BOOK X. Lvi. 115-LV111. 117 

 LVI. Birds' dispositions also are equally varied, ^'^*,^'""" 



• 11 • /> /> 1 T»! 11 1 suckrrand 



especiaiiy m respect 01 lood. 1 laose called goat- the shoteiier- 

 suckers, which resemble a rather large blackbird, t/fe^^^' 

 are night thieves — for they cannot see in the daytime. 

 They enter the shepherds' stalls and fly to the goats' 

 udders in order to suck their milk, which injures the 

 udder and makes it perish, and the goats they have 

 milked in this way gradually go bhnd.'» There is a 

 bird called the shoveller-duck which flies up to the 

 sea-div-ers and seizes their heads in its bill till it 

 wrings their catch from them. The same bird after 

 filUng itself by swallowing shells bi-ings them up 

 again when digested by the warmth of the belly and 

 so picked out from them the edible parts, discarding 

 the shells. 



LVII. Farmyard hens actually have a reUffious f""*"* 



1 r 1 • 11. i-i ^a*«'« of 



ritual : arter laymg an egg tney begin to shiver and otfier birds. 

 shake, and purify themselves by circhng round, and 

 make use of a straw as a ceremonial i-od to cleanse 

 themselves and the eggs. The smallest* of birds, the 

 goldfinches, perform their leader's orders, not only 

 with their song but by using their feet and beak 

 instead of hands. One bird in the Arles district, 

 called the bull-bird'^ although really it is small in size, 

 imitates the bellowing of oxen. Also the bird ^ whose 

 Greek name is ' flower,' when driven away from 

 feeding on grass by the arrival of horses, imitates 

 their neighing, in this way taking its revenge. 



LVIII. Above all, birds imitate the human voice, ^fj^g^ 

 parrots indeed actually talking. India sends us this 

 bird « ; its name in the vernacular is siptacesf ; its whole 

 body is green, only varied by a red circlet at the neck. 

 It greets its masters,!' and repeats words given to it, 

 being particularly sportive over the wine. Its head 



367 



