ORNITOLOGICA

ACALANTHIS (ACANTHIS). 'Axo^.avdig (dxavdig). Gold- finch, thistle-finch. Carduelis elegans. Vid. Fowler, A Year with the Birds, p. 243. Note IV, ruscinia. English literary parallels: Wild canary, summer yellow-bird, thistle-bird. Celia Thaxter : YcUon'-bird. Roswell Park: To a Goldfinch. Send up your full notes like worshipful prayers; Yellow-bird, sing while the summer's before you. — Celia Thaxter. Let the tiny yellow birds Still repeat their shining words. While across our senses steal Hints of things no words reveal. — Carman-Hovey. A summer evening scene with attendant background of bird-song: Tum tenuis dare rursus aquas, et pascere rursus Solis ad occasum, cum frigidus aera vesper Temperat, et saltus reficit iam roscida luna, Litoraque alcyonem resonant, acalanthida dumi. — Verg., Geor. Ill, 335. Cf. Serv. in loc. : Alii lusciniam esse volunt, alii vero carduelem, quae spinis et carduis pascitur. \'id. Note IV, ruscinia. The thistle-birds have changed their dun, For yellow coats, to match the sun. — Henry Van Dyke, The yellow-hammer by the way-side picks Mutely the thistle's seed. — Wilcox. The acantliis, with the nightingale, is represented (by implication) as endowed with great powers of song: Nyctilon ut cantu rudis exsuperaverit Alcon? Astyle, credibile est, si vincat acanthida cornix, Vocalem superet si dirus aedona bubo. — Calp. VI, 6. A-poise upon the mullein's tipmost top, And bendinix down its rod of gold. The thistle-finch all liquidly lets drop Melodies manifold. — Mifflin. \'id. Robinson. The Poets' Birds, London, 1883. passim, for most of the Eiiroi-)ean birds in this study as they appear in the poets of England. The author boldly assumes that the British poets (save Tennyson) know next to nothing at first hand of their own native birds and that in this regard they are vastly inferior to the poets of America. Naturally his treatment of the subject is wholly unsympathetic and unfair, though at times suggestive. The work is, however, so full of errors that it must be used with great caution. Cf. int. al. Swanton (Review), A Literary Curiosity. Atlant. 54, 398. ACCIPITER. KiQxo;. Hawk. A general name for diurnal birds of prey. The accurate identification of the various species is impossible. American parallel : Hawk. The name is applied as a title of reproach to a rapacious man : Inpure, inhoneste, iniure, inlex, labes popli, Pecuniai accipiter avide atque invide. — Plaut., Pers. 408. Disagreeable situations are proverbially called 'hawks'-nests': Em, accipitrina haec nunc erit. — Plaut., Bacch. 274. Hawks are not worth snaring : Quia non rete accipitri tennitur neque milvo. Qui male faciunt nobis: illis qui nihil faciunt tennitur Quia enim in illis fructus est, in illis opera luditur. — Ter., Phorm. 330. Cf. Cautus enim metuit foveam lupus accipiterque Suspectos laqueos. — Hor., Ep. I, 16, 50. H mind were immortal and subject to metempsychosis, the hawk would flee from its traditional prey, the dove : Tremeretque per auras Aeris accipiter fugiens veniente columba. — LucR. HI, 751. Cf. Coombs has a stand west of Nut meadow, and he says that he has just shot fourteen hawks there which were after pigeons. — Thoreau, op. cit./ p. ii6. Birds at night are ofttimes aroused by dreams of the onslaught of hawks and birds of prey : At variae fugiunt vokicres pinnisque repente SolHcitant divom nocturno tempore kicos, Accipitres somno in leni si proeUa pugnas Edere sunt persectantes visaeque volantes. — LucR. IV, 1007. Cf. The bird from out its dream Breaks with a sudden cry. — Howei.ls. Then half wing-openings of the sleeping bird, Some dream of danger to her young hath stirred. — Lanier. And sleeping birds, touched with a silly glee, Waken at midnight from their blissful dreams, And carol brokenly. — Lampman. The calls and cries of hawks and birds of the sea vary with their habits and environment : Postremo genus alituum variaeque volucres, Accipitres atque ossifragae mergique marinis Fluctibus in salso victum vitamque petentes, Longe alias alio iaciunt in tempore voces, Et quom de victu certant praedaque repugnant. — LucR. V, 1078. For the note of the hawk, vid. A nth. Lat. 762. 24. Accipitres pipant milvus hiansque lupit. Cf. also Anth. Lat. 733, 6; Wackernagel, op. cit., p. 50. Cf. Hark, the sharp, insistent cry, Where the hawk patrols the sky. — Roberts. There shrieks the hovering hawk at noon. — Bryant. The hawk is portrayed as the foe of smaller birds : Natura humanis omnia sunt paria : qui pote, plus urget, piscis ut saepe minutos magnu' comest, ut avis enicat accipiter. (Marcopolis.) — Varr., Men. Reliq. 2. 'For list of works in this study, see Bibliography. Cf. Forsitan hano volucrcm ( i.e.. accipitcr) rapto quae vivit et omnes Terret avcs. semper pennas habuisse putetis. — Ov., Met. XI, 291. The hawk, in a simile dcscrihinq; tlie capture and slaying' of the son of .\unu.s by Camilla, is portrayed as seizing a dove in mid-air: Ouam facile accipiter saxo sacer ales ab alto Consequitur ])ennis sublimem in tiube columbam, Conprcnsanique tenet, pedibusque eviscerat uncis. Turn cruor et volsae labuntur ab aethere plumae. — \'i£RG., Aen. XI, 721, Cf. Hor.. Od. I. T,7, 17: Ov.. Met. V, Cx)^. This dominant instinct to pursue doves as prey, is the survival of the militant spirit of Daedalion, who was metamorphosed into a hawk: Illius virtus reges gentesque subegit, Quae nunc Thisbaeas agitat mutata columbas. — Ov., Met. XI, 299. Cf. On steel-blue wings, with eyes intent on crime, A hawk through tangled brush pursues the quail. — Rice. Wild pigeons, early on the wing, Woke overhead low thundering — Blue, rearward columns mounting high. Scared by the gray hawk's greedy cry. — Hosmer. For the metamorphosis of Phoebus into a hawk, cf. Ov., Met. VI, 122. Cf. Thee, bright-eyed hawk! Soul-emblem, sunwards soaring, as to God. — Bailey. This militant spirit was a cause of hatred toward the bird : Odimus accipitrem, quia vivit semper in armis. — Ov., Ars Amat. II, 147. Menelaus was mad in leaving Helen accessible to Paris : Accipitri timidas credis, furiose, columbas. — Ov., Ars Amat. II, 363. Various bird enmities were lulled by Arion's music: Et sine lite loquax cum Palladis alite cornix Sedit, et accipitri iuncta columba fuit. — Ov., Fast. II, 89. Cf. With cawing crows that follow, The hunted hawk wings wearily and screams. — Cawein. The dove once smitten by a hawk never outlives its fear: Terretur minimo pennae stridore columba Unguibus, accipiter, saucia facta tuis. — Ov., Trist. I, I, 75. The dove in airy speed may balk Her swooping enemy the hawk. — Hosmer. From swooping hawk may tear away The partridge, and its haunt regain. — Hosmer. Birds fleeing from hawks enter even the homes of men. In like manner Ovid turns to Messalinus : Accipitremque timens pennis trepidantibus ales Audet ad humanos fessa venire sinus Nee se vicino dubitat committere tecto. — Ov., Ex Ponto, II, 2, 37. Cf . : Alauda accipitrem adeo timet, ut in hominura sinus confugiat, et loco manens vel in terra sedens capi se permittat. — Albertus. I cannot help admiring the great gray hawk. How bold, how bright, how swift he is ! Let him but show his shadow and the shrieking hens scatter, flying to cover : and the blood-red cock, that braggart of the barn- yard, hides his proud crest in fear. — Cawein, Nature Notes, p. 17. Daedalus awaits the coming of Icarus even as the mother bird ''ollects her brood when dispersed by the onslaught of a hawk : Callidus medium senex Daedalus librans iter Nube sub media stetit, Alitem exspectans suam (Qualis accipitris minas Fugit et sparsos metu Conligit fetus avis). —Sen., Oed. 899. Idaeus is as helpless in saving his brother from Diomedes, as a mother bird is against a hawk : Ut volucris, derepta sui cum corpora nati Accipitrem laniare videt nee tendere contra Auxilium nee ferre suo valet anxia nato. Quodque potest, levibus plangit sua pectora pennis. — SiL. Ital., //. Lat. 417. Vor references to the liawk in aiii^uries vid. Sil. Ital. IV, 103; Stat., Thcb. Ill, 509; and supra \'erg., Acn. XI, 721. sacer ales. The metamorphosis of Daedalion into a hawk by Apollo, with some description of the bird in question: Cum se Daedalion saxo misisset ab alto, I'ecit avcm ct subitis pendentem sustulit alis, Oraque adunca dedit, curvos dedit unguibus hamos, Virtutem antiquam, maiores corpore vires. Et nunc accipiter, nullis satis aequus, in omnes Saevit avcs. aliisque dolens fit causa dolendi. — Ov., Met. XI, 340. A liawk. now a mere decoy, grimly mourns that the captured game IS not his own : Praedo fuit volucrum : famulus nunc aucupis idem Decipit et captas non sibi maeret aves. {Accipiter.) — Mart. XIV, 216. A sparrow while upbraiding a hare which had been seized by an eagle, is pounced upon by a hawk and is in turn rebuked by the dying hare : Oppressum ab aquila et fletus edentem graves Leporem obiurgabat passer: 'Ubi pernicitas Xota," inquit, 'ilia est? Quid ita cessarunt pedes?' Dum loquitur, ipsum accipiter necopinum rapit Questuque vano clamitantem interficit. Lepus semianimus : 'Mortis en solacium ! Qui modo securus nostra inridebas mala, Simili querela fata deploras tua.' — Phaed. I, 9, 3. For the Fable of the Hawk as arbiter between two quarrelling Cocks, one of which he seized, cf. Phaed., Fah. Aes., App. II, 6. A hawk, while befooling a nightingale, is caught by a fowler: Accipiter ad lusciniae nidum dum sedet Auritum speculans, illic pullos invenit. Mater periclo mota prolis advolat Supplexque, pullis ut parcat suis, rogat. Accipiter: 'Quod vis," inquit, 'faciam, si bona Cantaris voce carmina modulatum mihi.' At ilia, quamvis excideret animus, tamen Metu coacta est et cantavit denique Dolore plena. Praedam qui captaverat Accipiter illi : 'Non tu cantasti bene, Et unum e pulHs, apprehendit unquibus Coepitque devorare. Ex diverse venit Auceps et calamo clam levato perfidum Visco contingit atque in terram deiecit. Quicumque fraudcs alii tendit subdolas Timere debet, ne ipse capiatur dolo. — Phaed., Fab. Aes., App. II, i8. For the Fable of the Hawk, Stork and Goose, in which the last is seized by the first, after a compact for protection with the stork, vid. Phaed., Fab. Aes., App. II, 23. ACREDULA. An unknown bird (?). Acredida has been taken at various times as either a bird^ (thrush, lark, owl, swallow, nightingale) or as a frog.