PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 



alias, captus vero obmutesceiis, quondam existimatus 

 inter raras aves, iam et in Gallia Hispaniaque. 

 capitur circa ^ Alpes etiam, ubi et phalacrocoraces, 

 avis Baliarium insularum peculiaris, sicut Alpium 

 pyrrhocorax luteo rostro niger et praecipua sapore 

 lagopus. pedes leporino villo nomen hoc dedere 



134 cetero candidae, columbarum magnitudine. non 

 extra terram eam vesci facile, quando nec vita 

 mansuescit et corpus ocissime marcescit. est et 

 alia nomine eodem a coturnicibus magnitudine 

 tantum difFerens, croceo tinctu, cibis gratissima. 

 visam in Alpibus ab se peculiarem Aegypti et ibim 

 Egnatius Calvinus praefectus earum prodidit. 



135 LXIX. Venerunt in Italiam Bedriacensibus bellis 

 civihbus trans Padum et novae aves — ita enim adhuc 

 vocantur — turdorum specie, paulum infra columbas 

 magnitudine, sapore gratae. Baliares insulae nobi- 

 Horem etiam supra dicto porphjTionem mittunt. ibi et 

 buteo accipitrum generis in honore mensarum est, 

 item vipiones - — sic enim vocant minorem gruem. 



136 LXX. Pegasos equino capite volucres et gryphas ^ 

 auritos ac dira ^ aduncitate rostri fabulosos reor, 

 illos in Scythia, hos in Aethiopia; equidem et 

 tragopana de qua plm-es adiirmant, maiorem 



1 circa Mayhoff : et. 



^ v.ll. viviones, vibioues. 



^ v.l. grypas. 



* auritos ac dira ? Mayhoff : auritos aut aurita. 



" Cevedale between Cremona and Verona, where in a.d. 69 

 Otho was defeated by the troops of Vitellius, and a few months 

 later these in turn by those of Vespasian. 



* Probably the sand-grouse. 



<^ Perhaps Pliny has got them the wrong way round — at all 

 events the griffin was usually placed in Scythia. But in point 

 of fact the reference of the pronouns is not quite certain. 



