaria1, whence all the particulars above given are taken. Other lists of Turner's works may be found in Cooper's AtJienae Cantabrigicnses (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. 57), Godwit (p. 45), Wheatear (p. 53), Sandpiper (p. 57), Fieldfare (p. 59), Cuckoo (p. 69), Black-headed Gull (p. yy), Black Tern (p. 79), Swallows (p. 101), Cormorant (p. 1 1 1), Shrike (p. 1 19), 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 Libellns de re herbaria novus, by William Turner, originally published in 153S, reprinted in facsimile, with notes, modern names, and a Life of the Author, by Benjamin Uaydon Jackson, F.L.S. Privately Printed. London: 1877. « 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. i$i), 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 Avdea 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 & Philosophic professoris in Schola Tigurina Historian Animalium Liber ill. 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 (qiue pars est Anglian) in Hibernia & Scotia aues istae adhuc rudes & im- plumes in littore, sed non sine forma certa & propria auis passim inueniuntur. Et rursus, Prxter brantam aut berniclam est alia auis, qua; originem 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, perfectse tandem magnitudinis ilke, rostro aliquantisper pendent, paulo post in aquam decidunt, & turn demum uiuunt. Hoc tot tantaeq. integritatis uiri affirmauerunt ut credere audeam, & aliis cre- dere suadea. Hsc 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 Vulpanscre (p. 156). 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 Naghtrauen, id est coruus nocturnus. Nos auis illius quae Argetine vocatur Nachtram, corrupto forsan nomine, alibi Nachtrap, effigiem infra ponemus cum historia nycticoracis. De Car di tele (p. 235). ...Auis Aristoteli thraupis, Bpaviris, dicta a Gaza carduelis conuertitur : quod & Hermolao probatur. Turnero quidem non assenserim, qui chloridem nostram (Griinling uulgo vocant) thraupin esse conijcit. De Rata 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 resperse. Introduction xiii Montana vero ilia & syluestris crura habet multo breuiora aquatili, & plumas undiq> magis cinereas, sed rubra interim crura habet & rostrum, auis utraq^ apud nos regium epulum (real Itali regium vocant, Galli royal, & forte hinc ductum est raise vocabulu. a colore crurum forte erythropus fuerit) vocatur. Haec ille. De Cine to (p. 592). Turnerus cinclum auem Anglice interpretatur a water swallow, (quasi dicas hirundinem aquaticam,) Germanice ein Stcinbcisser, (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 fiuminum ualde clamosa est & querula, breues & crebros facit uolatus. H Huic Turneri descriptioni cognata uideri potest merula aquatica nostra : magis uero ilia, quam circa Argentoratum Lysskticker appellant : quam non similem modo Turneri cinclo, sed prorsus eandem esse conijcio, cuius figuram sequens pagina cotinet. De Motacilla quam nostri albani 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 coloris 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 (Germaniae ciuitatem ad ripam Rheni, supra Coloniam,) ubi a uulgo appellatur NagJitraicen, id est coruus nocturnus. Nos in praecedente pagina effigiem adiecimus auis quae circa Argentoratum, ut audio Nacktmm, 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, quae Vogelhain a Brabantis uocatur, quinquaginta annis, ut ipsi ferunt, Machliniae uixit, cygno maior est. penn^ 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 Perdice (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. Held Lerch, p. 80. Aristotle and Pliny, but Galerita cristata. [No English does not state what they name.] G. Copera, p. 80. are]. Introduction xv Anatid^e. Anas boscas. Duck, pp. 22, 48. Anser (2 species.) Gose. G. Gauss, p. 22. Bernicla leucopsis. Brant or Bernicle Gose, p. 26. Cygnns olor. Swan. G. Swan, p. 120. Mareca penelope. Wigene, p. 48. Nyroca fcrina. Pochard, p. 48. Querquediila crecca. Tele, p. 48. Tadorna cornuta. Bergander, p. 24. Ardeid^e. Ardea sp. ? (white). Cryel or Dwarf Heron, p. 38. A. cinerea. Heron. G. Reyger, p. 36. Botaurus stellaris. Bittour, But- tor, Buttour, or My re Dromble. G. Pittour, Rosdom, pp. 38, 40, Caprimulgid^e. Caprimulgus europceus. [No English name], p. 48. CerthiiDjE. Certhia familiaris. Creper, p. 52. Charadriid^e. Charadrius pluvi- alis. Pluver. G. Pulver, p. 132. Vanelhts vulgaris. Lapwing. G. Kywit, pp. 76, 174. ClCONIID^E. Ciconia alba. Stork. G. Storck, Sax. Ebeher, p. 54. ClNCLlD^E. Cinclus aquaticus. Water- Craw, p. 22. COLUMBID/E. Columbasp.? Dove. G. Taube, Sax. Duve, p. 59. [Venice Dove, p. 62.] C. anas. Stocdove. G. Holtz- taube, p. 60. C. palumbics. Coushot or Ring- ged Dove. G. Ringel Taube, p. 60. Tuj'tur communis. Turtel Duve, p. 60. CORVID/E. Corvus corax. Raven. G. Rabe, p. 64. C. comix. Winter Crow, p. 64. C. corone. Crow. G. Krae, Kraeg, p. 64. C. frugilegus. [No English name], p. 64. C. monedula. Caddo, Chogh, Ka. G. Dol, Sax. A Ike, p. 92. Garrulus glandarius. 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. alpinus.] Cuculid^. Cucutus canorus. Cuk- kow, or Gouke. G. Kukkuck, p. 66. Cypselid^e. Cypselus apus. Chirche Martnette. Rok Marti nette. G. Kirch Swalbe, pp. 100, 102. C. melba. Great Swallow. G.Geyr Swalbe, p. 102. FALCONlDyE. Accipiter nisus. [No English name], p. 66. Aquila sp.? Right Egle. G. Edel Am, 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. 18. [Turner calls the male Hen- Harroer, the female Ringtale, erroneously considering them two species.] Falco casalon. Merlin. G. Smerl, p. 16. XVI Introduction FALCONID/E. F. subbuteo. Hobby, p. 1 8. Gypaetus barbalus[?]. [No Eng- lish name], p. 128. Haliaetus albicilla. Egle or Erne. G. Arn, Adler, p. 30. Milvus ater. [No English name], p. 116. M. ictimis. Glede, Puttok, or Kyte. G. IVeye, p. 116. Tinnunculus alaudarius. Kastrel, Kistrel, or Steingall, p. 166. Fringillid/E. Carduelis elegans. Goldfinche. G. Distelfinck, Stigelitz, pp. 40, 5°- C. spinus. Siskin. G. Zeysich, Engelchen, p. 108 (cf. p. 50). Emberiza citrinella. Yelowham, Yowlryng. G. Gee/gars/, p. 106. E. miliaria. Bunting. G. Gerst- hammer, pp. 134, 158. E. schceniclus. Rede Sparrow. G. Reydt Miiss, pp. 102, 134. Fringilla ccclebs. Chaffinche, Sheld-appel, Spink. G. Buch- fink, p. 72. F. montifringilla. Bramlyng. G. Rowert, p. 72. Ligurinus chloris. Grenefinche. G. Kirsfincke, pp. 104, 106. Linota cannabina ? Linot. G. Flasfinc, pp. 50, 158. Passer domesticus. Sparrow. G. Musc/ie, Spats, Liiningk, Sax. Sperlingk, p. 132. Pyrrhula europaa. Bulfinche. G. Blodtjinck, p. 160. Serinus canarins. Canary Bird, p. 108. Bank Martnet. G. Uber Swalbe, Speiren, p. 102. Hirundo rustica. Swallowe. G. Sc/nua/b, Sax. Swak, pp. 96, 100, 102. IbidiD/E. Comatibis eremita. [Red- cheeked Ibis]. G. IVallrap, pp. 92, 94. LANIID/E. Lanius exxubitor. Schric, Shrike, or Nyn Murder. G. Nuin Murder, Neun Murder, pp. 116, 118, 168. Lanius minor? [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. IVyss mewe, pp. 74, 78. L. ridibundus. White Semaw with a blak cop, pp. 74, 76. Meropid/E. Merops apiaster. [No English name], p. 112. MOTACILLID^E. Anthus pratensis. Titlyng, p. 68. Motacilla lugubris or M. alba. Wagtale. G. IVasser 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. Triip or Trap Gauss, pp. 130, 166. GRUlDiE. Grus communis. Crane. G. Krdn, Kranich, pp. 94, 96. HlRUXDlNlD.E. Cottle riparia. PANDIONID/E. Pandion haliaetus. Osprey. G. Vis/tarn, pp. 34, 36. PariDvE. Parus cccruleus. Non. p. 132. Introduction xvii Parid^. P. major. Great Tit- mous, or Great Oxei. G. Kbl- meyse, p. 130. P. paluslris or P. ater. Less TitmoLis. G. Meelmeysc, p. 130. Phalacrocoracid/E. Phalacro- corax carbo. Cormorant. G. Ducher, p. 1 1 o. P. graculus} Douker(pt), Loun, Ducher (pt.), p. 176. Phasianid.*. Attagen [possibly Bonasa sylvestris, the Hazel Grouse], pp. 42, 44. Galhis ferrugineus (domeslicus). Cok, Hen. G. Han, Hen, Sax. Hon, p. 82. Numida meleagris. [No English name?] Kok of Inde? pp. 82, 86, 140. Pavocristatus. Pecok. G. Pffaw, Sax. Pageliin, p. 136. Perdix cinerea. Pertrige. G. Velt /ton, Pap/ton, p. 138. Phasianus colchicus. Phesan. G. Fasant, Pas/an, p. 140. PHCENIX. [No English name], p. 140. PlClD^E. Dendrocopus major? Specht, or Wodspecht. G. Elsterspecht, pp. 146, 148. Gecinus viridis. Hewhole, Hu- hol, Raynbird ? G. Griinspccht, pp. 88, 112, 114, 146, 148. lynx torquilla. [No English name], pp. 146, 148. Picus martins. [No English name]. G. Craspccht, p. 148. Plataleid^e. Platalea leucorodia. Shovelard. G. Lefler, Loffel Gauss, pp. 38, 150. PODICIPEDID/E. Podicipes minor, Douker (pt), Ducher (pt), p. 176. Procellariid^e. Puffinus sp. ? Bird of Diomede, p. 70. PsittaciDjE. Parrot. Popinjay. G. Papegay, p. 150. Rallid/E. Crex pratensis. Daker Hen, Rale (?) G. Schryk, Scrica, pp. 70, 128, 140. Fulica nigra. Cout, pp. 32, 76. Gallinula chloropns. Mot Hen or Water Hen. G. Wasser Hen, p. 170. Porphyrio c&lestis. [No English name], p. 152. SCOLOPACID^E. Actitis hypoleuca. Water Swallow. G. Steynbisser, pp. 54, 56. Limosa belgica. Godwitt or Eedoa, p. 44. Scolopax rusticnla. Wodcok. G. Holts Snepff. pp. 42, 86. Totanus calidris. Redshanc, p. 102. SittiDjE. Sitta ccesia. Nut- jobber. G. Nushdkker, Meyspccht, p. 162. StkigiDvE. Asia otus. Horn Oul. G. Ranseul, Schleier Eul, p. 130. Bubo ignavus. Lyke Foule. G. Schuffauss, Schiiffel, Kautz, p. 46. Strix stridula (?) Owl, H owlet. G. Eul, Sax. l/le, p. 120. Struthionid^:. Struthio camelus. Oistris. G. Strauss, p. 164. Sturnid^E. Sturnus vulgaris. Sterlyng. G. Star, Stbr, p. 164. SULlDyE. Stela bassana. Solend Guse, p. 28. SYLVIID.E. Accentor modularis (?) Hedge-sparrow, or Dike Smou- ler. G. Grassmusch,Koelmussh, p. 136. Daulias luscinia. Nyghtyngall. G. Nachtgal, p. 10S. XV111 Introduction SylviidjE. Erithacus rubecula. Robin Redbreste. G. Rotbrust, Rotkelchen, p. 154. Pratincola rubicola. Stonchatter or Mortetter. G. Klein Brach- vogelchen, p. 158. Regulus ctistatusQ). [No English name.] G. Gold Hendlin, pp. 154, 168. Ruticilla pheenicurus. Rede Tale. G. Rbtstertz, p. 154. Saxicola aenanthe. Arlyng, Clot- burd, Smatche or Steinchek. G. Brechvbgel, p. 52. Sylvia atricapilla (?). [No Eng- lish name.] G. Grasmuklent p. 44- S. rufa ? Lingett. G. Graes- musckf Grassmusch, p. in, [cf. p. 136]. Tetraonid/E. Coturtrix commu- nis. Quale. G. Wachtel, p. 62. Lagopus mutus. [No English name], p. 104. L. scoticus. (?) Morhen, p. 86. Tetrao tetrix. [No English name], p. 42. TROOLODYTiDiE. Troglodytes par- vulus. Wren. G. Kuningsgen, Zaunkuningk) p. 152. TurdiD/E. Turdus iliacus, mu- siais, viscivonts. Thrusche, Thrushe, Throssel, Mavis, or Wyngthrushe. G. Drossel, Durstel, IVeingaerdsvoegel, pp. 170, 172. T. merula. Blak Osel or Blak- byrd. G. Aferl, Amsel, p. 114. T. pilaris. Feldfare or Feldefare. G.Krammesvigel, Wachholter- vbgel, pp. 58, 170. [Confounded with Mistletoe Thrush?] UPUPID.E. Upupaepops. Howpe. G. Houp, Widhopff, p. 174. VULTURID/E. Vultur sp. Geir. G. Gey); p. 176. A V I V M PRAECIPV ARVM, QVARVM APVD PLINIVM ET ARI- llotelem mentio eft, breuis & fuccinfta hiftoria. Ex optimis quibnfque fcripto- ribus contexta, fcholio illu Jirata & auBa. Adiettis nominibus Gracis, Germanicis & Britannicis. Per Dn. Guilielmum Turnerum, artium & Me- dicines doclorem. Colonics excudebat loan. Gynwicus, Anno M. D. XLIIIL DE HISTORIA AVIUM. Epistola Nuncupatoria [p- 3] Illuftriffimo VValliae principi, Eduuardo filio haeredi, fereniffimi & potentif- fimi Henrici VIII. regis Anglias, Franciae, & Hibernias, Guilielmus Turnerus S. P. D. p RUDENS admodum, &, fi quid ego intel- ligo (illuftrifiime princeps) neceffaria im- primis regij prophetae fuit admonitio, qua reges, principes & iudices terrae, ut intelligerent, & eruditionem confequerentur, admonuit. Nam ut fummus ille reru architeclus Deus optimus maximusd^, caput fuper omnes reliquas corpo- ris partes in homine, qui perfectiffime in fe [p. 4] Reipublicae fimulachrum gerit, collocauit, & omnes quinqj fenfus fimul in eo repofuit, ut pro reliquis omnibus mebris (quibus folus tactus eft conceffus) uideret, audiret, guftaret & odoret, & eorum faluti confuleret : ita principem