^ Cicero {De Div. I, 8, 14), translates the okokvyoiv of Aratus, Phaen. 948, with acredula. Many therefore, following Aristot., H. A. 4, 9, 11, prefer to take acredula as a kind of frog. But oXoXvywv, in the Greek tradition, is just as inde- terminate as acredula!' In both Cicero and the De Philomela, the acredula is introduced in the midst of a category of birds. The descrip- tions of the song of the acredula (as a bird), with its touches of sadness, and the use of the word cantus agree with the ancient attitude toward bird-song in general. Furthermore, in his next chapter Cicero speaks specifically of the ranunculi, and a similar reference* appears later in the De Philomela. As we shall see, the song of birds at dawn and in the spring is fairly common in the classical poets. For these reasons it seems to me highly probable that acredula was understood in these passages as a bird. ^Cf. Gesner, op. cit., p. 76. 'So apparently Thompson, who does not cite oXoXvydiv in his Glossary. Thes. Ling. Lat. s. v. Genus ranarum ut videt. Isidorus records the double tradi- tion, but apparently differentiates acredula (bird) from agredula (frog). Orig. ^2, 7, 37 : Eadem luscinia et acredula dicitur ; Orig. 12, 6, 59 : Agredulae ranae parvulae in sicco vel agro morantes, unde et nuncupatae. "Cf. Schol. Theoc. VII, 139. *Ci. with the passages below : \'os quoque signa videtis, aquai dulcis alumnae, Cum clamore paratis inanis fundere voces Absurdoque sono fontis et stagna cietis. — Cic, De Div. I, 9. Garrula limosis rana coaxat aquis. (De Philomela.) — Anth. Lat. 762, 64. In this connection certain references to frogs in the American potns are of interest : The croaking; frogs, wlioni nipjung winter kil'd Like birds now cliirp, and hop about the field. {The Four Seasons. Spring.) — -A N X !•: Br ADS rREET. The frogs, nocturnal knights of song, Are nightly wide awake; I have no doubt they sing to sleep The tadpoles small and great. — Abbott. Wheii Aristophanes in Greek The tone essayed to hit, "Pompholygopaphlasmasin" Was near as he could get. But this implies the bubbling sound That voice in water makes : Thy unimpeded, natural song Was brekekex, koax. — Bigelow(?). (Eolopoesis.) The frog's hoarse bassoon, and the loon's tremulous shriek. — Street. Those guttural harps the green-frogs tune. — Cawein. How dreary to be somebody ! How public, like a frog To tell your name the livelong day To an admiring bog! — Emily Dickinson. I am sure the notorious frogs of Hor., Sat. I, 5, were part of the choir of spring. Vid. CI. Rev., 1901, p. 117 and p. 166. Vid. s. v TURDUS. The vernal and matutinal songs of the ocredula : Et matutinis acredula vocibus instat, Vocibus instat et adsiduas iacit ore querellas, Cum primum gelidos rores aurora remittit. — Cic, De Div. I, 8. Vere calente novos componit acredula cantus Matutinali tempore rurirulans. (De Philomela.) — Anth. Lat. 762, 15. The interpretation of Isid., Orig. 12, 7, 37: Luscinia avis inde nomen sumpsit, quod cantu suo significare solet diei surgentem exortum, quasi lucinia. Eadem et acredula, de qua Cicero in Prognosticis : et matutinos exercet acredula cantus. For the form acredula, cf. Wackernagel, op. cit., p. 75 : "So konnte auch das edida, worauf ausser acredula und Hccdula, noch monedula, qiicrqucdula und (Isid., Orig. XII, 7) coredulus ausgehen, mit dEiSeiv und driScov zu verbinden sein." The term acredula is still in use as the name of a genus of birds akin to the genus Parus. Cf. Newton, op. cit., p. 968. For the onomatopoetic verbs of bird song in Latin, vid. passim Anth. Lat. 762; Wackernagel, op. cit. passim; Peck, Onomatopoetic Words in Latin (Class. Studies in Honor of Henry Drisler, p. 226). AEDON. 'Ariftwv. Nightingale. Vid. S. V. LUSCINIA. AFRA AVIS, (Libyca, Numidica). MeXeayQig, xETQa^. Guinea- fowl. A'umida Mclcagris. Described by Col., VIII, 8, 2; Africana est quam plerique Numid- icam dicunt. meleagridi similis, nisi quod rutilam galeam et cristam capite gerit, quae utraque sunt in meleagride coerulea. This is of interest, as it shows the difference between the Greek (MeXeayQig) and the Roman fowls. This agrees with the geographical distribution of the probable progenitors. Cf. Newton, op. cit., p. 399; Thompson, op. cit., s. v. v. supra ; Hehn, op. cit., p. 358. Guinea-fowls as table birds : Non Afra^ avis descendat in ventrem meum. — HoR., Epod. 2, 53. Cf. also Stat., Silv. I, 6, 78; II, 4, 28; vid. s. v. phasianus. Si Libycae nobis volucres et Phasides essent, Acciperes, at nunc accipe chortis aves. —Mart. XIII, 45. Ansere Romano quamvis satur Hannibal esset, Ipse suas numquam barbarus edit aves. —Mart. XIII, 73. The guinea-fowl was brought to Italy after Hannibal's time. Cf. Hehn. op. cit., p. 309. l6 THK niKOS OV Till-: I.ATIN PORTS Nec frustum capreae subducere nee latus Afrae Novit avis iiostcr, tirunculus ac rudis omni Tempore ct exignac furtis imbutus ofellae. — Juv. XI, 142. A Roman farm-yard scene : Vacatur omnis turba sordidae chortis Ar^itus anscr, gemmeique pavones. Nomenciue licbet quae rubentibus pennis, Et picta perdix, Numidicaeque guttatae, £t impiorum phasiana Colcborum. —Mart. Ill, 58, 12. About my farm tame fowls should rove. Geese and turkeys, ducks and dove ; Nor should I want the guinea-hen. Which imitates the chatt'ring wren. — Brlknap (Duyckinck). He heard the chorus of the farm-yards, the jubilee of the birds. — Trowbridge. The metamorphosis of the sisters of Meleager : Post cinerem, cineres haustos ad pectora pressant, AfFusaeque iacent tumulo ; signataque saxo Nomina complexae; lacrimas in nomina fundunt. Quas, Parthaoniae tandem Letoia clade Exsatiata domus, praeter Gorgenque, nurumque Nobilis Alcmenae, natis in corpore pennis Adlevat, et longas per bracchia porrigit alas ; Corneaque ora facit, versasque per aera mittit. — Ov., Met. VIII, 538. Cf. Ael. IV, 42; Plin. X, 38, i; also Hyg., Fab. 174: At sorores eius praeter Gorgen et Deianiram flendo deorum voluntate in aves transfiguratae quae Meleagrides vocantur : at coniunx eius Alcyone moriens in luctu decessit. ALCEDO (ALCYON). 'AAv.vojv. Halcyon, kingfisher. A Iced o ispida. American parallel : Belted kingfisher. Hosmer: The Kingfisher. Luders (Stedman) : The Haunts of Halcyon. Maurice Thompson : The Kingfisher. The halcyon is one of the four great song-birds of the Greeks and Romans. From early times it has been traditionally identified with the ALCEDO 17 kingfisher, but the myths and associations, far more even than in the case of the swan, swallow and nightingale, resist rationalization. They seem hopelessly lost in the mystic symbolism of forgotten astronomic lore. In the Latin poets the whole treatment of the bird seems influ- enced by the metamorphosis idea, which as usual ascribes a tone of sadness, as if the bird were but continuing a former human sorrow. The American references to our own belted kingfisher are purely natur- alistic and, as such, represent the one chief difference between the modern and ancient attitudes toward bird-life in general. Alcedonia, the brooding period of the halcyons, is proverbially used to indicate a period of peace and quiet : Tranquillum est, Alcedonia sunt circum forum. — Plaut., Cas. 26. lam hercle tu periisti, nisi illam mihi tam tranquillam facis Quam mare olimst quam ibi alcedo pullos educit suos. — Plaut., Poen. 355. And singing thoughts, like Halcyon birds, Drift lightly o'er the waveless calm. Near and more near the summer shore, The isles of balm. — Mace. Then, rocking near some cavern's emerald gleam, Thou seem'st the soul of halcyonian days — The restful Spirit of the sea supreme. — Mifflin. Whose undulations rose and fell Like ocean's soft and vernal swell, When poets feign'd upon its breast The wave-nursed Halcyon's floating nest. — Webber (Kettell). And this the litany we pray: That God who made may keep us free ; That storms may vex no more the sea, Where, brooding 'neath a cloudless day. Still sits Alcyone. — Gordon. Art thou the bird of eld That built its nest upon the cradling deep, Owning a charm when wind and wave rebelled, To hush them into sleep? — Hosmer. Not there, not there Peace builds her halcyon nest : Wild revel scares her from wealth's towering dome. And misery frights her from the poor man's home. Nor dwells she in the cloister, where the sage Ponders the mystery of some time-stained page. — Embury (Griswold). l8 TllK lURDS OF Tin-: LATIN I'OKTS Halcyon prophecies come to pass. In haunts of bream and bass. — Maurice Thompson His is the halcyon table That never seats but one. And whatsoever is consumed The same amounts remain. — Emily Dickinson. {Hotc) A simile seemins^ly illustrative of the habits and ilig-ht of the halcyon: Alcyonis' ritu litus pervolgans feror. — Pacuv. ( Ribb. Trag. Rom. Frag., p. 149.) Thine undulatinj^ tlij^ht Mimics the billow in its rise and fall. — Hosmer. On noiseless wing along that fair blue sea, The halcyon flits. — Longfellow. As, when the kingfisher flits o'er his bay. — Lowell. The halcyon flutters in winter's track. — Coates (Stedman). Let me lie here, far off from Zante's shore, Where Susquehanna spreads her liquid miles ; To watch the circles from the dripping oar ; To see her halcyon dip, her eagle soar. — Mifflin. Certain habits of the halcyon are signs whereby to judge the weather: Non tepidum ad solem pinnas in litore pandunt Dilectae Thetidi " alcyones. — Verc^., Geor. I, 398. Vergil's simple observation of the halcyon's habits and his freedom from the traditions of metamorphosis, etc., mark a characteristic which makes him the greatest Roman nature-poet. Cf. also Prop. HI, 7, 61 : A miser alcyonum scopulis afifligar acutis. 