Crocodile-Birds. 817 



not confirmed by an eye-witness since the days of 

 Herodotus, Aristotle, and ^Elian." No doubt, 

 until Mr. Cook made his observation, the story had 

 not " been confirmed by recent observations," but 

 Giovanni Leone, perhaps better known as Leo 

 Africanus, an author and traveller, who lived and 

 wrote in the latter part of the fifteenth and the 

 early part of the sixteenth century i.e., at least 

 1300 years after ^Blian and whose accounts of 

 what he saw are singularly devoid of fable, tells 

 the story in a manner which makes it hard to 

 believe that he was not relating facts which 

 actually came under his own observation. He 

 tells us we quote from the French translation of 

 his " Description of Africa," published in 1556 that 

 he was on the Nile, " distant de Caire environ 

 quatre cens mille," when he saw several crocodiles 

 upon some little islands in the middle of the river 

 " qni estoyent etendus au Soleil, les gueules bees ; 

 dans lesquelles aucuns oysillons de blanc panage, 

 & grandeur d'une grive entroyent dedas, la ou 

 ayans sejourne quelque espace de temps s'en 

 retournoyent, dressans leur vol ailleurs. Dont 

 estat curieus d' entendre la raison de cela, je m'en 

 enquis, & me fut dit, qu'entre les dens du Crocodile 

 demeurent quelques files de chair, ou poisson 

 pen dans; lesquels venans a se putrifier, se conver- 

 tissent en vers, qui les molestent aucunement, & 

 estans aperceus remuer par ces petits oyseaus 

 volas, viennent & entrer dans la gueule pour les 

 mager, ce que ayans fait, le Crocodile ingrat tache 



