PURPLE GALLINULE. 



69 



with the foot as the Cock and Hen. It will feed on many things, 

 such as fruits, roots of plants and grain ; but will eat fish with 

 avidity, dipping them into the water before it swallows them : will 

 frequently stand on one leg, and lift the food to its mouth with the 

 other, like a Parrot. The flesh is said to be exquisite in taste.'^ 



" The moderns," says BufFon, have given the name of Sul- 

 tana Hen to a bird famous among the ancients, under the name 

 of Porphyrion. We have frequently had occasion to remark the 

 justness of the denominations bestowed by the Greeks, which gene- 

 rally allude to the distinctive characters, and are therefore supe- 

 rior to the terms hastily adopted in our languages from superficial 

 or inaccurate views. The present is an instance ; as this bird 

 seemed to bear some resemblance to the gallinaceous tribe, it got 

 the name of Hen; but as, at the same time, it differed widely, and 

 excelled by its beauty and port, it received the epithet of Sultana. 

 But the term Porphyrion, indicating the red or purple tint of its 

 bill and feet, was more just and characteristic : and should we not 

 rebuild the fine ruins of learned antiquity, and restore to nature 

 those brilliant images, and those faithful portraits from the deli- 

 cate pencil of the Greeks, ever awake to her beauties and her ani- 

 mation ? 



" Both the Greeks and Romans, notwithstanding their vora- 

 cious luxury, abstained from eating the Porphyrion. They brought 

 it from Lybia,^ from Comagene, and from the Balearic islands,t 

 to be fed,$ and to be placed in their palaces and temples, where 

 it was left at liberty as a guest,§ whose noble aspect, whose gentle 

 disposition, and whose elegant plumage, merited such honors. 



Scarcely any bird has more beautiful colors ; the blue of 

 its plumage is soft and glossy, embellished with brilliant reflec- 



* " Alexander the Myndian, in Atlienseus, reckons the Porphyrion i^ the number of Lyhian birds, 

 and relates that it was sacred to the gods in that country. According to Diodorus Siculus, Porphyrions 

 were brought from the heart of Syria, with other kinds of birds distinguished by their rich colors." 



f Pliny, lib. 46. 49. :|: Belon. § ^Elian, lib. iii, 41. 



VOL. IX. S 