Reipublice, corpori ex multis membris 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 haec 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 N nncup at or ia Ouum igitur tot fenfus in capite uni tantu corpori prefecto requirantur : quot fenfus, quan- tum fapientiae & eruditionis ab eo capite exi- [p. 5] guntur, cui plus quam trecentorum milium corporum prsefeclura committitur ? Quod fi quis forfan refpondeat, non in principe, fed in ijs folis, qui ill i a confilijs funt, eruditionem & prudentiam requiri : hunc ego dignum cenfere, qui pro tali refponfo, omnibus fenfibus, excepto ta<5tu, 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 ill i 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 ill i , qui principi funt a confilijs, ad tempus bene confulant, & poftea in ipfius perniciem male fuadeant, ut Abfaloni Achitofelem feciffe legimus : quomodo perniciofum illorum confiliu ipfe fubodorabitur & depraehendet, nifi eruditione & prudentia con- filiarios fuos aut fuperet, aut faltem aequet ? Ouare no in confiliarijs tantum, fed in principe ipfo eruditio & fapietia requiruntur. Non de- funt, qui fatis effe principi exiftimant, quo cete- 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 perfecte 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 perueftigauit, & in re medica ita fceliciter 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 & philofophise 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 epiftola de editis libris, his uerbis expoftulabat : Quod difciplinas aKpoafxaTLKaq 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 doclrina 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 aKpoafxaTLKal 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 Nimcupatoria [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- dicts es domine, doce me iuftificationes tuas, in uia mandatoru tuoru delegatus 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, tunc 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- io1 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 filius, omniii, 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, ill i, quod fibi optimum, & ex ufu fuo maxime fore iudicaret, ultro offerret, & pofcenti mox fe daturii promitteret, ad hunc modum, ut diuinae literse teftantur, refpondit. Nunc domi- ne Deus, tu me regnare fecifti feruum tuum pro [p- "] 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 Nunciipatoi'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 poteft iudicare populum iftum, populum tuum hunc multum ? Hue ufqj Solomon, qui in phi- lofophia tarn diuina quam humana ita non multis poft annis profecit, ut de ftirpibus 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 Uteris, Unguis, 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 fint, prudenter fecum perpendens, liberos fuos femper eruditiffunis quibufque praeceptoribus commifit. Duci enim Richmundiae, pise memorise, fratri tuo Geor- gium Folberium praeceptore olim meum, uirum infigniter doctum, 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 E pis to la Nunciipatoria eft, & literaru capaciffima, omne genus bona- rum literarum obuijs ulnis amplectere, difce, & imbibe, & exantlati in bonas literas laboris olim te minime pcenitebit. Sed ut ad propofitam metam minori cum negocio poffis peruenire, libellum De hiftoria auium, in quo Latinis nominibus Graeca, Germanica & Britanica in [p. 14] gratiam tuam appofui, ex Ariftotele & Plinio, & optimis quibusqj fcriptoribus contexui. Hunc ego nominis tui celebritati dedico, & dono : etia atqj etia te obteftans, ut hoc meum qualecunqj munufculum sequi boni'q* confulas. Quod fi te facturum intellexero, & hunc libellum figuris & auium moribus, & medicinis auctum, & de herbis alium etiam librum, breui, uolente Deo, in lucem emittam. Vale. Dominus Iefus te nobis fancl:iffimis moribus inftitutum, & optimis Ute- ris imbutum, quam diu- tiffime inculumem conferuet. Colonise 5. Idus February, 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 9th, 1544. [p- 15] De decern generibus Accipitrum. Aristoteles1. Buteo. \ CCIPITRUM genus praecipuum Buteo J~\ eft, Triorcha2 a numero teftium nuncupa- Aefalo. tus : fecundum sefalo, tertium circus. Stellaris Circus. autem, palumbarius, & pernix3 differunt. Ap- pellantur fubuteones, qui latiores4 funt : alij Percse percae & fringillarij uocantur : alij laeues5 & ru- Frmgiilanj. betarij, qui abunde uiuunt", atque humiuole funt. Genera non pauciora quam decern elie accipi- trum aliqui prodiderunt, quae modo quoqj 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. 16] non inuadunt. Alij neqj humi, neqj 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 confti- terunt loco : fed fi humipeta qui prouolat, eft, non manet, fed continuo auolant. 1 Hist. An. Bk IX. 128—130. 2 Aristotle has simply Kpanaros fiiv 6 rpiop^rjs. 3 Other readings are irrepv\s, ntpvrjs, irTipvrjs. 4 Instead of nXarvTepoi, some texts have TrXarvnTepoi, which would make better sense and mean 'broad-winged.' 5 \eioi, or according to another text ikeioL 6 The word evfiidoraToi 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, /Esalo 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 Percse and Fringillarii ; others Lseves 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 teftiii, cui principatum Buteo. in augurijs Phoemone dedit : buteone hunc appellant Rom. Aefalona Grseci uocant, qui folus omni tepore apparet. Caeteri hyeme Cymindis. abeunt. Nocturnus accipiter cymindis uocatur, [p-^lrarus etiam in fyluis, interdiu minus cernens : bellum internecinum cum aquila gerit : cohse- rentesd[j faepe prsehenduntur. Haec Plinius. Quanquam A riftoteles decent effe accipitrum genera tradat, & P/inius fedecim : neuter tamen horum Jicbc ita diftinxit genera, & defcripfit, ut procliue Jit leclori fuum cuique peculiare nomen ex illcrum prcefcriptis imponere. Quare a me nemo horum exaclam dijferen- tiam, & cniufque nomen Britannicnm ant Germanicum cum Latino & Grceco coniunclum, iure poterit exigere. Ego tamen, quod nomen Britannicnm, cuiq; Latino imponedum effe cenfeo, leclorem minime celabo. Buteo. Buteo rpiopxv^ Greece diclus, Anglorum busharda eft, nifi fallar : nam miluo magnitudine cequiparatur, femperq; ipfe cernitur, qicalem A riftoteles oclauo libro de hiftoria animalium buteonem defcribit. Aefalo. AiadXcov, quoniam iuxta Plinij fententiam omni tempore apparet, & inter minores accipitres fola merlina fine fmerla, femper adpareat, mihi 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 rpi6pxv^> 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 ' History of Animals.' AladXcov, 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 Phoemone, called 'Daughter of Apollo,' was a priestess at Delphi. (See Pliny Hist. Nat. ed. Hardouin : Lipsite, 1791, Index Auctorum, p. 340.) 2 This seems to be the force of the subjunctive here, if it is not an oversight. A ccipitres — A Icedo [p. i.i Palumba- rius. Fringilla- rius. Rubetarius. Subbuteo. [P- 19] Accipitrem palumbarium ideo Anglontm fparJiau- cant, & Germanorum fperuuerutn cffe puto, quod pa- lumbcs, columbos, perdices & grandiufculas aues infe- quatur. Fringillarium Anglorum hobbia effe conijcio. Eft autem hobbia accipiter minimus, coloris cceteris nigri- oris. In capite duos Jiabet nigerrimos in pa I lido neuos. Galeritas & fringillas plerumq; captat, in excel/is ar- boribus nidulatur, & hyeme nufquam cernitur. Riibetarium 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 fcdcntes aues in agris, & galliuas in oppidis & pagis repente adoritur. Pr&da fruftratus, tacitus difcedit, nee un- quam fecundum facit infultum. Hie per Jiumum om- nium uolat maxime. Subbuteonem effe puto, quern Angli ringtalum appel- lant, ab albo circulo, qui caudam circuit. Colore eft medio inter fuluum & nigru, buteone paulb minor, fed multb agilior. Prcedam eodem modo, quo fuperior captat. DE ALCEDONE. AXkvoov, alcedo, Anglice tlie kynges ftfsJier, Germa- nice t\)\\ eijjuogel. Aristoteles1. Alcedo non multo amplior paffere est, co- lore turn uiridi, turn cceruleo, turn etiam leuiter purpureo infignis : uidelicet non particulatim colore ita diftincla, fed ex indifcreto uarie re- fulgens corpore toto & alis & collo, roftrum fubuiride, longum & tenue. Alcedonum 2 quo- 1 Hist. An. Bk ix. 85. 2 Hist. An. Bk VI II. 47. Accipitres — Alcedo 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. 'A\kv(ov, 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. 20 A Ice do que genus aquas adamat, quod duplex eft : alterum uocale, harundinibus infidens, alterum mutum, quod ampliore corpore eft . utrique dor- fum coeruleum. 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. Foetificant bruma, qui dies Halcionides uocatur, placido mari per eos & nauigabili, Siculo maxime. In reliquis partibus eft quidem mitius pelagus. Siculu utiqj tracla- bile. Faciunt autem feptem ante brumam die- bus nidos, & totidem fequentibus pariut. Nidi earum admirationem habent, pilse figura paulu eminente, ore perquam angufto, grandium [p. 21] fpongiarum fnnilitudine, ferro intercidi non queunt, frangunturc^ iclu 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. ATat. 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-foam'" 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 Anas — Anser Prceter hcec duo ab Ariftotele & Plinio defcripta genera, auem noui, quce fi alcedomim generibus non fit adferibenda, fub quo genere contincatur, prorfus nefcio. Ea Jlurno paulb minor eft, corpore toto nigro, excepto nentre a/bo. Caudam habet breuiufculam, roftrum alcedone paulb breuius. Ante uolatum, alcedonis more crebrb nutat, & in uolatu gemit: uoce alcedone ita re- fert, tit, niji uideas, alcedoncm effe iurares : in ripis fluminum, non procul a mari nidi, alias nufquam. pif- ciculis uiclitat ut fuperiora alcedonum genera. Nidum Jiuius nunquam nidi. Morpetenfes, apud quos auem a uuater uidi, comicem uocant aquaticam. crauu. DE A NATE. N?}TTa, anas, A nglice a duck, Germanice t\)\\ enbt. Plinius1. [p. 22] Anates folse, quse'que funt eiufdem generis, in fublime fefe protinus tollunt, atq* e ueftigio ccelum petunt, & hoc etiam ex aqua. DE ANSERE. Xj'jv, anfer, A nglice a gofe, Germanice etytt ganfi. Ariftoteles Jimul & Plinius duo prcecipua anfer inn genera faciunt : /lie anferem in maiorem & minorem, Me in domitil et fern diuidens. Sed P/in. prceter hcec duo anferum prcEcipua genera, Penelopes'1 et chenalopeces, ut unus textus habet, &, ut alius habet, chenalopeces, & cheuerotes anferini effe generis tradit. Prior leclio fie habet, 1 Hist. Nat. Lib. x. cap. xxxviii. 2 Judging from p. 148 of the original work the singular of this word is ' Penelops,' and it is probably by mistake that the Wigeon has been called Mareca pcnelope. A nas — A user 2 3 Besides the two kinds thus described by Aristotle and Pliny I know of a bird, of which, if it should not be properly ascribed to the Kingfisher tribe, I really cannot say under what head it ought to go. It is a little smaller than a Starling, with the body wholly black, except for a white belly, and it has the tail comparatively short, the beak a little shorter than the Kingfisher. Before a flight it dips repeatedly, after the manner of the Kingfisher, and cries out as it flies ; it is so like the Kingfisher in voice that, if you did not see it, you would swear it was a Kingfisher. I have observed it on the banks of streams not far from the sea-side, but nowhere else. It lives on little fishes, like the aforesaid kinds of Kingfishers. I never saw its nest. The inhabitants of Morpeth, where I saw the bird, call it a water craw1. Of the Anas. NrjTra, anas, in English a duck, in German eyn endt. Pliny. Anates only, and birds of like kind, rise in the air at once, and make straight for the sky, and that even from the water. Of the Anser. Xtfv, anser, in English a goose, in German eyn ganss. Aristotle agrees with Pliny in making two chief kinds of Geese, the latter separating them into the greater and the less, the former into tame and wild. But Pliny tells us that besides these two chief kinds of Geese, there are of the Goose kind Penelopes and Chenalopeces, as one text has it, as another goes, Chenalopeces and Chenerotes. The first reading stands thus : — 1 The bird meant is undoubtedly the Water Ousel or Dipper (Cinclus aquaticus), which still goes by the name of Water Craw in the north of England. It is curious that Turner should never have seen its nest when he was in Northumberland. 