'Cf. the explanation of Varro, L. L. VII, 88: Haec enim avis graece dicitur dXxvcjv, nostri nunc alcedo: haec hieme quod pullos dicitur tranquillo mari facere, cos dies Alcyonios appellant. Quod est in versu 'alcyonis ritu,' id est cius institute. 'Cf. Neri., op. cit. : Era sacro a Teti perche dicevasi covasse sulle acque e fra le canne, e perche Alcione, figlia di Eolo, essendo inconsolabile per la morte del suo sposo Ceice, figlio di Lucifero, perito in un naufragio, essendosi gettata in mare, fu dagli Dei, per ricompensa, trasformata col suo sposo in un uccello, che da lei si nomo. Gli antichi riguardarono questo uccello come simbolo di pace. ALCEDO 19 Propertius calls upon the halcyons to lull the fury of a gale: Et merito, quoniam potui fugisse puellani ! Nunc ego desertas^ alloquor alcyonas. — Prop. I, 17, i. On the morning of Cynthia's birthday the poet prays that no sug- gestion of sorrow may cross his way, not even the plaintive songs of halcyon and nightingale : Aspiciam nullos hodierna luce dolentes, Et Niobae lacrimas supprimat ipse lapis, Alcyonum ^ positis requiescant ora querelis, Increpet absumptum nee sua mater Itym. — Prop. Ill, 10, 7. Ceyx is lost at sea. His wife Alcyone, finding his dead body, is filled with inordinate grief, so that both are metamorphosed into birds: Insilit (Alcyone) hue; mirumque fuit potuisse ; volabat, Percutiensque levem modo natis aera pennis Stringebat summas ales miserabilis undas. Dumque volat, maesto similem plenumque querelae Ora dedere sonum tenui crepitantia rostro. Ut vero tetigit mutum et sine sanguine corpus, Dilectos artus amplexa recentibus alis, Frigida nequiquam duro dedit oscula rostro. Senserit hoc Ceyx, an vultum motibus undae Tollere sit visus, populus dubitabat. At ille Senserat, et tandem, superis miserantibus, ambo Alite mutantur. Fatis obnoxius isdem Tunc quoque mansit amor, nee coniugiale solutum Foedus in alitibus. Coeunt fiuntque parentes ; Perque dies placidos hiberno tempore septem 'The adjective desertas is a true description of the halcyons (cf. Ov., Her. 17, 81: Alcyones solae), and is also a transferred epithet with a toucli of the pathetic fallacy, suggestive of the love-lorn poet's own heart : Cf. And when he heaved a sigh profound The sympathetic swallow swept the ground. — Emerson. The summer-bird his sorrow heard. — Emerson. Passing the song of the hermit-bird and the tallying song of my soul. — Whitman. 'To take alcyonum here and elsewhere in Propertius with Butler as 'merely seabirds' is to ignore the metamorphosis of the bird, which is the underlying cause of the tone of sorrow. 20 THE BIRDS OF THE LATIN POETS Incubat Alcyone pendentibus aequore nidis. Tunc iacet unda maris : ventos custodit et arcet Aeolus egressu praestatque nepotibus aequor. Hos aliquis senior iunctini freta lata volantes Spectat et ad finem servatos laudat amores. — Ov., Met. XI, 731. A song that is sad as the lone sea-bird's When it seeks its mate with plaintive words. — Strong. For another tradition of the metamorphosis of Alcyone, cf. Ov., Met. VII, 401 ; Serv., in \ erg., Geor. I, 399. For Alcyone, the Pleiad, who shared the couch of Neptune, cf. Ov. F. IV, 172; U.,Her. XIX, 133. Halcyon heavenly blue ; Lone contur, nighest to the star of day Ranging, of winged life. — Bailey. For a passing reference to the sons of Alcyoneus, who threw them- selves into the sea and were metamorphosed into halcyons, cf. Claud., Rapt. Pros. 185. With the above compare these unique American accounts of meta- morphosis : And he heard the kingfisher Who from his God escaped with crumpled crest And the white medal hanging on his breast. — Bayard Taylor. "Go! Thou shalt fish for minnows all thy Hfe!" Wrathful, the King the magic sentence heard; He strove to answer, but he only chirr-r-ed; His royal robe was changed to wings of blue, His crown a ruby crest, — away he flew ! So every summer day along the stream The vain king-fisher darts, an azure gleam. And scolds the angler with a mocking scream. — Henry Van Dyke. It is deadly sorrow which causes the plaintive songs of Progne and Alcyone. Ovid seeks the same method of relief : Est aliquid, fatale malum per verba levare : Hoc querulam Prognen Alcyouemque facit. — Ov., Trist. V, I, 59. ALCEDO 21 The plaintive notes of the lonely halcyons seem sweet to the ears of Leander as he crosses the strait : Alcyones solae, memores Ceycis amati, Nescio quid visae sunt mihi dulce queri. — Ov., Her. XVIII, 8i. The laments of Livia over her dead son are like complaints of the halcyons to the unheeding waters : Alcyonum tales ventosa per aequora questus Ad surdas tenui voce sonantur aquas. — Cons, ad Liv. 107. The halcyons come to Andromeda and with sympathetic songs of sorrow and with shadowing wings, seek to comfort and protect her: Te circum Alcyones pennis planxere volantes Fleveruntque tuos miserando carmine casus Et tibi contextas umbram fecere per alas. — Manil., Astron. V, 558. Octavia bids her laments to exceed those of halcyon, nightingale and swallow, for her grief is greater than theirs : Age, tot tantis onerata malis, Repete assuetos iam tibi questus Atque aequoreas vince Alcyonas, Vince et volucres Pandionias Gravior namque his fortuna tua est. — Sen., Oct. 5. In a chorus to Cassandra advising lamentation as a relief to sorrow, the halcyon — with some description of its nest and young — is placed among the four great song-birds of antiquity. As usual, sorrow and grief are thought of as the essential qualities in their songs : Non quae verno mobile carmen Ramo cantat tristis aedon Ityn in varios modulata sonos, Non quae tectis Bistonis ales Residens summis impia diri Furta mariti garrula narrat, Lugere tuam potuit digne Conquesta domum. Licet ipse velit Clarus niveos inter olores Histrum cycnus Tanainque colens Extrema loqui, licet alcyones 22 THE BIRDS OF THE LATIN POETS Ceyca suiim fluctu leviter Plangcnte soneiit. cum tranquillo Male confisae credunt iterum Pelage audaces fetusque sues Nido pavidae si titubante fovent. — Sen., Ag. 670. The idea of sorrow associated with the halcyon and other metamor- photic birds, is maintained even in speaking of the nest and in depicting scenes of general bird-life: Addita de querulo volucrum medicamina nido Ore fugant maculas, Alcyonea vocant. — Ov., De Med. Fac. 77. Vid. Hor., Epod. 11, 26: Quci-untur in silvis aves, and cf. the wide use of the adjective queriilus as a bird epithet. The scholiast to Horace tells us that queror, etc. was originally applied to the voices of all animals, but he cites only Verg., Geor. i, 378 (ranac) and Gear. 3, 328 (cicadae). Vid. Porphyr. ad loc. Contrast the above with these American descriptions of the king- fisher's note and habits : When pacing through the oaks he heard The rattle of the kingfisher. — ExMERson. His are resplendent eyes ; His mien is kingliwise ; And down the May wind rides he like a king, With more than royal purple on his wing. — Maurice Thompson. Over the river, loud-chattering, aloft in the air, the king-fisher, Hung, ere he dropped, like a bolt in the water beneath him. — Howells-Piatt. Thy voice is like in sound The twirHng of a watchman's rattle loud. — Hosmer. He laughs by the summer stream Where the lilies nod and dream, As through the sheen of water cool and clear He sees the chub and sunfish cutting sheer. — Maurice Thompson. The kingfisher watches, where o'er him his foe. The fierce hawk, sails circling, each moment more low. — Street. AIXKDO 23 The kingfisher flies with a crack-cr-r-r-ack and a limping- or flitting flight. — Thoreau, op. cit., p. 192. The halcyon follows her nest and young when set adrift by the waves and bemoans their loss : Fluctus ab undisoni ceu forte crepidine saxi Cum rapit halcyones miserae fetumque laremque, It super aegra parens queriturque tumentibus undis Certa sequi, quocumque ferant, audetque pavetque, Icta fatiscit aquis donee domus haustaque fluctu est; Ilia dolens vocem dedit et se sustulit alis. — Val. Flacc. IV, 44. Another similar situation of bird mother-love is portrayed : Fluctivagam sic saepe domum madidosque penates Alcyone deserta gemit, cum pignora saevus Auster et algentes rapuit Thetis invida nidos. Mergitur orba iterum, penitusque occulta sub undis Limite non uno, liquidum qua subter eunti Lucet inter, miseri nequidquam funera nati Vestigat, plangitque tamen. — Stat., Theb. IX, 360. Vid. also Stat., Silv. Ill, 5, 57. For a very curious conception (apparently allegorical) of the hal- cyon, with nest and young, vid. Anth. Lat. 383. The