512 PLINY'S NATURAL HISTORY. [Book X. 



treat. At the rising of Sirius it conceals itself, and at the 

 setting of that star comes forth from its retreat : and this it 

 does, a most singular thing, exactly upon both those days. 

 The chlorion, 35 also, the body of which is yellow all over, is 

 not seen in the winter, but comes out about the summer sol- 

 stice. 



(30.) The blackbird is found in the vicinity of Cyllene, in 

 Arcadia, with white 36 plumage; a thing that is the case no- 

 where else. The ibis, in the neighbourhood of Pelusium 37 only 

 is black, while in all other places it is white. 



CHAP. 46. (31.) THE TIMES OF INCUBATION OE BIEDS. 



The birds that have a note, with the exception of those pre- 

 viously mentioned, 38 do not by any chance produce their young 

 before the vernal or after the autumnal equinox. As to the 

 broods produced before the summer solstice, it is very doubtful 

 if they will survive, but those hatched after it thrive well. 



CHAP. 47. (32.) THE HALCYONES: THE HALCYON DAYS THAT 



AKE FAVOURABLE TO NAVIGATION. 



It is for this that the halcyon 39 is more especially remark- 

 able ; the seas, and all those who sail upon their surface, well 

 know the days of its incubation. This bird is a little larger 

 than a sparrow, and the greater part of its body is of an azure 

 blue colour, with only an intermixture of white and purple in 

 some of the larger feathers, while the neck 40 is long and slen- 

 der. There is one kind that is remarkable for its larger size 



it a small bird. Some make it the popinjay ; others, with more proba- 

 bility, the lapwing. Horace, B. iii. Ode 27, mentions it as the parra, a 

 bird of ill omen. 



35 The Oriolus luteus, or witwall, according to Linnaeus. 



36 "White blackbirds (if we may employ the paradox) are a distinct 

 variety, according to Cuvier, to be found in various countries, though but 

 rarely. 



37 This is from Herodotus, but it is incorrect. The black, or rather 

 green ibis, Cuvier says, the Scolopax falcinellus of Linnaeus, is found not 

 only near Pelusium, but all over the south of Europe. 



38 He alludes to the nightingale, mentioned in c. 43. 



39 The king-fisher, or Alcedo ispida of Linnaeus. There is no truth 

 whatever in this favourite story of the ancients. 



40 In copying from Aristotle, he has put " collum, " by mistake, for 

 u rostrum," the " beak." 