24 Anser Anferu generis funt Penelopes, & quibus lautiores epulas Britannia non nouit, chenalo- peces, anfere fere minores. Altera fie habet: Anferini generis funt chenalopeces & quib9 lautiores epulas Britannia no nouit, chenerotes1. Pojlerior lectio miJii magis approbatur, nam & nos una aue locuplctat, et penelopes anatini potiiis q LP- 23J anferini generis eruditis effe uidentur. Sed quce nam iflce aues, & quibus nominibus apud nojlrates appellantur, dicere tentabo. Chenalopex, ab anfere et uulpe nomen Jiabet, & Latine a Gaza uulpanfer dicitur. Nojlrates a bergander. hodie bergandrnm nominat, anate longior & grandior nidpanfer efl, peflore mjfefcente, hi aqnis degit, & in cnnicnloru foneis. interdum & in excelfamm rupinm canemis (nnde forte nomen ab Anglofaxonibus, no/Iris patribus fortitns efl) nidificat. Nufqnam alias mil- pafiferem nidi, nifi in Tamifi flunio. Aiunt tamen freqnetem effe in infda Tenia nocata, & illic in fcrobi- bus cwiicnlornm nidulari. Moribus admodnm uul- pinis efl. nam dam tcneri adhnc pulli funt, fi qnis eos captare tentet, prouoluit fefe nidpanfer ante pedes captantis, quafi iam capi poffit, atq; ita allicit ad fe capiendam hominem, eonfq; dnm pnlli effngiant : turn ipfe ano la t & renocat prolem. Chenerotes qi tee' nam aues fint, pnto pauciffimos hodie effe, qui uoueruut. Neq: 1 Hist. Nat. Lib. X. cap. xxii. Anser 25 " Of the Goose kind there are Penelopes and also Chenalopeces, the latter generally smaller than a Goose ; and Britain knows no richer feast than these." The second runs : — " Of the Goose kind are Chenalopeces and Che- nerotes, Britain knows no richer feast than these." To me the latter reading most approves itself, for it both makes us richer by one bird, and the Penelopes seem to our learned men to be of the Duck tribe rather than of the Goose. But I will try to say what these birds are and by what names they go among our countrymen. The Chena- lopex1 takes its name from the Goose and the Fox, while it is called by Gaza Vulpanser in Latin, though our people nowadays name it Bergander. It is longer than a Duck and bigger, with a ruddy breast. It lives upon the waters and in coneys' burrows. At times it even nests in holes of lofty rocks (whence possibly the name was first allotted to it by our ancestors the Anglo-Saxons). I have nowhere else seen the Vulpanser save upon the river Thames. Neverthe- less they say that it is plentiful upon the isle which is called Tenia3, and that it breeds in coneys' burrows there. In habits it is very like a Fox, for, while the young are still of tender age, should any one attempt to capture them, the old Vulpanser rolls upon the ground before his very feet4, as if she could be taken there and then, and thus allures the man to follow her, until the young are able to escape ; then she flies off and summons back her brood. I think that there are very few men now who know what sort of birds the 1 Turner's bird was undoubtedly the Sheld-Drake {Tadorna cornuta), notwithstanding the fact that the name Chenalopex has been conferred on the so-called 'Fox-Goose' of Africa. 2 The Sheld-Drake is still the Bargander or Bergander of some districts of England ; possibly the correct spelling should be Burgander, i.e. Burrow Duck. The word seems to have nothing to do with Berg = a mountain. 3 Possibly St Mary's, or even Coquet Island. 4 The Sheld-Drake does not usually behave thus. 26 Anser ego, licet Britannus, chcncrotes noftros fatis noui : nd prater duo Arijlot. genera, anfenl adhuc duo genera noni in Britdnia, ad quoru neutrum fi chenerotes per- tinedt, cJienerotes mi/ii penitus ignotos effe ingenue fa- tebor. Prior anfer a nojiris Jwdic brdta & bernicla uocatnr, & fero an/ere minor eji, peclore aliqub ufq\ [p. 24] nigro. Catero cinerio, anferum fcroru more no/at, Jlrepit, paludes frequctat, & fegcte depopulating Caro huius paulb infuauior eft, & diuitibus minus appe- tita. Nidnm bernicla, aut ounm nemo uidit : nee minim, quum fine parentis opera bernicla ad /nine modu fpontaneam Jiabedt generations. Quum ad cer- tain tempus, mains nauis in mari coputruit, aut tabula, aut antenna abiegua, vide in principio ueluti fungi erumput: in quibus tcmporis progrcffu, manifejlas auiu figuras ccrnere licebit, deinde pluma ueftitas, poflremb uiuas & uolautes. Hoc, ne cui fabulofum effe uideatur, prater comune omniu gentiu littoraliu Anglia, Hibernia & Scotia, tcflimoniu Gyraldus ille praclarus lii/loriograplius qui multb fcelicius q\ pro fuo tempore Hibernia hiftoriam confcripfit, no aliam effe berniclaru generations teflatur. Sed, quum uulgo non fatis tutu uideretur fidere, et Gyraldo ob rei rari- tatem non fatis crederem, dum hac, qua nunc fcribo, meditarer, uirum qucudam, cuius mihi perfpcclijjima intcgritas fidem merebatur, profcjjione Theologian, na- tione Hibernum, nomine Oclauianu, confului num Gyraldum hac in re fide dignum cenferet? qui per ipfum iuraus, quod profitebatur euaugcliiim, rcfpoudit, uerijjimum effe, quod de generatione hums auis Gy- [p- 25] raldus tradidit, seq; rudes adhuc aues oculis uidijfe, & manibus contreftaffe : breuiq"; fi Loudini men/em uuum aut alteram maucrcm, aliquot rudes auiculas mihi adueclas curaturu. Ifla bernicla geucratio no ufq; adco A user 27 Chencrotes are. And, though I am a Briton, I am not quite sure about our Chcnerotes ; for as yet, apart from the two kinds that Aristotle gives, I know two sorts of Geese in Britain and will frankly own that, if the Chenerotes are not to belong to either of them, they are quite unknown to me. The first Goose by our people nowadays is called the Brant and Bernicle, and is a smaller bird than the Wild Goose, with the breast partly black. The rest is ashen grey. It flies, gabbles, haunts swamps, and devastates green crops, like the Wild Goose. Its flesh is somewhat strong, and is the less sought after by the rich. No one has seen the Bernicle's nest or egg, nor is this wonderful, since Bernicles without a parent's aid are said to have spontaneous generation in this way : When after a certain time the firwood masts or planks or yard-arms of a ship have rotted on the sea, then fungi, as it were, break out upon them first, in which in course of time one may discern evident forms of birds, which afterwards are clothed with feathers, and at last become alive and fly. Now lest this should seem fabulous to anyone, besides the common evidence of all the long-shore men of England, Ireland, and Scotland, that renowned historian Gyraldus1, who composed a history of Ireland in much more happy style than could have been expected in his time, bears witness that the generation of the Bernicles is none other than this. But inasmuch as it seemed hardly safe to trust the vulgar and by reason of the rarity of the thing I did not quite credit Gyraldus, while I thought on this, of which I now am writing, I took counsel of a certain man, whose upright conduct, often proved by me, had justified my trust, a theo- logian by profession and an Irishman by birth, Octavian by name, whether he thought Gyraldus worthy of belief in this affair. Who, taking oath upon the very Gospel which he taught, answered that what Gyraldus had reported of the generation of this bird was absolutely true, and that with his own eyes he had beholden young, as yet but rudely formed, and also handled them, and, if I were to stay in London for a month or two, that he would take care that some growing chicks should be brought in to me. This curious generation of the Bernicle will not appear so very 1 Giraldus Cambrensis, Topographia Hibernica Uistinctio I. cap. xv. 28 A user prodigiofa Mis uidebitur, qui quod Ariftotelcs de uolucre cphemcro fcripjit, lege v int. De ephimero autem Arifloteles1 libro quinto de hijbria animalium ita feribit. Hyppanis fluuius apud Cymerium Bofphorum fub folftitio, defert - ueluti folliculos acinis maiores, quibus quadru- pedes uolucres erumpunt : quod genus animalis in poftmeridianum ' ufque diei tempus uiuit & uolat : mox defcendente fole, macrefcit & languet3: deinde occidente, moritur, uita non ultra unum diem protracla : unde ephemerum, id eft, diarium4 appellatum eft. Hec Ariftotel. Quo? fi uera funt, & tdto philofopho digna, fupe- rioris auis genevatioui non parum fidei adjlruent. a folend Alter anfev, de quo promifi me dicluru, marina crufe. J ... [p. 26] an^s r\vr] by ossifraga, but it is very doubtful what bird the ossifraga really was. Possibly it should be identi- fied with the Lammergeier (cf. Prof. Newton, Diet. Birds, p. 660). Haliaetus — A qu ila — A rdea 3 7 Pliny. The Haliaeetus remains, with eyesight of the keen- est, poising itself aloft when it spies fishes in the sea below, then dashing headlong on them and securing them, the waters being parted by its breast. Aristotle. The Haliseetos, that is to say Sea Eagle, has the neck both big and thick, bowed wings, and a broad tail. It bides upon the sea-coast and the shores. It often happens, when it cannot lift what it has taken, that it is submerged beneath the tide. The Osprey is a bird much better known to-day to Englishmen than many who keep fish in stews would wish ; for within a short time it bears off every fish. Our anglers smear or mix their bait with Osprey's fat, arguing that thus the bait will prove more efficacious from the fact that, when the Osprey hovers in the air, whatever fishes be below turn up and shew their whitish bellies (as it is believed, the nature of the Aquila compelling them to this), that it may choose that one which it prefers. Of the true Aquila from Aristotle. The sixth kind men call Genuine, or true and thoroughbred. Of all the various kinds of Aquilae this is the only one that is believed to be of true and unstained origin. This is the largest of all Aquilae and bigger even than the Ossifrage, for it surpasses by one half as much the other Aquilae ; in colour it is reddish brown, but it is rarely seen. Of the Ardea. ipo)Si6\rjKo(puya (worm-eating) ; (3) dv ri virrjp^v ov8ev according to one text. He has no word to represent 'appellationis.' 2 Or Bpvas. 3 Hist. An. Hk VIII. 39. 4 Hist. -\'; creicroTrvyis, Aug/ice a uuater fuuallouu, Germanice etyn ftetyuluffcv. 1 Hist. Nat. Lib. x. cap. xxiii. CertJi ia — Cico n ia — Cine I us 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. UeXapyos, 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 Ciconia^ 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. Ciconia^ seek the same nests again, and tend their parents in old age. Of the Cinclus. Kio? 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 \apo<; that is white, also the /ceV^o?." 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. j 6 Fulica in inferiori Gennania literatores aliqui, qui fulicam kyuuittam fuam effe uolunt, ex eo for/an opinio nem fuam adjlrnentes ; qnbd apnd Plinium fulicce cirrum tribui Angloru legerint. Efl autem Germanorum kyunitta cornice lapuuinga. minor, plnmis fere uiridibus, et nigris per totnm dorfum et caput et collii : uentre a/bo, longa, & femper erecla in capite: crijla plnmca, a/is obtufioribus, & inter uo- /anduni magnum Jlrepitum edentibus, unde & uannellus a barbaris dicitur: aquis uermium gratia, quibus folis uiclitat, appropinquat, fed ipfas non ingreditur, in plan is & in locis erica confitis, plurimiini degit. Ad depopulandum uermes, noftrates in hortis f&pe a/nnt. Sed Jianc effe fulicam non patitur, quod Vergilius de fulica Georgicorum primo1 ad Jiunc modum fcribit : lam fibi turn curuis male temperat uuda carinis, Cum medio celeres reuolant ex cequore mergi, Clamoremq; ferunt ad littora, cumq; marvuz In ficco ludunt f dices. Hinc fatis liquet kyuuittam non effe fulicam, quum non fit aids marina nee aquatica. Non defunt qui fulicam gallinam illam nigram aquaticam, alba in f route macula, effe uolunt. Sed ifli Vergil, et Ariflo- [p. 63] telis autoritate facile err or is conuincuntur, quorum alter auem facit marinam, alter, nempe Arifloteles lib. oclauo hiflorice animalium, apud mare uiucre teflatur. Quare quum paluflris ilia gallina neque aids fit marina, ueq; apud mare uiclum petat, fed in flaguis, paludibus, & receutibus aquis perpctub degat : nee Vergilij fulica, nee A rifbtelis Keir^o^ effe poterit. Sed iam reftat, ut quant auem fulicam effe iudicem, oftendam. EJI aids marina, magnitudine monedulce, fed alis acutioribus & longioribus, colore tota albo, excepto nigro, quern in capite gerit cirro : roflro ctiam & pedibus puniccis. Hanc ego fcepe in mari nauigaus, ex eo 1 Lib. 1. 