more truly traditional conception of the halcyon, with nest and young unharrassed by storms, is portrayed in the following lines : Cum sonat alcyones cantu, nidosque natantes Immota gestat, sopitis fluctibus, unda. — SiL. Ital. XIV, 275. In a metrical inscription, three of the traditional song-birds, includ- ing the halcyon, are portrayed as joining in laments with a father for his dead wife and son : Cum te, nate, fleo, planctus dabit Attica aedo Et comes ad lachrimas veniet pro coniuge Siren Semper et Alcyone flebit te voce suprema Et tristis mecum resonabet carmen et Echo Oebaliusque dabit mecum tibi murmura cycnus. — C. I. L. VI, 25063. The words voce suprema seem to suggest a confused reminiscence of the swan's death song. 24 THE BIRDS OF THE LATIN POETS Throned on a limb, lit by the sun's soft beam, A lone kingfisher sat. as if in a dream. — Wallace. I know not, but the Past, When I behold thee, bird, her face unveils, And back on busy recollection, fast Crowd old, romantic tales. — Hosmer. ANAS. NiiTxa. Duck. Hosmer: Tlic Jl'ood-duck. Like several other bird names, the dimiinitive is used as a term of endearment : Die igitur med aneticulam, columbam vel catellum Hirundinem, monerulam, passerculum putillum. — Plaut., Asin. 693. My little love ! My duck! my dove! — Fessenden. Jackdaws, ducks and quails are the pets of patrician children. A pun: Nam ubi illo adveni, quasi patriciis pueris aut monerulae Aut anites aut coturnices dantur, quicum lusitent, Itidem haec mihi advenienti upupa qui me delectem datast. — Plaut., Capt. 1002. Exposure is nothing to a duck. Proverbial : Utinam fortuna nunc anetina uterer, Ut quom exiissem ex aqua, arerem tamen. — Plaut., Rud. 533. Some description of the wild duck and its pursuit by night: Neque qua vagipennis anates remipedas buxeirostris pecudes palu- dibus nocte nigra ad lumina lampadis sequeris. (Sexagesis.) — Varro, Men. Reliq. 5. The wild duck alert on the stream. — Stead. Where 'mid the river's rustling reeds The water fowl to plumpness feeds. — Arlo Bates. In their early flight. Towards the creek or muddy sedge, the ducks Oft coast along the wood. — M'Kinnon. For the wild duck, fluvialis anas, pursued by the hawk, vid. supra, s. V. accipiter; also Ov., Met. XI, 771. ANAS 25 The duck as a basis of comparison : Et anatis habeas orthopygium macr.ae. — Mart. Ill, 93, 12. How ducks were served on the table : Tota quidem ponatur anas ; sed pectore tantum Et cervice sapit: cetera redde coco. —Mart. XIII, 52. Aside, twin ducks a savoury sage exhale. — M'Kinnon. What first I want is daily bread, And canvass-backs and wine. — John Quincy Adams. His grace, the Canvas-back, My Lord Anas and Anser — both served up by dozens At Boston's Rocher, half-way to Nahant. — Holmes. Ducks bursting with pistachio nuts. — Bayard Taylor. A gift of ducks sent to a friend by Ausonius. Some description of their characteristics and markings : Tum, quas vicinae suggessit praeda lacunae, Anates maritas iunximus, Remipedes, lato populantes caerula rostro Et crure rubras Punico. Tricolor vario pinxit quas pluma colore, Collum columbis aemulas. Defrudata meae non sunt h'aec fercula mensae. Vescente te, fruimur magis. Vale bene, ut valeam. — Aus., Ep. Ill, II. A duck, beside an isle of wood, Within a watery streak was steering, Dipping his green head in the flood, When, quick his bill of yellow rearing. With a loud whiz he flew away. — Street. And from yon nook of clustered water-plants. The wood-duck, shaking its rich purple neck. Skims forth, displaying through the liquid glass Its yellow feet, as if upborne in air. — Street. Or crested wood-duck, rich in all the dies That tinge the fleecy robes of vernal skies. — Alsop. 26 THE BIRDS OF THE LATIN POETS The far-famed canvass-backs at once we know, Their broad flat bodies wrapt in pencilled snow; The burnished chestnut o'er their necks that shone. Spread deepening round each breast a sable zone. {The Foresters.) — Alexander Wilson. Ducks, when leaving the sea, foretell the coming of storms : Latipedemque anatem cernes excedere ponto Saepius et summa nebulas se tendere rupe Inde etiam ventos mox adfore praemonet usus. — AviEN., 1685. A bit of observation as to the duck's note : Pausitat arborea damans de fronde palumbes In fluviisque natans forte tetrinnit anas. — A nth. Lai. 762, 21. Cf. Suet., Reliq. 161 : "Anatum (vox est) tetrissitare." Cf. also Wackernagel, op. cit., p. 49. Among the reeds the ducklings cry. — Burns. And gabbling in sequestered cove, The black duck oiled her breast, and dove. — Hosmer. The silver scream Of wild duck startled from their marshy bed. — Valentine. The wild duck from his reedy bed Summons his fellow. — Carman-Hovey. It rang out over the marshes, And the army of ducks was still. — Ballard. The ducks and geese are riotous, an' strainin' hard to sing. What's the reason? Oh, the reason's cause it's gittin' spring. — Ben King. ANSER. Xiiv. Goose. Cf. especially Thompson, op. cit., s. v. ; Keller, op. cit., p. 288. American parallels : Wild goose, brant. Roberts : The Flight of the Geese. Thaxter: Wild Geese. Sigourney: To a Goose. Field: Gosling Stew. In a simile, reference is made to tlie driving- away of geese from fields of grain : Sed est hnic unus servos violentissumus, Qui ubi quamque nostrarum videt prope hasce aedis adgrediri Item ut de frumento anseres, clamore apsterret, abigit. — Plaut., True. 250. Cf. Avien., Arat. 1758: Gramina si carpit semensa anser. Here, leave the geese. Carlo, to nibble their grass. — Street. Cf. also Priap. 61, 10. Improbns anser Strymoniaeque grues et amaris intiba fibris Officiunt aut vnnbra nocet. — Verc, Geor. I, 119. A proverbial reference to the softness of goose marrow^ : Cinaede Thalle, mollior cuniculi capillo Vel anseris medullula vel imula oricill'a. —Cat. XXV, i. Cf. Priap. 64: Quidam mollior anseris medulla. Their sense of smell is very keen. Thus they saved the Roman citadel. Et humanum longe presentit odorem Romulidarum arcis servator candidus anser. — LucR. IV, 683. Cf. Isid., Orig. XII, 7: Nullum animal ita odorem hominis sentit ut anser. Other references to the same incident, which often recurs in the Roman writers : In summo custos Tarpeiae Manlius arcis Stabat pro templo et Capitolia celsa tenebat, Romuleoque recens horrebat regia culmo. Atque hie auratis volitans argenteus anser Porticibus Gallos in limine adesse canebat. — Verg., Aen. VIII, 652. Anseris et tutum voce fuisse lovem. — Prop. IV, 4, 12. Haec servavit avis Tarpeia templa Tonantis. —Mart. XIII, 74. Nee servaturis vigili Capitolia voce Cederet anseribus nee amanti flumina cycno. — Ov., Met. II, 137. 28 THE BIRDS OF THE LATIN POETS Sed reppulit uiuis Turn quoque totam aciem, Senones dum garrulus anser Nuntiat et vigilat vestrum sine niilite fatum. — Sehul. V, 83. Do those worthies know That when old Rome had let the ruffian Gauls Tread on her threshold of vitality, And all her sentinels were comatose, Thy clarion-call did save her? Mighty strange To call thee fool! — Sigournev. By cackling, as their sires saved Rome. — Halleck. Geese are as guards more wise than dogs. A description of the abode of sleep : Xon vigil ales ibi cristati cantibus oris Evocat Auroram, nee voce silentia rumpunt Sollicitive canes canibusque sagacior ' anser. — Ov., Met. XI, 597. The feathers of the goose and various other birds were used in making decoys : Dat tibi pennarum terrentia millia vultur, Dantque grues, cycnique senes et candidus anser. — Nemes., Cyn. 312. In one of the most aj^preciative passages of bird life in the Latin poets, Ovid gives the reasons for the destruction of birds, viz., that they reveal the purposes of the gods. The Capitoline geese are forgotten : Intactae fueratis aves, solacia ruris, Adsuetum silvis, innocuumque genus ; Quae facitis nidos, quae plumis ora fovetis, Et facili dulces editis ore modos. Sed nihil ista iuvant, quia linguae crimen habetis, Dique putant mentes vos aperire suas. Nee tamen id falsum : nam, dis ut proxima quaeque, Nunc penna veras, nunc datis ore notas. Tuta diu volucrum proles, tunc denique caesa est, luveruntque deos indicis exta sui. Ergo saepe suo coniunx abducta marito Uritur Idaliis alba columba focis. Nee defensa iuvant Capitolia, quo minus anser Det iecur in lances, Inachi lauta, tuas, Nocte deae Nocti cristatus caeditur ales. Quod tepidum vigili provocet ore diem. — Ov., T^ast. I, 441. *The modern proverbial 'stupid as a goose' was unknown in antiquity. — Kelier. ANSER 29 For punning references to Anscr the poet vid. s. v. cycnus, and cf. Verg., Eel. IX, 35 ; Ov., Trist. II, 435 ; Prop. II, 34, 83. Cf. for something of the same tone : Come, let me lead thee o'er this "second Rome!" Where tribunes rule, where dusky Davi bow, And what was Goose-Creek once is Tiber now. (Poems relating to America. From — Thomas Moore. the City of Washington.) The cackling or hissing note of geese : Caccabat hinc perdix et graccitat improbus anser. — Anth. Lot. 762, 19. Dum miluus iugilat, trinnit tunc improbus anser. — Anth. Lat. 733, 11. Cf. Argutus anser, Mart. Ill, 68, 13 ; and argiitus olor, Verg., Eel. IX, 36; "With regular anserine clangor," Thoreau, op. cit., p. 51 ; Wacker- nagel, op. cit., p. 50. Around the ducks their gabbling frolicks play'd. While o'er the stream the aged gander sway'd. The saucy monarch of the mimic main. With num'rous plumy subjects in his train : And oft he scar'd the ling'ring truant boys Along the banks, with fearful hissing noise. — Chatterton. The fowls loud cackling swarm about the yard ; The snowy geese harangue their numerous brood. (The Foresters.) — Alexander Wilson. Philemon and Baucis attempt to kill their only goose for the enter- tainment of their guests Jupiter and Mercury. The goose flies to the gods for protection and is saved : Unicus anser erat, minimae custodia villae, Quem dis hospitibus domini mactare parabant. Ille celer penna tardos aetate fatigat Eluditque diu ; tandemque est visus ad ipsos Confugisse deos. Superi vetuere necari. — Ov., Met. Vni, 684. Pates de foie gras : Deinde secuti Mazonomo pueri magno discerpta ferentes Membra gruis, sparsi sale multo non sine farre, Pinguibus et ficis pastum iecur anseris albae. — HoR., Sat. II, 8, 91. 