Onocrotalus — Ortygometra 127 



its beak into the water it gives utterance to such a booming 

 as may easily be heard an Italian mile away. It gorges 

 fishes and especially eels most greedily, nor is there any 

 bird, except the Mergus, that devours more. Now what 

 resemblance has it to a Swan? Distinctly none that brings 

 itself in view before our eyes. Now in the eleventh chapter 

 of Leviticus Moses enumerates the Onocrotalus next to the 

 Swan among the unclean birds. And a suspicion has arisen 

 thence, not undeservedly, within a certain class, that some- 

 where within Gaul or Judasa a bird of Swan-like form may 

 possibly exist. If such, however, nowhere can be found, it 

 seems likely that Pliny either was deceived by lying story- 

 tellers or he understood that which he has related of the 

 similarity between the Onocrotalus and Cygnus to refer to 

 a resemblance not of body, but of voice. For even Swans 

 utter at certain times booms not unlike the braying of an 

 ass : but short, and which cannot be heard afar. However 

 if men of deep and varied learning by their votes shall not 

 approve this rendering of mine, at least they will agree with 

 me that the said bird is Aristotle's Ardea Stellaris. For 

 to omit the rest, which I have touched upon above, that 

 author certainly gives countenance to my opinion when he 

 shews a tale to have existed that the Ardea Stellaris from 

 a slave was turned into a bird. For as the skin of an 

 absconding slave, caught subsequent to flight, stricken with 

 thongs, whips, rods and knotted ropes, becomes all mottled 

 with the wales of stripes, so too the feathers of this bird 

 are marked, and painted as it were, with mottlings of black 

 in every part, though chiefly on the back, and thus may well 

 recall to us the skin of slaves cut up with whips. And that 

 this thing gave rise to the aforesaid tale, I gather from the 

 fact that Aristophanes, author of various plays, writes of 

 the Attagen, a bird very like ours so far as colour of the 

 feathers goes, to this effect : — 



" If any of you be a runaway, and branded with the marks, with us 

 assuredly he shall be called the spotted Attagen." 



Of the Ortygometra from Aristotle. 

 The Ortygometra, that is, dam of the Coturnices, 

 in form is much Hke marsh-birds. Certain birds are 