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 Fulicas, 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 /ee7r<£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 Jiifloriam animalium Ariflotelis legeram, confideraui , til prcefertim, quando uel deficiente iieuto, uel flante contrario, emiffa anchora, nentum fequundi- orem quiefcentes expcclaiiimus. Hcec Jlatim foluia an- chora, gauijs comitata aduolat, ex purgamcntis nauis eieclis, efcce nonniJiil fibi promittens, diutino clangore defatigata, tandem kepJi profert, tit lari cob. imde a nojiris marini cobbi dicuntur. Fieri poteji, lit in fuli- carum generc qiicedam fint cinerece, licet Plin. ubi ex an tori tale InbcB Diomedeas aues, fulicis fi miles albas ejje tradit, nideatiir fnlicas omnes albas facere, nam [p. 64] 11011 de eo, quod rarius , fed frequentius accidit, in genere loquuntiir clajjici fcriptores. Nidiildtur lari & fulicce in eifdem locis, in excel/is nempe petris, & marinis rupibus. DE GAVIA. Kapo^,gauia, a fe cob or a feegell. Gauiarum duo genera Arijlot. facit : alterum album, quod apud mare, alterum cinerium, quod circa lacus & fluuios uiclum qucurit. Gauiam albam a fulica pariuu differre arbitror, folo nimirum cirro et roflro. Gauia ciuerea, qius ad flumina & lacus afcendit, que- rn la femper & clamofa efl. pifciculos captat & uermes ad ripas lacuum. Jiuius generis efl & alia parua an is, noflrati lingua fterna appellata, qua marinis laris ita ft mills efl, tit fola magnitudine & colore ab tills differre uideatur : efl enim ifle larus, marinis minor & nigrior. Tola ceflate tarn improbe clamofa efl, quo tempore par- turit, 11I iuxta lacus & paludes degentes, immodico cla- more tantum no obtundat. hac ego fane auem effe credo, cuius improba garrulitas adagio, Larus parturit, locum fecit, uolat fere perpetub fuper lacus & paludes, nunqiia quiefcens, fed pr&dce femper inhians. Nidtilatur Jicec in denfis arundinetis. Marines gauia in petris & rupibus maritimis nidificant. Fulica — Gavia 79 this bird in mind, from the time that I read Aristotle's History of Animals, and then especially when through the wind failing or blowing contrary, the anchor being dropped, we have been calmly awaiting a more favourable wind. The anchor being weighed this bird immediately flies to us in the company of Gulls, promising something to itself by way of food out of the refuse cast forth from the ship ; at last exhausted by its constant cries it merely utters " keph," as Gulls cry " cob." And hence they are called Sea-Cobs by our countrymen. It may be that some of the race of Fulicae are grey, though Pliny, when on the authority of Juba he relates that the birds known as Diomede's are white like Fulicae, seems to put down all Fulicae as white ; for classical authorities speak not in any class of what more rarely, but of what more frequently occurs. Gulls nest in the same places as do Fulicae, forsooth on lofty crags and rocks about the sea. Of the Gavia. Aapop,gallus, Angliee a cok, Germanice etyit (Jan. A\eKTopi<;, galliua, Angliee a hen, Germanice, etyn fjett. Saxones dicunt etyn fyon. Varro2 de re rustica libro tertio. Rufticae Gallinae rufticae, funt in urbe rarse, nee fere manfuete fine cauea uidentur Romae, fimiles Villaticf. facie non his uillaticis gallinis noftris, fed Africanis afpeclu, 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. African^ Gallinae Africanae, funt grandes, uariae, gib- Meleagrides. beras, 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 : — iv dfiovaois = 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: — 'Ev/ifxoucns Kal 0 KopvSos' (fodeyyerat, and in this verse : — el kvkuq) Svuarai /copvSos irapaifKi^cnov aSeiv. For the larger Galerita sings fairly and sweetly, and the fowlers say that in its song the smaller kind is worth no less. Wherefore the third kind, since it has no power of voice except feebly to imitate the voices of the others by a twitter of its own, will be the Corydos of the later Greeks. Of the Galli and Gallin.e. 'We/crap, gallus, in English a cok, in German eyn han. 'AXe'/cTopt?, gallina, in English a hen, in German eyn hen. The Saxons say eyn hon. Yarro, in his third hook de re rustica. The wild Gallinse are rare in a city, and are scarcely seen at Rome tame, unless in a cage : they are not in appearance like the Gallina^ of our country- houses, but in look recall the African, and have the face unmarked1. During public festivities these birds are wont to be exhibited with Psitaci, white Meruit, and other unfamiliar kinds of that description. They do not usually lay their eggs or hatch their young at country-houses, but among the woods. The African Gallina^, which the Greeks call Mele- agrides, are big, speckled, and hunch-backed. They have been the last to enter the dining room of eating- houses from the kitchen through people's fastidiousness. And from their rarity they have advanced to a great price. Of the three kinds those of the country-house are chiefly fattened. These they keep shut up in 1 It is impossible to reconcile the statements of Yarro and Columella as they stand. Various alterations of the text, which is possibly unsound, have been suggested. 6—2 84 Galli et GallincB cludunt in locum tepidum & anguftum & tene- brofum, quod motus earum & lux pinguedini inimica, ele<5tis ad hanc rem maximis gallinis, nee continuo his, quas Melicas appellant falfo, Gallus me- quod antiqui ut thetim thelim dicebat, fie Me- bauncokor ^ica Melica uocabant. Hae primo Medice di- a cok of cebantur, quia ex Media propter magnitudinem kynde. „ erant allatae. Columella \ Gallinaru alie funt cohortales, alie ruftice, Cohortalis. alie Africane. Cohortalis eft auis, quae uulgo Ruftica. per omnes fere uillas confpicitur. Rustica, quae non diffimilis uillatice, per aucupem deci- [p. 69] pitur, ead^i plurima eft in infula, qua nautae in Liguftico mari fitam, producTx» nomine alitis, Africana. gallinaria uocitauerunt. Africana eft, quam plerique Numidicam dicunt, meleagridi fimilis, nifi quod rutilam galeam, & criftam capite gerit, quae utraque in Meleagride funt coerulea. Plinius 2. Simili modo pugnant Meleagrides in Boe- Africs. otia. Africae, hoc eft gallinarum genus gibbe- rum, uarijs fparfum plumis, que nouiffime funt peregrinarum auium in menfis receptae, propter ingratum uirus : uerum Meleagri tumulus no- biles eas fecit. Aristoteles 3. [p. 70] Item Hadrianae paruo quidem funt corpore, fed quotidie pariunt. Ferociunt tamen & pul- los faepe interimut. Color his uarius. Oua4 1 De ?-e rustica, Lib. VIII. cap. ii. 2 Hist. Nat. Lib. x. cap. xxvi. 3 Hist. An. Bk VI. 1. 4 Hist. An. Bk VI. 5. Galli and Gallince 85 a warm, narrow, and dark place, for exercise and light hinder the fattening. The largest birds are chosen for this purpose, and not always those which men mistakenly call Melica;, because the ancients, as they used to say Thelis for Thetis, also used to call Medica Melica. At first they were called Medicse because on account of their size they were brought hither out of Media. Columella. Of Gallinse some are court-yard birds, others again are wild, others are African. The court-yard bird is that which commonly is seen at nearly every country- house. The wild sort, which is not unlike that of the country-house, is trapped by bird-catchers. It is abundant in the island lying in the Ligurian sea, which sailors, lengthening the bird's name out, have called continuously Gallinaria. The kind from Africa, which many call Numidica, is like the Meleagris, save that on its head it bears a helmet and a crest of red, but in the Meleagris both of these are blue1. Pliny. In a like way the Meleagrides fight in Bceotia. The Africse, that is a hunch-backed kind of Gallinae, are sprinkled here and there with variegated feathers ; and they are the last of foreign birds to be received at table, on account of their unpleasant flavour : but the tomb of Meleager has ennobled them2. Aristotle. Likewise the Hadrianic birds are small indeed in body, but they lay their eggs daily. Yet they are fierce and often kill their chicks. They are of varied 1 See Art. Guinea Fowl in Prof. Newton's Diet. B. p. 399. 2 The reader may here be referred to any work relating to mythology. 86 Galli et Gallince — Galliuago alia Candida funt, ut columbarum & perdicum, alia pallida, ut paluftrium, alia punclis diftin<5ta, ut Meleagridum & phafianorum. /;/ paucis iftis, quos recenfui autoribus, no panc7rct£. 88 Gallinago — Colius, sive Galgulus Gallinagines apud nojirates nunquam, nifi hyeme uidentur, quare de prole & modo nidulandi, nihil habeo, quod died. Capitur apud Anglos diluculo potijjhniim & crepufculo in fyluis, retibus in loco arboribus uacuo, fufpenfis, & ueniente aue demi/Jis. De colio, sive galgulo1, ut vertit Gaza, ex Aristotele. [p. 72] Galgulo magnitudo 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 Ari/loteles haclenus colio, fine galgulo tribuit, Anglorum huhulo, & Germanorum grunfpecJito {ft incolam maxime ejjfe Peloponefi execperis) conue- niunt. Nam turturem fere magnitudvie cequat, ligni- peta eft: maceriem con fundi t, & uocem grandem emittit. Sed nihil hie deftuio, fed inquiro tantum. Galgidas Plinio icleros Greece dicitur, & Ariftoteli,Ji Theodoro ftdimus, etiam «eA,eo but evidently he means X6^/ias. Gallinago — Co /his or Galgulus 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? of Aristotle. Though, on consulting the Greek text «oA,to? seemed to be one bird, and fceXebs1 another, for the reading was : — icoXtos iari ^vXokottos a(f>68pa, /cat ve/j,€Tai iirl roiv %v\cov ra 7roX\,ri. That is, the Colius is especially a wood-hunter and for the most part feeds on wood, o fiev yap /ceXeo? irapa irorap-bv ol/cei teal Xo^/xa^, which words Theodorus renders " around the thickets and the groves," but whether rightly so or otherwise I leave to be decided by the learned. In the Alps I saw sitting upon a fir a bird of the size of a Turtle-Dove, marked as it seemed with green patches on yellow, which to me in the whole aspect of the body called to mind the Picus Martius, save that its head was like in colour to the rest of its body 1 Turner appears to have had a text with the word /ceXeo? in one place instead of ko\i6s. 90 Co hits, sive Galgulus — Graculi atq; in pico Jit) colore fnit fimile, tibijs fuit brenibiis, et capite ereclo, & roftro longiufculo. An hale. Aristoteles2. Hirundo carnibus uefcitur, bis in anno parit, & tota hyeme latet. Omnino ratio brutorum, magna refert uitse humane^ fimilitudinem ma- gisdjj in minori genere, quam in maiore. uideris intelligentise rationem, quod primum in auium genere hirundo in effingendo coftituendooj? nido oftendit, confingit implicito luto, feftucis ad normam lutarise 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 VIII. 107 and Bk IX. 51, 52. Grus — Hi run do 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- nate!) 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. XeXi&wv, 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 Plinius1. Hirundines luto conftruunt, ftramento robo- rant. Si quando inopia eft luti, madefactum Hirundinum multa aqua pennis puluerem fpargunt. Ipfum primu genus. .... . . uero nidum mollibus plumis flocciso^ 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 porrect-is in anguftum, utero [p. 80] capaci : mirum qua peritia occultandis habiles pullis, & fubfternendis molles. Tertium. Tertium hirundinum genus eft, quse ripas t in terra excauant, atque ita t internidificant. Non fa- ciunt hae nidos, migrate^ multis diebus ante, fi futurum eft, ut auclus amnis attingat. De apodibus, ex Aristotele2. Nonnullae aues depedes3 funt, qua; ob earn rem apodes a paruitate pedum nuncupantur. quod genus auiculae, pennis plurimum ualet, ficut & csetera quoque prope fimilia, ut pennis praeualere, fie pedibus degenerare uidentur. ut hirundo & falcula fiue riparia4. Hsec enim omnia, & moribus, & uolatu, & fpecie proxima [p. 81] inter fe confpiciuntur. Apparet apes omnibus Riparia fme anni temporibus : riparia eeftate tantum cum falcula . . r- ■ o o imber mceliit : turn enim cc apparet oc capitur. 