30 THE BIRDS OF THE LATIN POETS Aspice. quani tunicat mag'no iecur anserc mains ! Miratus tlices, 'Hoc. ros^o, crcvit ubi ?' —Mart. XIII. 58. Cf. Juv. \". 114; Pcrs. IV. 71; Stat.. Silv. IV. 0. 9; Pet., Sat. 65; ct al. But he coukl cook a goose as brown As any man that set foot on The mist-kissed shores of Oregon. — Miller. A goose was vowed to Alars by VcHus. When the god demanded its fulfillment, the goose gladly hastened to the altar. A silver statue of the goose, with tokens, commemorates the deed : Ipse suas anser properavit laetus ad aras Et cecidit Sanctis hostia parva focis. Octo vides patulo pendere numismata rostro Alitis? Haec extis condita nuper erant Quae litat argento pro te, non sanguine, caesa. Victima iam ferro non opus esse docet. — Mart. IX, 31, 5. The g'oose was sacred also to Isis and Osiris. Cf. Juv. 6. 540; Anth. Lot. 395, 43. Jupiter as the consort of Leda, is referred to once as the 'Amyclaeus anser' : Ciris Amyclaeo formosior ansere Ledae.^ — Verg., Ciris 489, You tell me, with a little scorn. That all my swans are veriest geese. — Coolidge. (Optimism.) A resume of the usefulness of the Roman goose : Aedibus in nostris volitans argenteus anser, Dulcisono strepitu colla canora levat. Ales grata bono duplici ; nam fercula mensae Couplet et adservat nocte silente domum. Solus Tarpeia canibus in rupe quietis Eripuit Gallis Romula tecta vigil. (De Ansere.) — Anth. Lat. 106. 'This may be the original form of the myth. The swan was substituted in a later and more aesthetic age. Cf. Keller, op. cit., p. 228 and 455. Buckland, Mythological Birds Ethnologically Considered. Anthrop. Jour. 4, 277. See this important article also for illuminating discussion of the mythology of the dove> eagle, hawk, owl, peacock and phoenix. AQUILA 31 Meantime, the worthy and hard-working goose Hath rear'd up gosHngs, fed us with her flesh, Lull'd us to sleep upon her softest down, And with her quills maintained the lover's love. And saved the tinsel of the poet's brain. — Sigourney. For the Fable of the Stork, Goose and Hawk vid. s. v. accipiter. For the Fable of the Goose that laid the golden egg vid. Avianus, Fab. 33. I move the owl Be straightway swept from the usurper's seat. And thou forthwith be voted for, to fill Minerva's arms. — Sigourney. AQUILA. 'Aetog. Eagle. For the best discussion of identifications and astronomic lore vid. Thompson, op. cit., s. v. 'Aetog; Harting, op. cit., chap. I; Boraston, The Birds of Homer. Jour, of Hell. Studies, vol. 31. For the eagle in mythology and ancient art vid. Keller, op. cit., s. v. In the American poets the eagle is mentioned more often than any other bird. Neal (Kettell) : The Eagle. Percival : To the Eagle. Street : The Gray Forest Eagle. Melville (Stedman) : The Eagle of the Blue. Simms : The Slain Eagle. Epithets. Characteristics : Fulva aquila, Verg., Aen. XI, 751 ; Nuntia fulva lovis, Cic, Carm. frag. 18; Ales fulva lovis, Sil. Ital. XII, 56; Fulvus lovis ales, Verg., Aen. XII, 247; Av., Arat. 1007, et passim; lovis pinnata satelles, Cic, Mar. Biicheler, P. M., p. 305 ; Aquila minore pinna. Mart. X, 19, 10; keen- sighted, Hor., Sat. I, 3, 27; Densis pinnis, Enn., Ann. 149; Praedator, Ov., Met. VI, 516; Improbus, Verg., Aen. XII, 250; Aquilis coruscis, Ciris 529; Ferox aquila, Hon, Carm. IV, 4, 31 ; Tremebundis pennis, Cic, Arat. 329, et al. As the bird of Jupiter : Satelles lovis, Cic, ex Aes. Biicheler, P. M., p. 309; Famulae lovis. Juv. XIV, 81; lovis ales, Ov., Met. VI, 516; Verg., Aen. I, 394, et passim; Armiger lovis, Ov., Met. XV, 386; Sil. Ital. X, 108, et passim; lovis praepes, Ov., Met. IV, 714; Verg., Aen. V, 254; Flammiger ales. 32 THE BIRDS OF THE LATIN POETS Stat.. Thcb. \'III. 675; Fuhninis ales. Her., Carm. IV , 4, i; Volncrum regina, Mart. V. 55; Avis regis, Mart. X, 19; Regiu ales. Ov., Met. IV, 362; dizum gratissiiim regi, Ov., Met. XII, 561, et passim. The nimble messenger of Jove On earth ahghts not from above With step so light as theirs. — Hopkinson. (The British Light Infantry. 1778.) And Jove's swift eagles soared above the vales, — Proctor. O pine tree ! Jove sends down his word to you By his own eagle from the heights of heaven. — Valentine, An Eagle, soaring in his pride of place. Was seen, the head of Japheth hovering o'er ; A thunderbolt the pluming stranger bore. — Allen ( Duyckinck ) . And looked the fable of the Greek — The bird with thunder in his beak. (The Bird of Washington.) — Warfield-Lee (Griswold). Thou with the gods upon Olympus dwelt, The emblem and the favorite bird of Jove — And godlike power in thy broad wings hast felt Since first they spread o'er land and sea to rove. {To the Eagle.) — Kinney (Griswold). Speak! speak! Through this dark cloud The eyes of Zeus's eagle cannot pierce. — Moody. Sounds. Clangor : Sil. Ital. X\'U, 55 ; Anth. Lat. 762, 27. And above him wheeled and clamored The Keneu, the great war-eagle. — Longfellow. Nesting habits and young : Non aliter, quam cum pedibus praedator obuncis Deposuit nido leporem lovis ales in alto. — Ov., Met. VI, 516. Aquila in sublimi quercu nidum fecerat. — Phaed. II, 4, I. Cf. also Verg., Aen. IX, 563 ; Sil. Ital. IV, 55 ; XII, 55, et al. The eagle from Bellona's eyrie. — Stedman. Like eagle's nest built in the air. — Miller. AQUILA 33 The youthful Drusus, in a splendid simile, is likened to the eagle's young that are driven from the nest to seek their prey : Hor., Carm. IV, 4. Cf. Schmid, De aquila, quae apud Iloratiiun Carm., IV, 4. But like the fledgling eaglet leave the nest. — Sill. A reference to the eagle-stone, lapis aetites. Cf . Plin. X, 3, 4 : Quaeque sonant feta tepefacta sub alite saxa. — Luc. VI, 673. Dicuntur quidam lapides inveniri in Armenia, qui praegnantes vocan- tur, eo, quod habent lapillos intra se, et prosunt partui, quos et aquilae sub se ponunt cum ovis, ne incendantur ipsius (aquilae) calore. — Schol. jp. Olid., Weber, C. P. L., p. 719. The callow young are tried by the sun test : Utque lovis volucer, calido cum protulit ovo Implumes natos, solis convertit ad ortus : Qui potuere pati radios, et lumine recto Sustinuere diem caeli, servantur in usus: Qui Phoebo cessere, iacent. — Luc. IX, 900. Armiger baud aliter magni lovis, anxia nido Cum dignos nutrit gestanda ad fulmina fetus, Observam spectans ora ad Phaethontia prolem, Explorat dubios Phoebea lampade natos. — SiL. Ital. X, 108. The eagle and the sun in the American poets : Thro' the far clouds, the eagle cleft his way, And soar'd, and wanton'd in the flanics of day. {Creation.) — Timothy Dwight. The eagle eye that mocks the God of day. — Paulding. {The Backzvoodsmen.) Go climb the fields of air, the heights explore, Beyond where even eagles dare to soar. — Allen (Kettell), The eagle was always the friend of the sun. — Holmes. The bird, whose pinion courts the sunbeam's fire. — Sprague (Griswold), 34 THE BIRDS OF THE LATIN POETS (Apollo) thou in whose bright And hottest rays the eagle fills his eye With quenchless fire, and far, far up on high Screams out his joy to thee. — GexX. Albert Pike. Your eagle climbing to the sun Keeps not the straightest course in sight. — Miller. To soar like eagles in the blaze of noon, Above the gaping crowd of friends and foes. — Halleck. Still, like the eaglet on its new-fledged wing, Her spirit-glance bespoke the daughter of a king. SiGOURNEY. A sun-bent eagle stricken From his high soaring down. — Willis. What ! soar'd the old eagle to die at the sun ! Lies he stiff with spread wings at the goal he had won ! — Willis. Hither the eagles fly, and lay their eggs ; Then bring their young ones forth out of those crags, And force them to behold Sol's majesty. In mid-noon glory, with a steady eye. — Roger Wolcott. {Connecticut River.) How the eagle sharpens his beak: Here the old eagle his long beak belays Upon a rock, till he renews his days. — Roger Wolcott. {Connecticut River.) Whilst now and then the eagle gray Pointed his beak and soared away. — Street. Flight. The grandeur in the spectacle of a soaring eagle was felt by the Roman poets : Utque volans alte raptum cum fulva draconem Fert aquila, implicuit pedes, atque unguibus haesit; Saucius at serpens sinuosa volumina versat, Arrectisque horret squamis, et sibilat ore, Arduus insurgens ; ilia baud minus urget obunco Luctantem rostro, simul aethera verberat alis. — Verg., a en. XI, 751. Oualis ubi aut leporem aut candenti corpore cycnum Sustulit alta petens pedibus lovis armiger uncis. — Verg., Aen. IX, 560. AQUILA 35 The death of Periclymenus, and his metamorphosis into a soaring eagle : Tendit in hunc nimium certos Tirynthius arcus, Atque inter nubes subhmia membra ferentem, Pendentemque ferit, lateri qua iungitur ala. — Ov., Met. XII, 564. Cf. Fronto, 146, lyn: Aqnilarum maiestate volare. Apul., Flor. 8 : Paene eodem loco pendula circumtuetur. Cf. Beneath a tilted hawk is balancing. — Sill. The lofty Eagle, and the Stork fly low, The Peacock and the Ostrich, share in woe. — Anne Bradstreet. To wastes O'er which the eagle hovered. — Bryant. Skies where desert eagle wheels and screams. — Bryant. Gloriously the morning breaks, And the eagle's on his cloud. — Longfellow. The hawk sailing where men have not yet sailed. — Whitman. The eagle and his prey. The swan : Namque volans rubra fulvus lovis ales in aethra Litoreas agitabat aves turbamque sonantem Agminis aligeri : subito cum lapsus ad undas Cycnum excellentem pedibus rapit improbus uncis. — Verg., Aen. XII, 247. Cf. Verg.. Aen. I, 394; IX, 563; Stat.. Theb. III. 524; VIII. 674; IX, 858, et al. The dove. The proverbial prey also of the hawk. Cf. Sil. Ital. IV, 114. Sic aquilam penna fugiunt trepidante columbae. — Ov., Met. I, 506. Ut fugiunt aquilam, timidissima turba, columbae. — Ov., Ars. Amat. I, 117. Sed carmina tantum Nostra valent, Lycida, tela inter jMartia, quantum Chaonias dicunt aquila veniente columbas. —Verg., Ed. IX, 11. 