BIRD.] NATURAL HISTORY. 37 



to profit marvellously, if it be thrown unto them ; for they 

 that shall eat of it, will be taken with your hand. 



If you will make Birds drunk that you may catch them 

 with your hands, take such meat as they love, as wheat or 

 beans, or such like, and lay the same to steep in lees of 

 wine, or in the juice of hemlocks, and sprinkle the same 

 in the place where the Birds use to haunt ; and if they do 

 eat thereof, straightways they will be so giddy, that you 

 may take them with your hands. I wrote this out of an 

 old written book, wherein I know many true things were 

 written. Luptotfs "Notable Things," bk. viii. 4 and 68. 



IF you wish to understand the speech of Birds, take 

 with you two friends on the fifth day of the Calends of 

 November, and go into a grove with your dogs as if to 

 hunt, and take the first beast you find home with you, and 

 prepare it with the heart of a fox, and straightway you will 

 understand the speech of Birds or beasts ; and if you desire 

 that any one else should understand it, kiss him, and he 

 will understand likewise. 



Albertus Magnus, "Of the Wonders of the World." 



OF such wild fowl as are bred in our land, we have the 

 crane, the bittern, the wild and tame swan, the bustard, 

 the heron, curlew, snite [snipe], wild-goose, wind or dotterel, 

 brant [brant-goose or barnacle], lark, plover of both sorts, 

 lapwing, teal, widgeon, mallard, sheldrake, shoveler, peewit, 

 seamew, barnacle, quail (who only with man are subject to 

 the falling sickness), the knot, the oliet or olife, the dunbird, 

 woodcock, partridge and pheasant, besides divers other. As 

 for egrets, pawpers and such like, they are daily brought 

 to us from beyond the sea. Our tame fowl are common 

 both to us and to other countries, as cocks, hens, geese, 

 ducks, peacocks of Ind, pigeons. I would likewise entreat 

 of other fowls which we repute unclean, as ravens, crows, 

 pies, choughs, rooks, kites, jays, ring-tails, starlings, wood- 

 spikes, woodgnaws, etc. Our other fowls are nightingales, 

 thrushes, blackbirds, mavises, ruddocks, redstarts or dun- 

 nocks, larks, tivits, kingfishers, buntings, (turtles, white or 

 grey), linnets, bulfinches, goldfinches, wash-tails, cherry- 

 crackers, yellowhammers, fieldfares, etc. 



Harrison's "Description of England," pp. 222-3, in Holinshed. 





