BOOK X 



I. The next subject is the Nature of Birds. Of Birds. Tht 

 these the largest species, which almost belongs to the "^*"'^''- 

 class of animals, the ostrich of Africa or Ethiopia. 

 exceeds the height and surpasses the speed of a 

 mounted horseman, its wings being bestowed upon 



it merely as an assistance in running, but othersvise 

 it is not a flying creature and does not rise from 

 the earth. It has talons resembHng a stag's hooves, 

 which it uses as weapons ; they are cloven in two, 

 and are useful for grasping stones which when in 

 flight it flings with its feet against its pursuers. Its 

 capacity for digesting the objects that it swallows 

 down indiscriminately is remai'kable, but not less so 

 is its stupidiiy in thinking that it is concealed when 

 it has hidden its neck among bushes, in spite of the 

 great height of the rest of its body. The eggs of the 

 ostrich are extremely remarkable for their size ; 

 some people use them as vessels, and the feathers for 

 adorning the crests and helmets of warriors. 



II. They say that Ethiopia and the Indies possess rhe phoenix. 

 birds extremely variegated in colour and indescrib- 



able, and that Arabia has one that is famous before 

 all others (though perhaps it is fabulous), the phoenix, 

 the only one in the whole world and hardly ever 

 seen. The story is " that it is as large as an eagle, and 

 has a gleam of gold round its neck and all the rest of 

 it is purple, but the tail blue picked out with rose- 



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