36 THE BIRDS OF THE LATIN POETS Birds in general : Et lovis in multas devolat ales aves. — Ov., Ars A mat.. Ill, 420. Master of all fowls and feathers. — Longfellow. Pursues him like audacious eagle In quest of plover, snipe or sea-gull. — Fessenden. Not for this Did great Columbus tame his eagle soul To jostle with daws that perch in courts. — Lowell. The hare : Aut dumis subit. albenti si sensit in aethra Librantem nisus aquilam, lepus ore citato. — SiL. Ital. V, 283. Cf. Verg., Aen. IX, 560; Ov., Met. VI, 517; Phaed., Fab. I, 9; Juv. XIV, 81. With darting haste, behold her ample size. Full to th' enjoy'd, though distant victim hies, Couch'd horrid now she nimbly hovers o'er Her untorn prey, in raptures at its gore. Back to her nest she shapes her upward flight, Her young suck up the blood, with dire delight. — Devens (Kettell). The lamb. Excitement of shepherds and dogs : Vid. The Eagle and the Lamb. (Painting by Audubon.) Journal, vol. I, p. 242 and p. 299. Talia constanti laevum lovis armiger aethra Advenit, et validis fixani erigit unguibus agnam. At procul e stabulis trepidi clamore sequuntur Pastores fremitusque canum ; citus occupat auras Raptor, et Aegaei super effugit alta profundi. Accipit augurium Aesonides, laetusque superbi Tecta petit Peliae. — Val. Flacc. I, 156. Hooh ! hooh ! how the eagle screams. As the blood of the fawn from his talons streams ! — Street. Serpents. The most striking picture perhaps is the battle between an eagle and serpent in midair : AQUILA 37 Verg., Aen. XI, 751. Vid. supra. Almost equally vivid are the following descriptions : Denique nitentem contra, elabique volentem Implicat, ut serpens, quam regia sustinet ales, Sublimemque rapit: pendens caput ilia pedesque Alligat, et cauda spatiantes implicat ales. — Ov., Met. IV, 361. Utque lovis praepes, vacuo cum vidit in arvo Praebentem Phoebo liventia terga draconem, Occupat aversum, neu saeva retorqueat ora, Squamigeris avidos figit cervicibus ungues. — Ov., Met. IV, 714. Haud secus, occubuit saxi quos vertice fetus Ales fulva lovis, tacito si ad culmina nisu Evasit serpens, terrctque propinquus hiatu : Ilia, hostem rostro atque assuetis fulmina ferre Unguibus incessens, nidi circumvolat orbem. — SiL. Ital. XII, 55. For other prey: Cf. Phaed. I, 28: Vulpi catuli; Id. II, 6: Testudinem; Id. II, 4, 15. Porcelli; Juv. XIV, 81 : Capream; Hor., Carm. IV, 4, 9 : In ovilia. For Prometheus and an eagle instead of a vulture. Cf. Cic, Ex Acs. {Tusc. Dis. II, X). This confusion is common in Greek. Vid. Thompson, op. cit., p. 3. On the eagle in augury int. al. cf. the following: Cic, De Div. I, 47, 106; Verg., Aen. I, 393 ; Id. XII, 244; Val. Place. I, 156; Si!. Ital. IV, 104. For the eagle with Ganymede portrayed in the arts as described by the poets, cf. int. al. Plaut., Men. 143; Verg., Aen. V, 250; Mart. V, 50; Id. X, 19; Val. Flacc. 11, 408; Stat., Theb. I, 548; Sil. Ital. XV, 421. As Ganymede by the eagle was snatched up. — Lowell. Recall that sound as of a lute. When from the empyrean deep, We saw the eagle downward sweep. And, as we gazed in wonder mute, Bear up a lad from 'mid his sheep. Who dropped a shepherd's fiute. — Mifflin. {The Slopes of Helicon.) For an attempt to rationalize the Ganymede myth vid. Keller, op. cit. P- 439- 38 THE BIRDS OF THE LATIxN POETS Cf. Margaret Fuller, Ganymede to his Eagle. (Suggested by a work of Thorwaldsen's.) Fables : The Eagle, Crow, and Tortoise: Phaed. II, 6. The Eagle, Cat, and Sow: Id. II, 4. The Eagle's strength is a gift from the Fates: Id. Ill, 18. The Eagle and Kite wedded: Aes. Fab. XXXIV. Various proverbial associations : 'Nil' narras? Visa verost, quod dici solet, Aquilae senectus. — Tf.r., Heaut. 520. Tarn dispar aquilae columba non est. — Mart. X, 65, 12. Quid congregare cum leonibus vulpes Aquilisque similes faccre noctuas quaeris? — Mart. X, 100, 3. References to the eagle as a military standard. Maximus Cotta is addressed by Ovid : Vos eritis nostrae portus et ara fugae Vos ego complector, Geticis si cingar ab armis. Utque meas aquiJas, vos mea signa sequar. — Ov., Ex Pont. II, 8, 68. The conquered eagles of Crassus : Signa, decus belli, Parthus Romana tenebat, Romanaeque aquilae signifer hostis erat. — Ov., Fast. V, 585. These are they whose fathers carried the conquering eagles. Over all Gaul and across the sea to Ultima Thule. — Johnson (Stedman). For it was Trajan that carried the battle-flushed eagles to Dacia. — Hay. Cf. The condor, frowning from a southern plain, Borne on a standard, leads a numerous train. — Barlow. ( Colnmhiad. ) Cf. Turn from the eagles ; woo the dove. For it will glad the angels more If you will train a vine above A lowly cottage door. — Waterman. {Peace on Earth.) Who bides at home, nor looks abroad. He carries the eagles — he masters the sword. — Emerson. AQUILA 39 A battle scene with graphic details : Gallus at, in castris duni credita signa tuetur, Concidit ante aquilae rostra cruenta suae. — Prop. \', i, 95. The splendid devotion of a dying standard-bearer. The finest touch of patriotic war verse in Latin literature : Inde honor ac sacrae custodia ]\larte sub omni Alitis : hinc causam nutrivit gloria leti. Namque, necis certus, captae prohibere nequiret Cum Poenos aquilae, postquam subsidere fata Viderat, et magna pugnam inclinare ruina, Occulere interdum et terrae mandare parabat: Sed, subitis victus telis, labentia membra Prostravit super atque iniecta niorte tegebat. Verum ubi lux nocte e Stygia miseroque sopore Reddita, vicini de strage cadaveris hasta Erigitur, soloque vigens conamine, late Stagnantem caede et facilem discedere terram Ense fodit, clausamque aquilae infelicis adorans Effigiem, palmis languentibus aequat harenas. Supremus fessi tenuis tum cessit in auras Halitus, et magnam misit sub Tartara mentem. — SiL. It.\l. VI. 25. For thee they fought, for thee they fell. And their oath was on thee laid ; To thee the clarions raised their swell. And the dying warrior prayed. — Perciv.\l. Emblem of Freedom, when thou cleav'st the air — Emblem of Tyranny, when bathed in blood ! Thou wert the genius of Rome's sanguine wars : Heroes have fought and freely bled for thee. {To the Eagle.) — Kinney (Griswold). Our eagle's wing- Shall mount, our eagle shall be king! And jackals shall be heard no more When Freedom's monarch bird shall soar. — Read. Then from his mansion in the sun She called her eagle bearer dowai And gave into his mighty hand The symbol of her chosen land. — Drake. Vid. also The Conquered Banner, Ryan: "The priest- Tyrtaeus of the South" (Sladen). 40 THK RIRDS OF THE LATIN POETS The eagle as a military standard was an object of worship and reverence. Cf. Sil. Ital. \l. 37. supra; Cic. Lot. I. 24; \'al. Max. VI, I, II : Suet.. Col. 14. Ilia quitlem faeno ; see! erat reverentia faeno, Quantani nunc aquilas cernis habere tuas. — Ov., Fast. Ill, 115. For the constellation aquila vid. int. al. Cic, .-Irat. 87, 294, 372; Ov., Fast. V, ■;7,2\ \I, 196; Manil. I. 342, 620, 684; Y, 487, 710. The Swan and Eagle wing- their silent flight ; And. from their spangled pinions, as they flew. On Israel's vales of verdure shower the dew. — Pierpont. {Airs of Palestine.) Once, could the Roman Eagle soar Beyond the reach of human eye ; But now, she plumes her wing, no more. No more invades the sky. — William Lake. (Columbia's Eagle.) ARDEA. 