Class II. GUINEA HEN, &c. 281 



of the antients, came originally from y^nV^*- We 

 are much furprized how Belon and other learned or- 

 nithologifts could polTibly imagine them to have 

 been the fame with our 'Turkies \ fince the defcrip- 

 tions of the meleagri left us by Athenaus and other 

 antient writers, agree fo exaflly with the Guinea hen, 

 as to take away (as we fhould imagine) all power 

 of miftake. Athenaiis (after Clytus Milefiiis, a dif- 

 ciple of Arifiotle) defcribes their nature, form and 

 colors : he tells us, " They want natural affedion 

 " towards their young ; that their head is naked, 

 *' and that on the top of it is a hard round body 

 '' like a peg or nail ; that fi'om the cheeks hangs a 

 " red piece of flefh like a beard ; that it has no wat- 

 " ties like the common poultry; that the feathers 

 " are black fpotted with white ; that they have no 

 " fpurs ; and that both fexes are fo like, as not to 

 " be diftinguilhed by the fight f". Varro and Fli- 



* Bo/man's hi fiery of Guima. 248. Voyages de Marchms III. 

 323. Barbot^s defer. Guinea. ChurchilV s coll. n}oy. v. 29. 



f "Ert l\ aTQ^yov Tr^ug ra myova, to opvEOv, hoc) oA/yw^E? rav 



VECOTE^CCV, £vT' (XUTyj; Te x6(pOV (Tlk^KlVOV (j'Sm^QV^ T^OyyiJ'hOV E^EKOVlOS. 



TYig }iE(pa7\Y\; uazjE^ TTa.rrcx.Xov Tr^og ^\ raig yva^oig airo t5 



cdofjcocl©- a^ia(Ji.mv ccyil TTcoyo^v^ fxan^av ca^Jia. km k^u^oole^av 

 Tm ofvi^wv Tr\v ^e roig opvicnv etti toj ^vyx^^ yivoi^Evriv, y\v svioi 



msoiymoc HaX^a-LV, m exei, ^io hoi Tocur'n ko>.gQov In. crw/^tis 



occrav ttoihIxov, fxE>\av(^ ovlog ts %f WjaoJ©- oT^aTphxig T^suxoTg ■■ 



(rHE?\Yi K(xi ccKEVT^oc 7[a^a'/r>.y]a-ia{, o\ etViv al 3)iAEiai roig appEcriv' 



^10 Hai dy$5ia«^iToy eti to tmv ixE>.Ecty^ihv yEv^. Athenaeus, 



Vol. I. U ny 