1 Hist. Nat. Lib. X. cap. xxxiii. 2 Hist. A?i. Bk I. 10. 3 KnKOTrobes 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. thI THE APODKS, 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 7-ufitIa, which builds a flask- shaped nest against a cliff. ioo Hirundo Apodes. deniqj rara hsec auicula eft. Apodes \ quos aliq cypfellos uocant, fimiles effe hiriidinum, iam diclum eft : haud enim ab hirundine difcerni poffunt, nifi quod tibijs funt hirfutis. Nidum fpecie ciftellai" produclse logius fic~fee ex luto, imo aditu dato arctifiimo faciunt, idd^j locis anguftis3, intra faxa & fpecus, ut & belluas, & homines poffint deuitare. Plinius4. Apodes. Plurimii uolant, que apodes uocatur, quia caret ufu pedum. Ab alijs Cypfelli appellantur, hirundinum fpecie. Nidificant in fcopulis. Hse [p. 82] funt, quse toto mari cernuntur : nee unquam tarn longo naues, tamdj? continuo curfu, rece- dunt a terra, ut non circumuolitet eas apodes. Caetera genera refidunt, & infiftunt : his quies nifi in nidis nulla : aut pendent, aut iacent. Haclenus Plinius & Arijloteles. Arijloteles tria tantum hirundinum genera facit: domefticas, apodes, & falculas. Plinius auteni qua- taor genera facere uidetur : domefticas, mfticas, apodes & riparias. Quod Ji uerum fit, hirundines do- mcftica?, fanguinolento peclore nobiles, erunt primuni genus. Secundum genus maxima; ilia? & nigcrrima? hirundines gregatim plerumq; uolantes, facere uidentur. Tertium genus, hirundines qua? in fumnns turribus & altis templorum fencftris nidulantur, efficiunt. Quar- tum genus riparia? fuc falcuhc erunt. Quod fi ifta diuifio paritm arrideat, ad primum genus referantur Hirudines hirundines ilia? in domibus ruftieornm femper nidifi- domeftice,. cantos, qua? a reliquis generibus, duo? fanguiuole/ita? 1 Hist. An. Bk IX. 108. 2 Kvyj/eXea-Lv is the word in Greek. 3 ; another reading is areyva = under cover. 4 Hist. Nat. Lib. x. cap. xxxix. If i run do IOI 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 Riparise. 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 Riparise or Falculae will be the fourth. Hut 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 ka\ each side i o 2 Hirundo — Hccmatopus — -Junco macules, quas utrinque in peclore uideas, diftiuguunt, quod Ouidius1 his uerfibus pulclire ojlendit: [p. 83] Altera tecla fubit, ncc adhuc dc peclore ccedis Exccffcre notes, fignataq; /anguine pluma eft. Hoc primum genus Angli a fuuallouu nomiuat & Germani o.Mt utroalb. Apodes. Secundum genus faciuut apodes tarn maiores qudiu minores. maiores uoco maximas illas hirundines, gre- gatim & altiiis cceteris uolautes, quce in arbore, more hirundinum aliarum nunquam coufiftere uifuutur. mi- nores uoco, qua? in fcopulis, templorum feneftris ceditiori- bus & fununis turribus uidos figunt. Maiores Germani uocant getyr fwalben, Angli the great fuuallouues. Mi- nores A ugli uocant rok martinettes or chirchc martnettes, Germani uocant fivcb niMlbcn. Falcula hue Tcrtium genus, quod in ripis nidulatur, Angli a riparia bank martuef, Germani emi liber3 [nvilbe, aut (peiven nominant. De elematopodibus, ex Plinio4. Roftrum & praelonga crura rubra hsemoto- podi5 funt, multo Porphyrione minori: quaquam [p. 84] eadem crurum altitudine. Nafcitur in Aegypto. lnfiftit ternis digitis, prsecipuum ei pabulum mufcae. Vita in Italia paucis diebus. Eft apud Anglos in locis paluftribus a? lis qucedam lougis & rubris cruribus, uoftra lingua redfhanca diela, cut an defcriptio hcemotopodis Pliniani conueniat nec- ne, qui apud Anglos degu/it, iuueftigent & examinent. DE IVNCONE. S^ow/cAck?, iunco, Anglice a rede Jparrouu, Ger- manice omi vcvDt mup. I unco, ut /crib it Ariftoteles oclauo hiftorice animalium, & capite tertio, ad ripas lacuum & fluminum uielitat, & caudam frequenter motitat, & ex eodem conftat, auem effe paruam : nam turdo minorcm 1 Metam. Lib. VI. 11. 669 — 70. - A misprint for 'martnet.' 3 A misprint for ' ufer." 4 Hist. Nat. Lib. X. cap. xlvii. 5 Another reading is ' Himantopus,' but the Stilt-Plover has not a red bill. Hirundo — Hcrmatopiis — 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/Ematopodes, 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. X^oiW/eXo?, junco, in English a rede sparrow, in German eyn reydt muss. The Junco, as Aristotle writes in the eighth book of his History 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 Ju nco — L ingulaca — L agopus — L igu rinus facit. Ego igitnr quum nullam aliam nouerim aui- culam, iuncis & Jiarundinibus infidentem, pr ester An- glorinn pafferem harudinarmm, ilium iunconem effe iudico. Auis eft parua, pa/fere paulb minor, cauda lougiufcida & capite nigro. ccetera fufca. De lingulaca, ex Aristotele1. Lingulaca, quse Graece yXwrn? dicitur lin- [p. 85] guam exerit longam, unde nome habet, una eft e coturnicum ducibus, formam habet auium lacuftrium. De lagopode ex Plinio2. Prsecipuo fapore lagopus eft : pedes leporino uillo ei nomen hoc dedere. Cetero candide3, columborum magnitudine, non extra terram4, in qua nafcitur, earn uefci : quando nee uiua manfuefcit, & corpus occife, ftatim marcefcit. Eft & alia, nomine eodem, a coturnicibus mag- nitudine tantiim differens, croceo tinclu cibis t gratiffima. "taptiiiima. Huius hoc uerfu Martialis* meminit: Si mens anrita gaudet lagopede Flaccus. DE LIGVRINO SIVE SPINO. Afcavdls, fpinus, fine ligurinus, Anglicc, a grenc Jiuche, nt eouijeio, Germanicc, etyn firsjuufe. Aristoteles 6. [p. 86] Ligurini, & uita & colore ignobiles funt, fed ualent uocis amcenitate7, & ex auium albo funt, que carduorum femine uefcuntur8. Floras, fpi- nus, & acgithus, odium inter fe exercet. Spinus etiam bellum cum afino gerit. 1 Hist. An. Bk VIII. 83. - Hist. Nat. Lib. x. cap. xlviii. 3 After 'dedere' substitute a comma for the full btop. 4 Pliny seems to have written 'facile' here, in addition. "' Epigr. Lib. VII. lxxxvi. 6 Three passages are here combined: — Hist. An. VIII. 42, ix. 22, IX. 92. 7 The words of Aristotle are vi)v fxevroi Xiyvpav exovaiv. 8 See p. 35. [unco — L ingulaca — Lagopus — L igurinus 1 05 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 Lingulaca, from Aristotle. Lingulaca, in Greek called yAcoTTis, 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 o-iven 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 Ligurinus or Spinus. 'AicavOU, 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 Spinus — Ltitea Spinum Arijlotelis grcnefincam noftram effe arbi- tror: nam ilia inter fpinas plurimum elegit, & ex herbarum feminibus uiclitat. Anis, qnam fpinum effe iudico, magnitudine pafferem cequat, tota niridis ejl, prafertim mas in hoc genere, fcemina fere pallida eft. uefcitur carduorum maiorum femine & lapparum, ut auriuittis minorum, nidulatur in ramis fallen ant pru- nornm fylueflriu. cantat amojue, & cibnm & potn e fitnlis Jianrire non reenfat. Sed obijeiet mihi forfan quifpiam, Jianc colore uiridi adeoq; amceno, uoji poffe fpinum effe, quern Ariftoteles colore ignobile?u effe tcflatur. Sciat uelim, qui hoc mihi obijeit, eundem Ariflotelem uiridem colorem dam- nare, etiam in aue, quce tota niridis efi, & a uiriditaie nomen accepit. Verba Ariflotclis1 ha?c fimt: Vireo2, qui totus uiridis eft, docilis & ad uite munera [p. 87] ingeniofus notatur, sed male uolat, nee grati eft colons. Hcec Arifloteles. DE LVTEA. XXcopevs, luteus fine lutca, Auglice a yelouu ham, a youulryng. Germanice etyn geelgorft. Aristoteles. Luteus a colore partis fuse inferioris pallido dictus, magnitudine alaudae eft. Parit oua qua- tuor aut quinque. Nidum fibi ex fymphyto ftirpitus euulfo facit. Sed ftragulum fubijeit ex lana & uillo. 1 Hist. An. Bk IX. 98, 89. 2 XAcopiW. Ligurinus or Spinus — Lit tea 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 Hies badly and its colour is un- pleasing." So far Aristotle. Of the Lutea. X\&>peiV, 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, ^Xtopis-, xAcopiW, and ^Xwpfu? : but Turner's quotation with regard to xAcopew is found in Aristotle under xka>\ns in a passage {Hist. An. Bk ix. S3) where there seems to be no alternative reading. 1 08 L utea — Luteola — Lnscinia Auicula, quam luteum effe credo, paff ere paulb niaior eft. Maris peclus & neuter lutea fuiit : famines uerb pectus luteum, & uenter pallidus eft, in capite dorfo & alis, pennis fufcis lutece intcrmifecntur. Roftrum utrique firmum & breue, in quo tubcrcum quoddam dentem vientiens, reperias, prater uermes, hordeo & auena libenter uefcitur. Cauda huius auicula? longiuf- cula eft, & frequenter motitans. DE LVTEOLA. XAcy/319, luteola, Anglice a fiskin, Germanicc etyn [p. 88] jetyficft, quibusdam etyit engelcfcen. Luteola, lutea fuperius defer ipta, multb minor eft, & colore ad uiriditatem magis tendente, peflore luteo eft, & roftro longiufculo, tenui & acuto, auriuittis finuli, duas Jiabet maculas nigras : alteram in fronte, alteram fub mento, cantillat non infuauiter. Rara apud Anglos ha^c eft, nee ufpiam fere alibi quam in caucis cemitur. Semel tamen in Cantabrigian is agris uidiffe recordor. Huius generis funt, quas Anglia aues cana- rias uocat. DE LVSCINIA. AlS(ou, lufcinia, philomcla, Anglice a nyghtyugall, Germanicc ei)lt nad)tgal. Aristoteles \ Park lufcinia seftate quinqj aut fex oua, conditur ab autumno ufq* ad uernos dies, lufci- nia2 canere folet affidue diebus ac noclibus quindecim, cum fylua3 fronde incipit opacari. dein canit quidem, fed non affiduo, mox adulta eftate uocem mittit diuerfam, no infuper ua- [p. 89] riam, aut celerem 4 modulatamdj?, fed limplicem, 1 Hist. An. Bk- v. 31. 2 Hist. An. 15k ix. 255. 3 Aristotle has opos (mountain) here. 4 Or rpaxelav = harsh. L utea — L i it cola — L uscin ia 1 09 The little bird, which I believe to be the Lutcus. is some- what bigger than a Sparrow. It is yellow on the breast and belly in the cock ; but in the hen the breast is yellow and the belly pale. Yellow are mixed with dark feathers upon the head, back, and wings. In each of them the beak is short and stout, and on it one may find a sort of knob that simulates a tooth. Apart from worms it eats barley and oats freely. The tail of this small bird is rather long and is in constant motion. Of the Luteola. XXcopis, luteola, in English a siskin, in German eyn zey- sich, or of some eyn engelchen. The Luteola is much smaller than the Lutea above de- scribed, and with a colour tending more to green. It has a yellow breast, a longish, slender, pointed bill, like that in Aurivittis, and two spots of black, one on the forehead, one beneath the chin ; it warbles with some sweetness. In England it is rare, and scarcely to be seen elsewhere than in cages. Yet I remember having seen it once among the fields of Cambridgeshire. Of this kind are those which England calls Canary birds1. Of the Luscinia. 