Struthio Sturnus 165 



OF THE STRUTHIO. 



o9, \i/3vtc6<f, struthio or struthiocamelus, in English 

 an oistris, in German eyn strauss. 



ARISTOTLE. 



The Struthio, or Libyan bird, in like manner partly 

 recalls a bird, partly a quadruped, seeing that it, un- 

 like a quadruped, has wings, and yet, unlike a bird, 

 it does not fly aloft, nor has it feathers fit for flight, 

 since they resemble hairs. Likewise as if it were 

 a quadruped, it has hairs on the upper eyelid, while 

 the head and upper portion of the neck are bare. So 

 also it has somewhat hairy eyelashes, yet it is covered 

 with feathers beneath, as if it were a bird. More- 

 over it is biped like a bird, but yet it is cloven-footed 

 like a quadruped. That is, it has not toes but a 

 divided hoof. The cause of these things is that in 

 its size it is not a bird but a quadruped. For I would 

 almost say that a bird's size must be extremely small, 

 for it is by no means easy to move aloft a body when 

 the mass is vast. 



OF THE STURNUS. 



, sturnus, in English a sterlyng, in German eyn star 

 or eyn stor. 



ARISTOTLE. 



The Sturnus is black, varied with white spots, and 

 of the bigness of a Merula. 



PLINY. 



It is peculiar to Starlings in their kind to fly in 

 crowds, and wheel about as it were in a ball, all tend- 

 ing to the middle of the band. 



