Ardea 39 



Aristotle, 



Of Ardea: there are three kinds, Pella, Alba, and 

 Stellaris, but the last has the by-name of Piger. The 

 coupling of Pella is difficult, for it screams while it 

 couples and (they say) emits blood from its eyes : it 

 also brings forth painfull}' and with extreme distress. 

 The Pella is sagacious, quick at getting food 1 , and 

 always busy. It is wont to be astir by day ; yet it 

 is mean in colour, with the belly wet. Of the re- 

 maining two the Alba, fair of colour, couples, nests 

 and brings forth well ; it feeds in marshes, on a lake, 

 in fields and meadow-ground. But the Stellaris, by- 

 named Lazy (in the fable it is said of old to have 

 been changed from a slave to a bird), as its by-name 

 imports, is slow and indolent. The bird called Phoix 

 has beyond all others this peculiarity that it especially 

 attacks the eyes. The Ardea and the Albardeola, 

 which is of smaller size and has a broad and elongated 

 bill, seek lakes and rivers. 



The Pella builds its nest in England on the lofty trees 

 that grow not far from the banks of streams. The upper 

 part of the body is blue, the lower is, however, somewhat 

 white. It routs Eagles or Hawks, if they attack it suddenly, 

 by very liquid mutings of the belly, and thereby defends 

 itself. Of this kind I have seen some white, though they are 

 rare, which differed from the aforesaid neither in their size 

 nor shape of body, but in colour only. Furthermore the 

 white has been observed in England to nest with the blue, 

 and to bear offspring. Wherefore it is clear that they are 

 of one species. I have only once seen — and that was in 

 Italy — the Albardeola, which is called Xev/cepcoStos in Greek ; 

 it is much smaller than the Pella and by no means shuns the 

 sight of man so much as does the blue. Had I not seen it, 

 I should have declared the Albardeola to be the English 



1 That is, for its young. 



