( 
was a male Bird, and this the female. I 
fhould not have made a fecond figure of 
it, had I not difcovered the fpurs, which 
were uniform on both wings. It is com- 
mon on the river near Aleppo. 
Paul Lucas, in his Voyage to the Levant, 
edit, in three volumes, 1 2 mo. printed at 
Rouen, A. D. 1719, gives a very ftrange 
account of a Bird found on the river Nile, 
which feems to me to be this very fpecies 
of Bird ; therefore, to amufe the reader, I 
fhall tranfcribe his account of it,(fee vol. III. 
pa. 7.) “ This Bird is like a Lapwing, and 
“ near of its bignefs, which flew about, 
“ and went into the Crocodiles mouths or 
* £ throats, which were then extended on 
11 the water, (in the Higher Egypt) and 
“ were juft before our author’s boat ; and, 
u after they had ftayed a little while, the 
“ Crocodiles fhut their mouths, and opened 
<£ them again foon after to let them go out. 
u The people told me, that thefe Birds, 
<£ of which there was a vaft number, feed 
“ themfelves on what remains between 
u this animal’s teeth, by picking them ; and 
“ as they have a kind of fpur, or very fharp 
<£ thorn on the tops of their wings, they 
“ prick the Crocodile, and torment him 
“ when he has fhut his mouth, till he 
“ opens it again, and lets them out ; and 
££ thus they fecure themfelves from the 
<c danger they were in. Likely thefe are 
“ the Birds which Pliny calls Trochilos. 
“ Beitar, an Arabian author, tells fuch 
££ another ftory of a Bird, but doth not 
“ mention its name.” As I have received 
one of thefe Birds from the Eaft Indies, it 
is very probable it may be a native of the 
Upper Egypt, which is in or about the 
fame latitude. 
149 ) 
que ce dernier eft la femelle . fe tiaurois pas 
fait une nouvelle figure , ft je n'euffe pas de- 
couvert les eperons , qui font uniformes aux 
deux ailes. Cet Oifeau eft commun fur la ri- 
viere aux environs d'Alep. 
Paul Lucas , dans fon Voyage du Levant *, 
donne un detail fort fingulier d im Oifeau y 
quon trouve fur le Nil , et qui paroit etre de 
la ?neme efpece que celui-ci : ceft pourquoi je 
vais tranfcrire ce quit en dit , pour divert ir 
le leBeur: “ Cet Oifeau eft comme un Pluvier, 
“ et d pen pres de la me me groffeur : ilvolti - 
“ geoit etentroit dans la geule leant e des Cro- 
££ codillcSy qui dans Iti Haute Egypt e furna- 
<{ gent itendus fur lean : Us dtoient tout vis - 
<c d-vis de la barque de not re auteur . Aprh 
tc y avoir ete quelque temps , les Crocodilles 
“ fermoient la gueule et la rouvroient pref- 
<£ quaufiitoty pour les en laijfer fortir . On 
££ me dit que ces OifeauXy dont il y avoit un 
££ tres grand nombreyfe nourrifioient de ce qut 
££ reftoit entre les dents de cet animaly lef- 
££ quelles Us curoient avec leur bee ; et que 
££ comme ils ont au haut de I'aile une efpece 
££ d'eperoiiy ou dtpinc fort pointuey ils pi- 
££ quent le Crocodilky et le tourmentent quand 
££ il a ferme la gueule , jufqud ce quil louvre 
££ et les laijfe alter. Ceft ainfi quits fe tirent 
t£ du danger ou Us fe trouvent. Ces Oifeaux 
,f font vrai femblablement ceuxquePline appelle 
£< Trochilos. Beitary auteur Arabe , raconte 
££ une hiftoire femblable dun Oifeau quil ne 
•* nomme point ft fen ai re^u un autre des 
Indes Orientates ; il eft probable quil pent etre 
venu de la Haute Egypt e> qui eft d peu pres 
dans la me me latitude . 
* Paul Lucas, &c. tom. HI. pa. 7. Rouen 1719, 3. 
tom. izmo. 
M 