'ArjScov, luscinia, philomela, in English a nyghtyngall, in German eyn nachtgall. Aristotle. In summer the Luscinia lays five or six eggs, but from autumn it lies hid continually until the days of spring. Now the Luscinia is wont to sing in- cessantly for fifteen days and nights, when woods begin to become dark with foliage. Later it sings indeed, but not incessantly, then in the height of summer it gives forth a different note, not varied over and above, or quick and modulated, but a simple 1 Gesner, the first to describe the Canary-bird, states that Turner informed him of it. 1 1 o Ltiscinia — Mergus colore etiam immutatur, & quidem in terra Italia per id tempus alio nomine appellator, apparet non diu, abdit enim fefe & latet. Ariftoteles prater unam not am nullam ojlcndit pe- culiarem, qua ab ahjs auibus lufcinia differret, ea autem eft quod lingua fumtnoe acumine caveat. Quau- qtiam & hoc etiam cum atricapilla commune Jiabet. Colore lufcinia, & corporis maguitudiue auiculam illam proxime refcrt, quam Angli lingettam, & Genua ui Graefmufch. paffcrem gramineum nominant. Paffere paulb minor eft, & tenuior, & longiori corporis figura, color pecloris fere cinereus eft, ccetera fubfufca. DE MERGO. AlOvta, mergus, Anglice a cormorant, German, etylt tucker. Aristoteles \ Mergus marina auis eft, ex pifcium uenatu ui6litans, fubit tame altius in fluuios. Mergus [p. 90] & gauia " faxis maritimis oua bina aut terna pariunt. Sed gauise seftate, mergi a bruma, ineunte uere. Incubant more caeterarum auium, fed neutra earum auium conditur. ;\IerglIS- Mergus, auis eft magnitudine fere anferis pulla, roflro longo & in fine adunco, palmipes eft, & corpore graui, forma corporis aui fedenti, crefla eft. Plinius in arboribus nidulari fcribit, at A riftoieles in faxis mari- timis. Quod 7iterq; aut uidit, aut a referentib?is au- cupibus didicit, fcripto mandauit. Et ego utrumque obferuaui, nam in rupibus marinis iuxta Jioftiu Tince fiuuij mergos nidulantes nidi, & in Norihfolcia cum 1 Hist. An. Bk I. 6; Bk vill. 48, freely rendered. 2 Hist. An. Bk v. 30. Luscinia — Mergus 1 1 1 sound. It also changes colour, and during that time is known, at least in the land of Italy, by another name ; it is not seen for long, since it conceals itself, and so lies hidden. Aristotle provides no special mark, save one, by which the Luscinia differs from the rest of birds, and that is that it lacks the point at the tip of the tongue. Though even this it has in common with the Atricapilla. In colour and in size of body the Luscinia comes nearest to that little bird which Englishmen call Lingett and the Germans Grass-Sparrow. It is a little smaller than a Sparrow and more slender, with a longer shape of body, and the colour of the breast is nearly grey ; the other parts are brownish. Of the Mergus. AWvta, mergus, in English a cormorant, in German eyn ducher. Aristotle. The Mergus is a sea-bird, and it lives by hunting fishes, yet it makes its way somewhat far up the rivers. The Mergus and the Gavia lay two or three eggs each upon rocks in the sea, the Gaviae in summer and the Mergi when the spring arrives after the solstice. They incubate like other birds, but neither of these birds conceals itself. The Mergus, a sad-coloured bird, is nearly equal to a Goose in size, with the bill long and hooked at the end ; it is web-footed, heavy in the body, and the attitude is upright in the sitting bird. Pliny writes that it nests on trees, but Aristotle says on sea-rocks. What each man saw or learnt from the reports of bird-catchers he has set down in writing. And I have observed both birds myself, for I have seen Mergi nesting on sea-cliffs about the mouth of the Tyne river, and on lofty trees in Norfolk with the I I 2 Mergus — Merops ardcis in cxcelfis arboribus. Qui in rupibus maritimis nidificant, ex prceda marina fere uiuut, qui uerb in arboribus, a vines, lacus, & fluuios, uiclus caufa petunt. De merope ex Aristotele1. Merops. Sunt, qui meropes genitorum fuorum feneclu- tem educare conformant, uicemcj* reddi, ut pa- [p. 91] rentes non modo fenefcentes, uerum etia cum iam datur facultas, alantur opera liberorum : nee matrem aut patrem exire, fed in cubili manentes, pafci labore eorum, quos ipfi genue- runt, enutrierunt, educarunt. Pennse huius auis inferiores pallide funt, fuperiores cceruleae funt ut halcyonis : poftremae pinnule rubre habentur. Parit fex aut feptem seftate in prae- cipitijs mollioribus, intra uel ad quatuor cubita fubies, terrae etia cauernas fubiens, cunabula facit. Plinius2. Nee uero ijs minor folertia, quae cunabula in terra faciunt, corporis grauitate prohibente fub- lime petere. Merops uocatur, genitores fuos reconditos pafcens, pallido intus colore penna- [p. 92] rum, fuperne cyaneo, priori fubrutilo. Nidi- ficat in fpecu, fex pedum defoffa altitudine. Meropem ingenue fateor me nunquam uidiJJTe, nee qucquam coueniffe, qui aliquando ttiderit. Tametfi 11011 fum nefcius apud Germanos, gravimaticos non indoclos, effe, qui grunfpecJituni fuum, meropem effe doceant : fed Ariflotele & Plin. reclamantibus. Picus uiridis nidum 1 Hist. An. Bk ix. 82, freely rendered. 2 Hist. Nat. Lib. x. cap. xxxiii. Mergus — Merops \ \ 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. Plixy. 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 arc 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. n (1902). t. 8 ii4 Merops — Merula Meropem non effe Germano- rum grun fpechtum. [P- [p fibi rojiro fuo in arboribus facit : itbi enim picus arborem tundes, Mam ex fono fubcauam effe deprceJiendit, in- Jlante tempore partus, earn in qua pojiea nidulaturus eft, rojiro perforat. Nulla ufpiam arbor tarn alta eft, quam impediente ulla corporis grauitate, non uolatu traijecre pofjit. Pennce Jiuius quoque fnperiores funt uirides, inferioresqt, nifi male memini, lutece aut faltem pallidce funt. quare quum merops prohibente corporis grauitate, in fublime peterc, atq; ideo in arboribus nidulari non pofjit, & fuperue colore fit cyaueo, Germanoruni picus uiridis, quern Britanni a faciendis foraminibus, huho- lam nominant, merops Ariftotelis & Plinij effe non poterit. DE MERVLA. Ko7rru(b6^1, merula, Auglice a blak ofel,a blak byrd, Germanicc c\)U mcv(, aut c\)\\ amfet. 93] Artstoteles2. Merularum duo funt q-enera : 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, quae fimilis nigrae eft, fed fufca colore, & magnitudine paulo minor, uerfari hasc in faxis & tec~tis folita eft, nee roftrum rutilum, ut merula habet. Merula3 etiam & colore, & uoce per tempora immutatur. Nam ex nigra redditur rufa, & uocem emittit diuerfam. Strepitat enim per hyemem, quum per seftatem tumultuans cantet. Plinius4. Merula, ex nigra ruffefcit, canit reflate, 94] hyeme balbutit, circa folftitium muta, roftrum 1 A misprint for kottvcjios. 2 Hist. An. Bk IX. 95. 3 Hist. An. Bk IX. 254; freely rendered. 4 Hist. Nat. Lib. X. cap. xxix. Merops — Merit I a i i 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. KoTTf(/)09, merula, in English a blak osel, a blak byrd, in German eyn mcrl or cyn 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.' 1 1 6 Merula—Milvus—Molliceps quoqj anniculis in ebur transfiguratur, dutaxat maribus. DE MILVO SIVE milaio. Iktivos, miluus, Ang/ice, a glede, a pnttok, a kyte, Germanice etyit toetyc Plinius \ Milui ex accipitru genere funt, magnitudine differentes. I idem uidentur artem gubernandi docuiffe, caude flexibus, in coelo monftrante 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, totidem^j excludunt pullos. Sed [p- 95] qui Aetolius :f nuncupatur, uel quaternos ali- quando excludit. Duo miluorum genera noui, mains & minus: mains colore propemodnm ruffo eji, apnd A nglos frcqncns, & infigniter rapax. Pneris hoc genus cibnm e manibns in urbibus & oppidis criperc folet. Alternm genus ejl minus, nigrins, & nrbes rarius frequentans. Hoc genus nt in Gcrmania fcepijjime, ita in Anglia nnnqnam me 7iidiffe recordor. DE MOLLICIPITE. MaXa/corcpavevs, molliceps, Anglice a sJirike, a nyn murder, Germanice et)U mint mfirber. Aristoteles 4. Molliceps eodem in loco femper fibi fedem ftatuit, atque ibidem capitur. Gradi & cartila- 1 Hist. Nat. Lib. X. cap. x. 2 Hist. An. Bk vi. 38. 3 Other readings are alycoXlos and rywAior. 4 Hist. An. Bk ix. 98. Merula — Milvus — Molliceps 1 17 it is dumb. In yearlings furthermore the bill puts on a look of ivory, provided they are males. Of the Milvus or Milvius. iktivos, milvus, in English a glede, a puttok, a kytc, 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. Ok the Molliceps. Ma\aKoicpav€v<;, 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, rotudo, colore totus cinereo depes1, & penis inualens eft, capitur maxime noclua. Mollicipitem effe arbitror auiculam, quam Germani nuinmurder non fine can/a nominant. Porrb ut omui- [p- 96] bus perfpicuum fit, qua' nam & qua/is ilia fit, formam auis & mores quanto licebit compendio perfiringam. Magnitudine, minimum turdorum genus csquat, e lon- ginquo contcplanti, tota apparet cinerea. Propius autcm infpicienti, mentum, pectus & ucnter alba apparent, ab utroque oculo ad collum ufque, longa & nigra macula, fed nonnihil obliqua porrigitur. Capite tarn grandi ejl, ut aui triplo maiori (modb roftrum lougius & mains effet) proportione fua fatis refpondcret. Roftro nigro eft, & mediocriter breui, & in fine aduueo, fed omnium firmijjimo & fortijjimo cfil, utpote quo manum femel meant duplici chirotJieca mituitaiu,faiiciaucrit, & alli- um offa & capita confringat & conterat quam ocyjjimc. Ala utraque nigra tota eft, nifi quod alba tinea grandi- ufcula, mediant utriuque alam tranfuerfim dijlingat. Caudam piece fimilem habct, logiufculaui nimirum, & uariam. Tibias & pedes pro ratione corporis omnium minintos, & eos nigros Jtabet. Alas Jtabet breues, & ueluti per faltus fitrfum atquc dcorfum uolitat. Viuit ex fcarabeis, papilionibus, & grandioribus infcclis : fed non folis iftis, uerumetiam, more accipitris, auibus. Occidit enim regulos, fringiltas, & {quod ego femel nidi) turdos. Tradunt etiam aucupes hanc picas quafdam [p. 97}fiyluejlrcs interdum iugularc, & cornices in fugam adi- gere. Aucs, quas occidit, non iiuguibus, ut accipitres, uolaudo perniciter adfequitur, fed ex iufniijs adoritur, & mox (quod iam fizpius expertus fun) iugulum petit, Offifraga & cranium rojiro comprimit & coufriugit. Offa coui- f'eiuTillV minuta & contufa deuorat: & quando cfurit, tantos magnitude» carnis bolos in gulam iugerit, quantos rictus oris au- adeffet. p-u/lia poteft capere. Prceter morcm etiam rcliauarum Nam nee " J 2 . . . . . moribu5 nee allium, quando uberior prceda coutigit, nonnihil in fu- 1 a7rovs. Another reading is evirovs. Molliccps i 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 Molliccps 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. I20 Molliccps — Noctua — Olor colore ab ea turam penurid reponit. Mufcas enim grandiores & multum infetta iam capta in aculeis & fpinis arbujlorum figit at. & fufpendit: omnium auium facilime cicuratur, & manfuefacla, carnibus alitur, quce ft fuerint ficciores, ant prorfus exangues, potum requirit. In A nglia fce- piiis quam bis nunquam nidi, in Germania fcepijfime. Nomen Jtuius apud noftros neminem inueni, qui nouerit, prceter Dominum Francifcum Louellum, tarn animi quam corporis dotibus cquitcm auratum nobiliffnnum. Iam fi cut mollicipitis Ariftotelis defcriptio huic uou uideatur per omnia conuenire, tyrannorum a/bo ad- fcribat, aut aiiem ojlendat, cui defcriptio melius competat. DE NOCTVA. TXavt;, noclua, Anglice an ouul, or an houulet, [p. 98] Germanice etyn eul & etytt file Saxonice. Aristoteles1. NoctAiae, cicunisrr, & reliqua, que interdiu nequeunt cernere, noct.u uenando cibum fibi adquirunt : uerum non tota nocr.e id faciunt, fed tempore uefpertino et matutino. Venantur autem mures, lacertas, uerticillos, & eiufmodi beftiolas. No6tuam3 cseterse omnes aues cir- cumuolant, quod mirari uocatur, aduolantesdjj percutiunt4. Qua propter aucupes ea conftituta, auicularum genera multa & uaria capiunt. DE OLORE. Kv/cvos, olor, Anglice afuuau, Germanice etyii fwcttt. Aristoteles 5. Oior. Olores palmides6 funt, apud lacus & paludes uiuentes, qui nee probitate uiclus, morum, pro- [p. 99] lis, fene<5tutis uacant7. Aquilam fi pugnam 1 Hist. An. Bk IX. 122. 2 Apparently a misprint for cicumas, said to mean 'horned owls.' Aristotle has vvKTucopciKes which he identifies in Bk vm. 84 with corot. s Hist. An. Bk IX. 11. 1 Aristotle has tiX\ov(ti = pluck it. 5 Hist. An. Bk IX. 78. 6 That is, palmipedes. 7 Aristotle has evfSloroi 8e neat cvrjdeis /cat eSreitvoi teat evyrjpoi. Molliceps — Noctua — Olor i 2 1 For it impales and hangs the bigger flies and insects on the thorns and spines of shrubs, so soon as they arc 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. VXav^, noctua, in English an owl or an howlet, in German eyn eul, and in Saxon eyn ule. Aristotle. The Nocture, Cicumse 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 llock 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. Ok the Olor. KiiKvof, 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.' 