BOOK X. xLviii. 133-LXX. 136 



vocal, though when caught it keeps silent. It was 

 once considered one of the rare birds, but now it also 

 occui-s in Gaul and Spain. It is even caught in the 

 neighbourhood of the Alps, where also cormorants 

 occur, a bird specially belonging to the Balearic 

 Islands, as the chough, black with a yellow beak, 

 and the particularly tasty willow-grouse belong 

 to the Alps. The latter gets its name of ' hare-foot ' 

 from its feet which are tufted hke a hare's, though the 

 rest of it is bright white ; it is the size of a pigeon. 

 Outside that region it is not easy to keep it, as it 

 does not grow tame in its habits and veiy quickly loses 

 flesh. There is also another bird with the same name 

 that only differs from quails in size, yellow-coloured, 

 very acceptable for the table. Egnatius Calvinus, 

 Governor of the Alps, has stated that also the ibis, 

 which properly belongs to Egypt, has been seen by 

 him in that region. 



LXIX. There also came into Italy during the battles Birds 

 of the civil war round Bedriacum"« north of the ^o iZZbie/"' 

 the 'new birds'^ — for so they are still called — which 

 are hke thrushes in appearance and a httle smaller 

 than pigeons in size, and which have an agreeable 

 flavour. The Balearic Islands send the porphyrio, 

 an even more splendid bird than the one mentioned 

 above. In those islands the buzzard of the hawk family 

 is also in repute for the table, and the vipio as well — 

 that is their name for the smaller crane. 



LXX. The pegasus bird with a horse's head and Fabuious 

 the griflin with ears and a terrible hooked beak — the **'^" 

 former said to be found in Scythia and the latter in 

 Ethiopia"^ — I judge to be fabulous ; and for my own 

 part I think the same about the bearded eagle** 



" C/. §11 n.,113. 



379 