'EgcoSiog. Heron. \'arious species are included in the generic ardea. American parallels : Heron, egret. Thompson : The Death of the White Heron. Cawein: The Heron; Id.: The Blue Heron. And boggy marges of the mere, Whereon I see the heron stand, Knee-deep in sable slush of sand. — Maurice Thompson. Where tall blue herons stretch lithe necks, and lean Over clear currents flowing cool and thin. Through the clean furrows of the pebbly floor. — Maurice Thompson. A solitary heron wings its way Southward — save this no sound or touch of life. — Aldrich. So silent is the air, so hushed, so mute, That e'en the sentinel heron does not fear But stands erect, nor drops his lifted foot. — Mifflin. ARDliA 41 And near its edge, like some gray streak, Stands gaunt the still fiy-up-the-creek. — Cawein. ( The Mill-water. ) A heron* plume of snow hung o'er ; Memorial of that bird that swept Its way to Hah-yoh-wont-hah dread, And whose pure plumage long was kept To deck the bravest warrior's head. — Street. While like the spirit of the coming night The heron wings on hig-h his sullen flight. — Arlo Bates. Signs of approaching storm : lam sibi turn curvis male temperat unda carinis Cum medio celeres revolant ex aequore mergi Clamoremque ferunt ad litora cumque marinae In sicco ludunt fulicae notasque paludis Deserit atque altam supra volat ardea nubem. — Verg., Geor. I. 360. Cf. Luc. V, 555. Anth. Lat. 772, 37: Hinc super ardea nubcs. Isid., Orig. 12, 7, 21 : (Ardea) formidat enim imbres, et super nubes evolat, ut procellas nubium sentire non possit : cum autem altius vola- verit, significat tempestatem. When he leaves the seacoast, and traces on wing the courses of the creeks or rivers upwards, he is said to prognosticate rain ; when down- wards, dry weather. — Alexander Wil.son, op. cit., s. v. great heron. The city of Ardea, where the bird ardea arose Phoenix-like from the ruins. Cf. Verg., Aen. VII, 411 : Cadit Ardea, Turno Sospite dicta potens. Quam postquam Dardanus ignis Abstulit et tepida latuerunt tecta favilla, Congerie e media turn primum cognita praepes Subvolat et cineres plausis everberat alis. Et sonus et macies et pallor et omnia captam Quae deceant urbem. nomen quoque mansit in ilia Urbis ; et ipsa suis deplangitur ardea pennis. — Ov., Met. XIV, 573. The cry of the heron : A flock of nearly a hundred blue herons alighted on a small island near us, Londoners', and made the air ring witli their noise. — Celia Thaxter {Letters, p. 175). *In Seneca the heron is called Sah-dah-ga-ah, meaning 'the bird of the clouds.'— /^M/^tor'j note. 42 THE BIRDS OF THE LATIN" POETS The Hern's hoarse clang, or Sea-guH's lonely cry. — Alsop. And the heron, the Shuh-shuh-gah, From the melancholy moorlands, Gave a cry of lamentations, Gave a cry of pain and anguish. — Longfellow. No bird is heard ; no throat to whistle awake The sleepy hush ; to let its music leak Fresh, bubble-like, through bloom-roofs of the brake: Only the green-blue heron, famine weak — Searching the stale pools of the minnowless creek, — Utters its call. — Cawein. (Drouth.) ATTAGENA (ATTAGEN). 'ATTayi'iv. The Francolin. Tetrao francoliniis. American parallels: Partridge, prairie-hen, etc. Francolins — delicious eating . . . uttered their grated calls near by. — Roosevelt, African Game Trails, p. 344. The simplicity of early days : Piscis adhuc illi populo sine fraude natabat, Ostreaque in conchis tuta suis. Nee Latium norat, quam praebet Ionia dives, Nee quae Pygmaeo sanguine gaudet, avem ; Ft praeter pinnas nihil in pavone placebat. — Ov., Fast. VI, 173. The attagena is the finest of all game birds : Inter sapores fertur alitum primus lonicarum gustus attagenarum. —Mart. XIII, 61. Horace deprecates high living: Non Afra avis descendat in ventrem meum, Non attagen lonicus, lucundior quam lecta de pinguissimis Oliva ramis arborum, etc. — HoR., Epod n, 54. x\nd men had better stomachs to religion Than I to capon, turkey-cock or pigeon. {Nezv England's Crisis.) — Benjamin Tompson. BUBO 43 BUBO. Btiag. Owl. eagle owl. Strix bubo. American parallel: Great-horned owl. Bubo Virginianus. Proctor: The Ozvl. Celia Thaxter : The Great White Owl. The mournful notes of an owl on the roof-top add to the gloom of deserted Dido : Solaque culminibus ferali carmine bubo Saepe queri et longas in fletum ducere voces. — Verg., Aen. IV, 462. Cf. [Hos. Get.] Medea 124 (Anth. Lot., p. 66). Bubo is feminine only here in the Latin poets : vid. Serv. in loc. The tremulous sob of the complaining owl. — Wordsworth. There I hear the moping owl, His dismal whoopings roll. Upon the heavy ear of night, In sounds that would thy soul affright. — Birtha. A charm to keep owls away, which has widely survived in modern lore and practice : Hinc Am}-thaonius, docuit quern plurima Chiron, Nocturnas crucibus volucres suspendit et altis Culminibus vetuit feralia carmina flere. — Col. X, 348. Ascalaphus is metamorphosed into an owl. Some description of the bird and an interpretation of its note : Ingemuit regina Erebi testemque profanam Fecit avem, sparsumque caput Phlegethontide lympha In rostrum ei plumas et grandia lumina vertit. Ille sibi ablatus fulvis amicitur in alis, Inque caput crescit, longosque reflectitur ungues, Vixque movet natas perinertia bracchia pennas : Foedaque fit volucris, venturi nuntia luctus, Ignavus bubo, dirum mortalibus omen. — Ov., Met. V, 54^. Among other omens of woe to come, an owl was present at the marriage of Tereus and Progne : Eumenides stravere torum, tectoque profanus Incubuit bubo thalamique in culmine sedit. Hac ave coniuncti Progne Tereusque. parentes Hac ave sunt facti. — Ov., Met. VI, 431. 44 THE BIRDS OF THE LATIN POETS The fateful note of the owl and other warnings did not prevent IMyrrha from incestuous union with Conyras, her father : Ter pedis offensi signo est revocata, ter omen Funereus bubo letali carmine fecit. It tamen. et tenebrae minuunt, noxque atra pudorem. — Ov., Met. X, 452. The gloomy calls of innin-nerablc owls attend the death of Caesar: Tristia mille locis Stygius^ dedit om.nia bubo : JMille locis lacrimavit ebur, cantusque feruntur Auditi Sanctis et verba minantia lucis. — Ov., Met. XV, 791. Likewise, great numbers of owls frequented the ill-omened Roman camp at Cannae : Obseditque frequens castrorum limina bubo. — SiL. Ital. VIII, 634. The ill-boding notes of an owl were heard when Ibis was born : Sedit in adverso nocturnus culmine bubo Funereoque graves edidit ore sonos. Ov., Ibis 223. Medea uses the heart of an owl in her incantations before the altar of Hecate. Cf. Ov., Amor. I, 12, 19. Mortifera carpit gramina ac serpentium Saniem exprimit miscetque et obscenas aves Maestique cor bubonis et raucae strigis Exsecta vivae viscera. — Sen., Med. 731. Another incantation : Latratus habet ilia canum gemitusque luporum Quod trepidus bubo, quod strix nocturna queruntur. Quod stridunt ululantque ferae, quod sibilant anguis. —Luc. VI, 686. The owl with its gloomy note is one of the birds of Hades : Hie vultur, illic luctifer bubo gemit Omenque triste resonat infaustae strigis. — Sen., Her. Fur. 686. ^The epithet Stygius may be due to the metamorphosis association. Ascalaphus was the son of Styx. But vid. infra. BUBO 45 Hie dirae volucres pastusque cadavere vultur Et niultus bubo ac sparsis strix sanguine pennis. — SiL. Ital. XIII, 597. In aug-ury, the note of an owl from the left annuls the propitious notes of other birds : Nee caelum servare licet : tonat augure surdo, Et laetae iurantur aves bubone sinistro. —Luc. V, 395. For other augural references to owls : Vid. Stat., Thcb. Ill, 508; Claud., In Exitrop. II, 406. Owls in proverbial comparisons, symbolizing the impossible : Vocalem superet si dirus aedona bubo. — Calp. VI, 8. Praepes funereo cum vulture ludat hirundo, Cum bubone gravi nunc philomela sonet. — Anth. Lat. 390, 27. And hawk and sparrow shared a nest. — Lanier. In a simile a comparison is made with the notes of the owl : Qualis et horrendus funesto carmine bubo Conqueritur deflenda gemens dum tristia maestus Funerea sub nocte canit, sic anxia nutrix Ingemit et tremulas diffundit maesta querelas. — Drag. X, 307. The huho is associated with Pallas : Pallada bubo vehit, sed earn rota nulla figurat. — Anth. Lat. 939. The onomatopoetic verb for the call of the owl — with its traditional mterpretation : Bubulat horrendum ferali murmure bubo Humano generi tristia fata ferens. — Anth. Lat. 762, 37. Cf. Varr., De L. L. 5, 11 ; Isid.. Orig. 12, 7, 39. Wackernagel. op. cit., p. 49. And the hoarse owl, that now and then booms out His harsh, unearthlv, melancholv shout. — Gen. Albert Pike. 46 THE BIRDS OF THE LATIN POETS And the solemn owl, with his dull "too-wdioo." Settles down on the side of the old canoe. — Emily R. Page. {The Old Cattoe.' Poets of Vermont, p. 419.) BUTIO. 'AoTEQiac. Bittern. Ardca St el lay is. American parallel : Greater Bittern. Dutio mugitans. Vid. Endicott, Bitterns. Am. Nat. 3, 169. The bittern slunk Amongst the sedge — and lonely hern, that waits His prey, oft stranded by the insidious ebb. — M'Kinnon. As the hawk whose glance of tawny fire Is on the bittern's wing. — Pollock. The dying thunders roll o'er dale and scar ; In the still pool the bittern sees the star. — Mifflin. Naturally enough, neither Lucretia nor Margaret Davidson had any exact knowledge of bird life. But such errors as the following are com- paratively rare in the American poets : The woods echo round the bittern's shrill scream, As he dips his black wing in the wave of the stream. — Lucretia Davidson. The onomatopoetic call of the marsh frequenting bittern : Ast ululant ululae lugubri voce canentes Inque paludiferis butio butit aquis. — Anth. Lat. 762, 41. Vid. Newton, op. cit., p. 40: " 'Butter-bump' corrupted into 'Botley- bumb' and perhaps other uncouth forms, has reference to the booming or bellowing sound for which this species was famous." Cf. Germ. Rohr- dommel. Wackernagel, op. cit., p. 57. ^This poem is printed in the last edition of General Pike's poems with the following note : "While the authorship of this beautiful poem has been credited to General Pike, it has also been denied that he wrote it, and he himself is said to have stated that the honor did not belong to him but to a young lady whose name has never been mentioned to the knowledge of the editor of this volume. The verses were republished in the Gazette a few years ago with this reference : 'We do not know from what paper or magazine they were taken — but it was understood that Gen. Pike was the author.' " It is interesting to note that in its newspaper migration from Vermont to Arkansas — from Page to Pike — the little poem of fifty lines has suffered twenty-four textual variations. CASSITA ^7 And as a bitore bumbleth in the mire. — Chaucer. The bittern lone, that shakes the solid ground, While thro' still midnight groans the hollow sound. — Alexander Wilson. The bittern's boom. — Emerson. It is the bittern's solemn cry. — Peterson (Stedman). Making the solemn bittern stir Like a half-wakened slumberer. — Sladen. Uprising from sedgy brink The lonely bittern's cry will sink Upon the startled ear. — Hoffman (Oris wold). Or, faintly heard, a bittern cries Across the tasseled waterweeds. — Stein. When bitterns boom, and flapping fly. — Strong. Strange insects whir, and stalking bitterns boom. — Emma Lazarus. CASSITA. KoQvbakog. Crested Lark. Alauda cristata. The skylark {Alauda arvensis), so frequent in all modern literature, strangely enough seems to have made little impression upon the ancient poets. Cf. Theoc. VII, 141 and X, 50. Its song was apparently unnoted or ignored. Even Aristotle does not mention the ecstacy of the soaring bird.