122 Olor — Onocrotalus coeperit, 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 quls olorcw nunquam uideril, cV ex hac Arifto- telis defcriptione non fatis quails fit auis didicerit, fciat aucm effe albam, anfere multb malorcm, forma tamen & ulclu fimllem, pcdlbus nlgris, & rojlro pariim turbi- nate), colore rittllo, in cuius fumiiia parte, qua capiil committitur, nigcrrlmum tuberculum, atque id rotundum, cV In rojlrum fefc infleclens, ex I flit. DE ONOCRATALO. Onocrotalus. Sunt /iodic non pariim inultl erudltloue inter o nines confpicui, qui grandifonam lllani lacuftreni auem, Auglls but tor am & German Is pit tour um, & rofdom- mam uocatam, Onocrotalum effe coutcudaut. Quoru [p. ioo] ego fc nt entice lubcus fubfcrlbereiu, ( pule/ire euliu cum uoce auis iiomlnls etymologla conueniti) nifi Pliny autorltas de onocrotalo ad /nine moduiu fcrlbcntls, 11011 dijfuaderet. 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 perfecfta rapina, fenlim inde in os reddita, in ueram aluum ruminantis modo refert. Gallia hos feptentrionalis, proxime1 oceano mit- tit. Ha;c PI lu lus-. 1 This should apparently be ' proxima,' as some texts have it. - Hist. Nat. Lib. X. cap. xlvii. 0 lor— Onocrotalus 1 23 Aquila successfully, should he begin a fight ; and yet, unless provoked, never induce; the figdit. These birds arc 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 man)' 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 or 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 bell)- in the very jaws. 1 [erein 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 bell)- in the manner of a ruminant. Northern Gaul, where nearest to the ocean, sends us these. So far Pliny. 1 This passage is not easily rendered, as it is difficult to sec wii.it Turner intended by 'turbinate' 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 Onocrotalus Nunc panels ancm Warn nobis depingam, qua onocrotalum e/fe affeuerant. Aids eft tota corporis fi- gura Ardea /mills, longis cruribus, fed ardece breui- oribns. longo collo, & mire plumofo, & roftro ncc breui nee obtufo. caput pennce tegunt nigerrimce. reliquum uerb corpus, fufctz & pallida maeulis nigris den/i/Jimc re/per/ce. Pedes liabet longiftimos, nam inter cxtremos ungues medij digiti pedis uuius & calcis eiu/dem, [p. \o\\/pitliames longitudo intercedit. Vngues Jiabct longijji- juos, nam ille, qui calcis uicem in auibus gerit, longi- tudine fefquiunciam fuperat. quare ad /ricandos dentes noftratcs utuntur, & argcuto inferunt. Medius digitus utriufque pedis, qui cceteris longior eft, ungucm habet portento/um, nempe dentatum & /erratum, nou /ecus atque pec~tunculorum teftce /errata /unt, ad lubricas anguillas, quas capit1, retiueudas, a uatura proculdubio ordinatum. Cauda Mi brcuijjima eft, et ftomachus capacij]im7is, quo iugluuiei loco utitur. Ventriculum nou c&terarum auium ucntriculis, /ed canino /unilem habet, & cum grandem & capaccm. Sed ne cui /al/a ej/e uidcautur, qua de hoc aue tarn /cripfi, ant ex aliorum relatu potius quam ccrta experi- eutia didiciffe uidear: dum prima huius libri /olia adhuc /ub pralo e//ent, auem miJii Jianc contemplanti, /ecantiq,, & uu tales Jiaberet uentriculum & ftomachum, quale s Plinius UU tribuit, inueftiganti: aderant uir cruditiftmus,& abjirufiorum natures arcauorum Jludio- JiJJimus inucftigator loaunes EchtJiius, Medicus apud Colonien/cs celeberrimus : Cornelius Sittardus, Medi- cince prima la urea decora tus. M. Lubcrtus Eftius, artium liberalium pro/e/fbr, ambo /implicium medica- mentorum pulchre gnari, & ad miraculum u/que ftudi- [p. 102] 0/1 : & Conradus Embccanus uir non uulgariter doclus, et Gymnicance officincs caftigator in/igniter diligeus, cum alijs aliquot bonarum artium ftudiofis, qui me nihil de luxe aue hie /crip/i/fe teftari poj/unt & uoluut, quod cum Mis omnibus non uiderim. Ad ripas la- cuum & paludium de/idct, ubi roftrum in aquas in- 1 A misprint for ' cepit.' Onocrotalus 125 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 arc 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 i 26 Ojiocrotalus — Ortygometra /evens, tautos edit bombos, ut ad miliarium Italicnm facile pofjit audiri. Pifces & prcefertim anguillas uorat auidiftime, nee ulla auis eji, excepto mergo, quce ifta uoracior ejl. Nunc quid Jimile Jiabct ifta cygno ? Nihil plane, qnod fe ocnlis confpiciendum ojferat. Et Moifes Leuit. undecimo capite, proxime cygnnm inter immnndas anes otiocrotahini recenfet. Vnde non im- mcritb fufpicio quibufdam orta eft in Gallia, ant Iud&a aiiciu forma olori Jimilem alicubi poffe reperiri. Qnbd ft nufquam talis inueniatur: probabile eft, ant Plin. a mendacibus relatoribus fnis effe falfnn, ant ea, quce de fimilitiidiiic inter onocrotalum & cyguil tradidit, non de corporis fed nods JimUitudine intellexiffe. Nam & olores interdum bombos emittunt ruditui aftnino non di//i miles: fed brencs, & qnce louge audiri non poffnnt. Verkm ft hanc mcam interpretations uarice, recondita^q; cmditionis uiri, fnis fuffragijs minimc appro bauerint, [p. 103] hanc fa I tern Ariflotelis ardeam fiellarem effe mecnm Onocrota- confentient. Nam prceter ccetcra, qnce fuperius attigi, lumquibuf- Ariftotclcs in fabnla fniffc oftendens, ardeam ftellarem dam hodie J . ' JJ J ... dicftu, ar- ex feruo aucm fniffc faclam, opinioni mccc multnni deam, effe patrocinatnr. Vt fngitinornm cnim fen torn poft fngam apud Ari- deprcehc font m, cutis, loris,flagris, nirgis, & fcorpionibns ftotclem. iela, uerberum nibicibns, tota macnlofa redditur : ita latins auis pin nice nigris ubique maculis,fed potifjfimum in tergo, diftiuclic & ucluti pi cl ura tie, fcrni flagris ccefi cut em proxime referut. Q/iani rem fabnla: occa- fioucni dediffe ex hoc colligo, quod fabularitm uariarum autor A riftophaues1, de attageue aue, quod ad pluma- r/ini colores attiuet, huic fimilima, ad /nine modiim f crib at: Si quis ex nobis erit fugitiuus atq; uftis notis, Attagcn is fane apud nos uarius appcllabitur. De ortygometra ex Aristotele2. Ortygometra, id eft, coturnicu matrix, auis eft forma perinde ac lacuftres. Cruribus ideo 1 See p. 36. 2 Hist. An. Bk vm. 83, freely rendered, and interpolated. Onocrotalus- — Ortycrometra i 27 its beak into the water it gives utterance to such a booming as may easily be heard an Italian mile away. It gorges fishes and especially eels most greedily, nor is there any bird, except the Mergus, that devours more. Now what resemblance has it to a Swan? Distinctly none that brings itself in view before our eyes. Now in the eleventh chapter of Leviticus Moses enumerates the Onocrotalus next to the Swan among the unclean birds. And a suspicion has arisen thence, not undeservedly, within a certain class, that some- where within Gaul or Judaea a bird of Swan-like form may possibly exist. If such, however, nowhere can be found, it seems likely that Pliny either was deceived by lying story- tellers or he understood that which he has related of the similarity between the Onocrotalus and C'ygnus to refer to a resemblance not of body, but of voice. For even Swans utter at certain times booms not unlike the braying of an ass : but short, and which cannot be heard afar. However if men of deep and varied learning by their votes shall not approve this rendering of mine, at least they will agree with me that the said bird is Aristotle's Ardea Stellaris. For to omit the rest, which I have touched upon above, that author certainly gives countenance to my opinion when he shews a tale to have existed that the Ardea Stellaris from a slave was turned into a bird. For as the skin of an absconding slave, caught subsequent to flight, stricken with thongs, whips, rods and knotted ropes, becomes all mottled with the wales of stripes, so too the feathers of this bird are marked, and painted as it were, with mottlings of black in every part, though chiefly on the back, and thus may well recall to us the skin of slaves cut up with whips. And that this thing gave rise to the aforesaid tale, I gather from the fact that Aristophanes, author of various plays, writes of the Attagen, a bird very like ours so far as colour of the feathers goes, to this effect : — " If any of you be a runaway, and branded with the marks, with us assuredly he shall be called the spotted Attagen." Of the Ortygometra from Aristotle. The Ortygometra, that is, dam of the Coturnices, in form is much like marsh-birds. Certain birds are 1 2 8 Ortygometra — Ossifraga longis aues quaedam innituntur, quod earum uita fit paluftris. [p. 104] Ortygometram aliqui eandem cffe aucm cum crece et cychramo uohint. Sed Arijhteles, pcculiare caput creci douauit, et oclauo libra hijiorics animalium, cychra- mum a matrice, quam ortygometram uoeat, his uerbis diftinguit. Coturnices (iuquit) ciim hsec adeunt loca, fine ducibus pergunt : at cum hinc abeunt, ducibus lingulaca, oto, & matrice, proficifcuntur, atque etiam cychramo, a quo etiam reuocatur noclu, cuius uoce cum fenferint aucupes, in- telligunt parari difceffum. Hcec Me. Fieri igitur non poteji, ut matrix & cycliramus eadem auis fit. Aliqui ortygometram ejfe uolunt Ger- manorum fcricam, & Anglorum daker heuuam, quorum ego fententicB accederem, fi crccem eandem cum ijla, eui nee rent. DE OSSIFRAGA. Aristoteles \ Offifrage magnitudo maior eft quam aquilae, color ex cinere2 albicans. Probe1' & fcetificat, & [p. 105] uiuit, ccense gerula & benigna eft. Nutricat enim bene, & fuos pullos & aquilae. Cum enim ilia fuos nido eiecerit, haec recipit eos, ac educat. Plinius 4. Quidam adijeiunt genus aquile, quam bar- batam uocat Thufci offifragam. 1 Hist. An. Bk VIII. 39. 2 Apparently a misprint for ' cinereo.' 3 Hist. Aft. Bk ix. 123. 4 Hist. Nat. Lib. x. cap. iii. Ortygometra — Ossifraga 1 2 9 perched upon long legs because their life is passed in marshes. Some will have Ortygometra to be the same as Crex and Cychramus. But .Aristotle lias attributed a peculiar sort of head to Crex, and in the eighth book of his History of Animals distinguishes his Cychramus from Matrix, which he calls Ortygometra, in the following words : — Coturnices (he says) when they come to these places travel without guides : but when they go away set out with the Lingulaca, the Otus, and the Matrix as their guides, and also with the Cychramus, by which they are moreover summoned back at night. And when the fowlers have heard its cry, they know the birds' departure is at hand. Thus he writes. Therefore it is impossible that the Matrix and the Cy- chramus should be the same. Others will have the Orty- gometra to be the Scrica of the Germans and the Daker Hen of the English, and I should accede to their opinion, if they could but prove the Crex to be the same as this. Of the Ossifraga. Aristotle In size the Ossifrage is greater than the Aquila, its colour whitish grey1. Both in breeding it is comely and in way of life, it brings food home and is kindly. For it rears its own young with care, besides those of the Aquila. For when the latter has cast its progeny out of the nest, the former takes them to itself, and brings them up. Pliny. Some there are who add that kind of Aquila, which the Tuscans call a bearded Ossifrage2. 1 See p. 36. - Possibly Pliny means the Lammergeier {Gypactus barbatus). 130 Otus — Otis — Pari DE OTO. (oto';, otus, Anglice a horn on I, Germanice ctyn ranuutl / ober etyn fcblcier cul. Aristoteles \ Otus noctuae fimilis eft, pinnulis circiter aures eminentibus, praeditus, unde nomen acce- pit, quafi auritum dixeris. Nonnulli ululam eu appellant, alij afionem 2. Blatero hie eft & hallucinator. & planipes : faltantes enim imita- tur. Capitur intentus in altero aucupes3, altero circumeunte. [p. 106] De otide ex Plinio 4. Tetraonibus proximo funt, quas Hifpania aues tardas appellat, Grsecia otidas, damnatas in cibis. Emiffa enim offibus medulla, odoris taedium extemplo fequitur. DE PARIS. acyiOoXos, parus, Anglice a tit moufe, German. cvui ntetyfe. Aristoteles5. Parorum tria funt genera : fringillago, qua? maior eft, quippe qua; fringillam sequet. Alter monticola cognomine eft : quoniam in montibus degat, cui cauda longior. Tertius magnitudine fui exigui corporis difcrepat, quanquam cetera fimilis eft. parus" plura oua parit. Fringillago. Prinium paru, Angli uocant the great titnwus or the great oxei, Germani etytt folmetyfe. Parus me- Paruni fecunduni, Angli the lefs titnious nominant. dius. Germanici etyn meelmetyfe. 