[79) 

 The Purple Bird, 



Numb. LXXXIV. 



THE Porphyrio Is a kind of Water He7t\ its Body is all over of a 

 fine purple Colour, the Tail of a whitifh afli Colour; its Bill, 

 Legs and Feet are of a fcarlet red, the Claws black; Fliny fays that 

 when it drinks it feems to bite the Water ; and hath this Property by 

 himfelf, to dip and whet his Meat now and then in Water, and thea 

 with its Foot inftead of a Hand, to reach it to its Bill 5 the beft of this 

 kind, he fays, are in Comagene-, it hath three long Toes and one fhort 

 back Toe, two forward, and one long Toe behind; the fhort Toe- 

 above it as it is drawn in the Plate feems to be of no ufe; Mr. Willotigh^ 

 by (in his Ornithology) fays, neither Gefner nor Aldrovandus^ nor him- 

 felf had ever feen this Bird, but Pictures of it only, and feeing that the: 

 Pictures do much vary, and none of thofe that have compiled Hiftories 

 of Animals, do profefs themfelves to have feen the Porphyrio ; we fome- 

 times doubted whether there were any fuch Bird in Nature, efpecially 

 feeing fome of thofe things which the Ancients attribute to it, as (for 

 example) that it hath five Toes on each Foot, are without doubt falfe 

 and fabulous ; but becaufe all the Pictures of it do agree in the Figure 

 of its Bill, Legs and Feet, and fome other Parts, we have now changed: 

 our Minds, and are more apt to believe the affirmative, viz. that there 

 is fuch a Bird as they picture ; let others (fays he) who have the hap to* 

 fee it defcribe it more exadliy, and fo remove all Doubts and Scruples 

 concerning this matter out of the Minds of the Learned and Curious,. 

 This Bird I had out of the Colledion of Sir T'bomas Lowther. 



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