512 PLINt's NATTjEAL HISTOBT. [BookX. 



treat. At the rising of Sirius it conceals itself, and at the 

 setting of that star comes forth from its retreat : and this it 

 does, a most singular thing, exactly upon both those days. 

 The ohlorion,'* also, the body of which is yellow all over, is 

 not seen in the winter, but comes out about the summer sol- 

 stice. 



(30.) The blackbird is found in the vicinity of Cyllene, in 

 Arcadia, with white'* plumage ; a thing that is the case no- 

 where else. The ibis, in the neighbourhood of Pelusiiim'' only 

 is black, while in aU. other places it is white. 



CHAP. 46. (31.) — THE TIMES OP INCUBATION OP BIPIIS. 



The birds that have a note, with the exception of those pre- 

 viously mentioned,^ do not by any chance produce their young 

 before the vernal or after the autumnal equinox. As to the 

 broods produced before the summer solstice, it is very doubtful 

 if they wiU survive, but those hatched after it thrive well. 



CHAP. 47. (32.) THE HALCYOITES: THE HALCYON DATS THAT 



AKE PAVOtmABLE TO NAVIGATION. 



It is for this that the halcyon" is more especially remark- 

 able ; the seas, and all those who sail upon their surface, well 

 know the days of its incubation. This bird is a little larger 

 than a sparrow, and the greater part of its body is of an azure 

 blue colour, with only an intermixture of white and purple in 

 some of the larger feathers, while the neck* is long and slen- 

 der. There is one kind that is remarkalJe for its larger size 



it a small bird. Some make it the popinjay ; others, with more proba- 

 bility, the lapwing. Horace, B. iii. Ode 27,' mentions it as the parra, a 

 bird of ill omen. 



^ The Oriolus luteus, or witwall, according to Linneeus. 



^ 'White blackbirds (if we may employ the paradox]) are a distinct 

 Tariety, according to Cuvier, to be found in various countries, though but 

 rarely. 



^ This is from Herodotus, but it is incorrect. The black, or rather 

 green ibis, Cuvier says, the Scolopax falcinellus of Linnseus, is found not 

 only near Pelusium, but all over the south of Europe. 



^ He alludes to the nightingale, mentioned in c. 43. 



" The king-fisher, or AJcedo ispida of Linnseus. There is no truth 

 whateTer in this favourite story of the ancients. 



*" In copying from Ariatotle, he has put " collnm, " by mistake, for 

 " rostrum," the " beak." 