1 Hist. An. Bk vm. 84. very freely rendered. 2 Aristotle has ' vvKTLKopaica,' instead of ' ululam ' and ' asionem.' 3 A misprint for ' aucupe.' 4 Hist. Nat. Lib. X. cap. xxii. •' Hist. An. Bk VIII. 40. c Hist. An. Bk IX. 88. ( )tus — ( ^tis- -Pari i x i Of tiik Otus. «Wo'i, otus, in English a horn owl, in German cyn ranseul or cyn schlcicr cul. Aristotle. The Otus is like a Noctua, furnished with little tufts sticking out near the ears, whence it has got its name, as though one should say "eared." Some call it (Jlula, and others Asio. It is a babbler and a mis- chievous rogue, and is a mimic too, for when men dance it imitates their ways. It is caught while intent upon one of two bird-catchers, the other circumventing it. Of the Otis from Pliny. Next to the Tetraones come those birds, which Spain calls " Aves tardx " and Greece " Otides," condemned as food for man. For when the marrow issues from the bones, disefust at the smell follows there and then. Of the Pari. nlyi$a\on clfter/ oFev e^n o^et. 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 ciim deficiunt, colligit, & in repofitorio abditas, referuat. Plinius '-'. Minor nobilitas, quia non ex longinquo [p- IT7] uenit, fed expreffior loquacitas certo generi picarum eft, quam pfitacis eft. Nee difcunt tantum, fed diligunt meditantes^j intra femet, cura atqj cogitatione, intentionem non occultant. Conftat emori uiclas difficultate uerbi, ac nifi fubinde eadem audiant, memoria falli, quaerentes 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. Phcenix — Pica 143 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. Klrra, pica, in English a py or a piot, in German cyn 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 Picai 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 then- have heard that word. Nor' is their beauty of an 1 Or perhaps, 'their form is not commonplace, though not showy to the eye.' 1 44 Pica fpeclanda, fatis illis decoris in fpecie fermonis humani eft. Veriim addifcere alias negant poffe, quam quae ex genere earum funt, quae 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 ccepere picarum genera, quae longa infignes cauda uariai appellantur, proprium his caluefcere omnibus annis cum feratur rapa. Plinius duo picarum genera facere uidetur: pofterius hoc genus Pliuij, picarum genus effc uidetur, quod pajfim in Germania & Anglia longa cauda praditum, oua & pultos gallinarum populatur. A liud genus piece, tarn longa cauda ornatum, quam hoc eft, non uotti. noftra quoque pica uulgaris caluefcere quotannis folet. Alterum autem pices genus din fane dubitaui quod nam ejjfet, & adhuc non fatis teueo. Cum effem in Italia ad ripam Padi, ambulantibus mihi, & itincris mei comi- Iaia An- tibus, auis qutedam piece Jimilis, lingua Britannica glorum, iaia, & Germanica mercolphus appellata, confpicieudam mercolphus .... .. Germanoru. fcfe commodum obtulit, cuius nomeu Italicum quum a mouacho quodam, qui turn forte aderat, percontarer, picam grauatam dici refpondit. Qua re cum apud Italicum etiam uulgus non folum priftince lingua? Romance, fed & rerum fcicnticc, non obfeura ueftigia adhuc fupereffe deprcehendercm, fuborta eft mihi /tine fufpicio, auem hanc e geueribus picarum effc, & quod [p. 119] feircm eandem, altera uulgari pica, multb expreftius Hanc mea humauas uoces imitari, ita fufpiciouem meatn auxit, opmionc^ ui parum abfit, quin credam hanc effe alterius generis cofirmat, picam, nam & glandibus uefcitur magis omjiibus alijs quern fi ua- auihus, cat lege. 1 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 Picse which being remarkable for the length of their tails have been called "varise." 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 ever)- 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 1 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. T. 10 146 Pints Martins BE PICO MARTIO. a rayn ApvofcoX/nrTT]*;, picus martins, pipo, iytix, torquella, byrde. turbo, Anglice & Germanice a fpecht, etytl fpedbt. Aristoteles \ Alia culicibus'2 gaudent, nee alio magis quam uenatu culicum uiuut, ut pipo turn maior turn minor, utrumque picum martium uocant. Si- miles inter fe lunt, uocem^j fimilem emittunt, Galgulum fed maiorem, quae maior eft. Item k6\los\ cui mterpretatur magnitudo quanta turturi fere eft, color luteus, lignipeta hie admodum eft, magnacjj ex parte more picorum vijxeTai im rotv £v\a)v, quod eft, id eft, mint ut interpretatur Gaza, ex macerie uiuit : uocem ad hgna. ..1 ., 'v-r»i r 1 ■ [p 120] emittit magnam, incola maxime reloponeii hie eft. Obferua ubi Arijtoteles duo tantum picorum genera facit, ibidem ilium galgalum defcribere, & ubi tria facit, eundem omit t ere. 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 & eulieu 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 rubidse 1 Hist. An. Bk VIII. 43—44. 2 Gaza translated Aristotle's o-Kvty by culex ( = gnat). Most probably it may be used for various small winged creatures. 3 There is another reading, KfXfoy. 4 Hist. An. Bk ix. 66—69. 5 koKoios may be a misreading here and below for xeXeos, but this seems doubtful. Pints Martms 147 Ok the Picus Martius. ApvoKo\diTT7)' etytt lojfel gaj?. Aristoteles5. Platea fluuiatilis, conchas maiufculas, le- uesc^j deuorat, quas ubi fua ingluuie coxerit, euomit, ut hiantibus teftis exuens, legat atque edat. Plinius". Platea nominatur aduolans ad eas, quae fe in mari mergunt, & capita illarum morfu corri- 1 Hist. An. Bk VIII. 85. 2 rh \fyufjLtvov avOpanroykotTTOv. 3 aKoKacrTOTepov = reckless. 4 Hist. Nat. Lib. x. cap. xli. 5 Hist. An. Bk IX. 71. 6 Hist. Nat. Lib. x. cap. xl. P sitae us — Platea 1 5 1 Of the Psitacus. Psitacus, in English a popinjay, in German eyn papegay. Aristotle. An Indian bird indeed, the Psitace by name, which people say can speak, is such a one as this, and is reported as more talkative after it has drunk wine. Pliny. Beyond all Psitaci repeat men's words, and even talk connectedly. India sends this bird, which they call Psitace, with the whole body green marked only by a scarlet ring upon the nape. It will pronounce " Hail Emperor," and any words it hears ; it is especially sportive after wine. The hardness of the head is the same as of the beak. And when the bird is being taught to speak, it is beaten with an iron rod, else it feels not the strokes. When it flies clown it receives its weight upon its beak, and supports itself thereon ; and thus lightens itself to remedy the weakness of its feet. Of the Platea. HeXetcdv, platea, platelea, pelecanus, in English, a shove- lard, in German eyn lefler or eyn loffel ganss. Aristotle. The Platea, a river bird, devours biggish shell- fish, if they be but smooth, and, after it has seethed them in its crop, it casts them up again, that stripping them off from their gaping shells, it so may pick and eat them. Pliny. The Platea, as it is called, flies at those birds which dive below the sea, and seizes their heads with a bite 1 5 2 Platea — Porphyrio — Regulus piens, donee capturam extorqueat. Eadem cum fe deuoratis impleuit conchis, calore uen- tris cocoas, euomit, atque ita efculenta legit, teftas excernens. [p. 125] HlERONYMUS. Pelicani cum fuos a ferpente filios occifos inueniunt, lugent, fe^j & fua latera percutiunt, & fanguine excuffo, corpora mortuorum fie re- uiuifcunt. Conradus Gejluerus, ciim Tiguri age rem, homo ut doclijjimus, ita candidijjimus, huius mild aids cogni- tiouem {lit fatear, per quern profeci) primus omniu communicauit, & ideo Germanis leflerd uocari doeuit, quod rojlru cochleari fimile haberet. De porphyrione ex Plinio1. Porphyrio folus morfu bibit : idem ex pro- prio genere omnem cibii aqua fubinde tingens, deinde pede ad roftrum ueluti manu adferes, laudatiffimi in comagene'-'. Roftra ijs & prae- longa crura rubent. DE REGVLO. Tpo^tXo?, 7rpecr/3ver. evm jauttfuningf, [p. 126] A RISTOTELES 3. Trochilus & fruteta incolit, & foramina, capi difficulter poteft, fugax atque infirmis moribus eft, fed uiclus probitate, & ingenij folertia prae- ditus. uocatur idem fenator & rex, quam ob rem aquilam cum eo pugnare referunt. 1 Hist. Nat. Lib. x. cap. xlvi. 2 It almost seems as if 'Comagene' should be 'Commageno,' in which case we might translate 'They are highly prized for ointment.' 3 Hist. An. Bk ix. 75. Platea — Porphyrio — Regit /its i 5 3 until it wrenches their prey from them. So too when it has filled itself with shell-fish that it has devoured, it casts them up, seethed by its belly's heat, and so picks out the eatable parts, sifting off the shells. HlERONYMUS. Pelecani, when they find their young killed by a serpent, mourn, and beat themselves upon their sides, and with the blood discharged, they thus bring back to life the bodies of the dead. Conrad Gesner, a man most learned as he also was most truthful, first imparted to me while I was at Zurich knowledge of this bird (that I may own from whom I profited), and taught me that it was called lefler by Germans because it has a spoon-shaped beak. Of the Porphyrio from Pliny. The Porphyrio alone drinks with a bite, it also is peculiar in dipping all its food from time to time in water, and then bearing it to its beak with its foot, as with a hand. The best are found in Comagene. Their beaks and very long legs are red. Of the Regulus. T/?o^(\ooLviicovp6ou>Uovpo<;, and, as another text has it, (poiviicovpyos, in Pliny phcenicurus, the ruticilla of Gaza, in English a rede.tale, in German eyn rotstertz. Aristotle. The Rubecula and the Ruticilla feed on worms. Rubeculse and Ruticilla^, as the birds are called, change into one another, and what in winter is the Rubecula in summer is the Ruticilla-, while they hardly differ from each other save in colour of the breast and tail. 1 Turner evidently means the Wren {Troglodytes parvnlus), but with this the 'long tail' does not agree; perhaps there is a misprint. 2 As Sundevall remarks, Aristotle probably only meant that the Red- start was called cpmviKovpos in summer and epldaKot in winter. Sundevall ascribes the misinterpretation to Gaza, whose work Turner admittedly used. This is the more likely as the section of Aristotle quoted concerns birds which change their plumage and note at different seasons. is6 Rubecitla — Ruticilla Rubecule nidulatio Omnia, qua hie Ariftoteles dc duabus auibus ijlis conferipjit, Plinius ex ipfo in opus fuum tranfcripfik Sed uterque Jiac in re, aucupum relatibus magls quam fua experietitia uixus, a ueritatis tramite longijjime aberrauit, nam utraque aids Jimul confpicitur, & ru- beeulce domitce, & in eaueis alilce, candem perpetub formam retinent. quiu & eodem tempore nidulautes, [p. 1 28] fed modis huge diuerfis fcepiffimc in Anglia nidi. Rubeeula, quce 11011 /ecus cejlatc quam Jiyeme rubru habet peelus, quam pojjit longijjime ab oppidis et urbibus in denjifjimis uepretis, & Jruticetis ad liunc modum nidulatur. Vbi multa querna reperit folia, aut queruis fimilia, ad radices ueprium, aut deufwrum fruticum, inter ipfa folia nidum confiruit : & iam conftruclum, opere ueluti topiario folij's eoutegit. Nee ad nidum ubiq; patet aditus, fed una tantiim uia ad nidum itur. ea quoque parte, qua nidum iugreditur, longum flruit ex folijs ante hojlium nidi ueftibulum, cuius extrcmam partem pafhim exies, folijs elaudit. Hcec, quee nunc J'cribo, admodum puer obferuaui, nou tamen inficias iuerim, quin aliter nidulari pojjit. Si qui alium nidu- landi modum obferuaueriut, edant, & huiufmodi rerum Jludiojis, & mihi cum primis no pariim gratificabunlur. Ego, quod nidi, alijs candidc fum impertitus. PJiocnicurus, quern rubicillam1 uocat, in excauatis arboribus & (quod fcepc expertus fum) in rimis & fiffuris murorum, pofiicarum cediu, in medijs urbibus, fed ubi homiuum minor frcquentia concurfat, nidulatur. Pluvnicurus mas nigro efl capite, & Cauda rubra, aetcra Rubeeula focmiiHE, nifi quod fubiude cantillat, fimilis. Caudant teilate tan- r . „, . _ . „ . [p. \2o\JemPer motitat uterque. Pnoenicura Jojmina,