^ This neglect is due to conditions of migration and to the fact that no great metamorphosis myth made the bird prominent in popular fancy. This in turn, I believe, is to be explained by the fact that the song is too joyous for the dramatic sorrows of metamorphosis. Dante (Par. XX, 73) responds to the later feeling: Oual lodoletta, che in acre si spazia Prima cantando, e poi tace contenta Dell'ultima dolcezza che la sazia. American literary parallels: Meadow lark, bobolink. Vid. Burroughs, Birds and Poets, p. 17. ^In his delightful 'Idylls of Greece,' Sutherland portrays the song of the lark with great charm — but the descriptions are neither Greek nor Roman. E. g. : From the fields near-by a lark soar'd up and up In measured flights with ever beating wing. And trill'd its benediction o'er a world Superlatively peaceful. 4^ THE BIRDS OF THE LATIN POETS Sprague's Pipit (No doubt, destined to figure in the future poetical literature of the West.— Burroughs.) has not yet come into its manifest inheritance. Low : To a Lark. Hogg (Stedman) : The Lark. Piatt : A Word until a Skylark. Thompson : To an English Skylark. Garland : The Meadozv Lark. Dunbar : The Meadozv Lark. Matthews: The Meadozv Lark. Kceler: Az'ila and Sturnellns. A myth of the meadozv lark's song at dazvn. When the bonny gray morning just peeps from the skies, And the lark mounting, tunes her sweet lay; With a mind unincumbered by care I arise. (Independent Farmer.) — Susanna Rowson. The lark had called me at the birth of dawn, My cheerful toils and rural sports to share. — John Trumbull. In clouds th' embosom'd lark her matin sings. (Conquest of Canaan.) — Timothy Dwight. Or see before us from the lawn The lark go up to greet the dawn. — Timrod. Hear the new, golden flood of song The lark pours to the blue. — Higginson. The meadow-lark at dawn that sings. — Higginson. Jolliest of our birds of singing, Best he loved the Bob-o-link. — Whittier. Of the glad bobolink, whose lyric throat Pealed like a tangle of small bells afloat. — Roberts. The linked bubblings of the bobolink. — Roberts. Why, Fd give more for one live bobolink Than a square mile o' larks in printer's ink. — Lowell. My colleague. Professor J. O. Snyder, reports having heard the bobolink several times this past summer (1913) in Nevada. The bird seems to be following the alfalfa and irrigation projects westward. CASSITA 49 In the meads, Shorn of their hay, the yellow-breasted larks Melodious sung. — M'Kinnon. Gayly sings the meadow lark, Bidding all the birds assemble. — Sherman (Sladen). The lark and its young portrayed in a prose Fable from Aesop, the beauty of which as a type of its kind is fairly without a parallel in litera- ture : Avicula, inquit (Aesopus), est parva, nomen est cassita. Habitat nidulaturque in segetibus, id ferme temporis, ut appetat messis pullis iam pluniantibus. Ea cassita in sementes forte congesserat tcmpestiviores ; propterea frumentis flavescentibus pulli etiam tunc involucres erant. Dum igitur ipsa iret cibum pullis quaesituni monet eos, ut, si quid ibi rei novae fieret dicereturve, animadvertcrent idque uti sibi, ubi redisset, nuntiarent. Dominus postea segetum illarum filiuni adolescentem vocat, et; 'Videsne,' inquit, 'haec ematurisse et manus iam postulare? Idcirco die crastini, ubi primum diluculabit. fac amicos adeas et roges, veniant operamque mutuam dent et messim banc nobis adiuvent.' Haec ubi ille dixit, discessit. Atque, ubi redit cassita, pulli tremibundi. trepiduli circumstrepere orareque matrem, ut iam statim properet inque alium locum sese asportet: 'Nam dominus,' inquiunt, 'misit, qui amicos roget, uti luce oriente veniant et metant.' Mater iubet eos otioso animo esse : 'Si enim dominus,' inquit, 'messim ad amicos reiecit, crastino seges non metetur neque necessum est, hodie uti vos auferam.' Die, inquit, postero mater in pabulum volat. Dominus, quos rogaverat, opperitur. Sol fervit, et fit nihil. It dies, et amici nulli eunt. Turn ille rursum ad filium: 'Amici isti magnam partem,' inquit, 'cessatores sunt. Quin potius imus et cognatos adfinesque nostros oramus, ut adsint eras tempori ad metendum?' Itidem hoc pulli pavefacti matri nuntiant. Mater hortatur, ut turn quoque sine metu ac sine cura sint, cognatos adfinesque nullos ferme tarn esse obsequibiles, ait, ut ad laborem capessendum nihil cunctentur et statim dicto oboediant. 'Vos modo,' inquit, 'advertite, si [modo] quid denuo dicetur.' Alia luce orta, avis in pastum profecta est. Cognati et adfines operam quam rogati sunt dare supersederunt. Ad postremum igitur domJnus filio. 'Valeant.' inquit, 'amici cum propinquis. AfiFeres primo luci falcas duas : imam egomet mihi et tu tibi capies alteram, et frumentum nosmetipsi manibus nostris eras metemus.' Id ubi ex pullis dixisse dominum mater audivit. 'Tempus,' inquit, 'est cedendi et abeundi : fiet nunc dubio procul, quod futurum dixit. In ipso enim iam vertitur, cuia res est, non in alio, unde petitur.' Atque ita cassita nidum migravit, seges a domino demessa est. Hunc, Aesopi apologum Q. Ennius in satiris scite admodum et venuste versibus quadratis composuit. Quorum duo postremi isti sunt, quos habere cordi et memoriae operae pretium esse hercle puto: Hoc erit tibi argumentum semper in promptu situm, Nequid exspectes amicos, quod tute agere possies. — Gell. li, 29, 3. 50 THE BIRDS OF THE LATIN POETS The lark's keen joy was shed! For what though the morning sulky was And the punctual sun belated, His nest was snug in the tufted grass, Soft-lined and stoutly plaited. And shine sun or stay away Nests must be celebrated! — Moody. He rose, and singing passed from sight — A shadow kindling with the sun. His joy ecstatic flamed, till light And heavenly song were one. — Tabb. (The Lark.) Oh, Lark of Europe, downward fluttering near. Like some spent leaf at best. You'd never sing again if you could hear My Blue-Bird of the West! — Mrs. Piatt. CAVANNUS. Kixxd6ri, etc. AnOwl(?). Vid. s. V. TERDix, Anth. Lot. 390, 29. CEYX. Kfjli|. A mythical bird. Vid. s. V. ALCEDO for the myth of Ceyx and Alcyone. Ceyx as a bird-name is probably the same as Ki\E, (cf. Horn., Od. XV, 479), which has been identified by Netolicka, Naturh. aus Homer, p. 14, as the Great Crested Grebe, Podiceps cristatus, since the cry of this bird suggests the name Ceyx. The grebes, as is well known, build rude floating nests of aquatic plants. The observation of this fact and the mythical asso- ciation of the ceyx and the halcyon may be the naturalistic basis of the myths concerning the floating nests of the halcyons. Cf. Plin. 32, 8, 27, For a reference to the floating nests of the Podiceps cristatus vid. Newton, op. cit., p. 630. Boraston, The Birds of Homer, Jour, of Hell. Studies, vol. 31, identifies the Krjl from its note kik ! as the Common Tern. CICONIA. neAaoyog. Stork. Ciconia alba. American literary parallels : Stork, crane. Bayard Taylor: The Village Stork. Field : The Stork. CICONIA 51 Stands the well-sweep in the lane, On its one leg, like a crane Long and gaunt. — Trowp.ridge. The stork in heaven knoweth Her own appointed time And like an arrow goeth Back to our colder clime. — Hosmer. As when autumnal storms awake their force The storks^ foreboding tempt their southern course, From all the fields collecting throngs arise, Mount on the wing and crowd along the skies. — Barlow. (Cohmbiad.) The Praenestines shorten ciconia to conea : As. Perii ! 'rabonem'? Guam esse dicam banc beluam? Quin tu 'arrabonem' dicis? Tr. 'A,' facio lucri, Ut Praenestinis conea est ciconia. — Plaut., True. 689. In a simile, reference is made to falling storks — smitten in midair by lightning : At nos caduci naufragi ut ciconiae, Quarum bipinnis fulminis plumas vapor Percussit, alte maesti in terram cecidimus. — Varro, Sat. Men. Biicheler, Petr. Sat., p. 190. Vines are best planted when the stork ( Candida avis) arrives, as a harbinger of spring : Optuma vinetis satio, cum vere rubenti Candida venit avis longis invisa colubris. — Verg., Gcor. 11. 310. Cf. Isid., Orig. XII, 7: Ciconiae veris nuntiae, soci^tUis comite=^. serpentium hostes. Sid. II, 14, 2: Usque ad adventum hirundineum vel ciconinum lani Numaeque ninguidos menses. A certain Rufus brought into fashion the eating of yoimg storks: Tutus erat rhombus tutoque ciconia nido Donee vos auctor docuit praetorius. — HoR., Sat. II. 2, 49. 'Here Barlow clearly had in mind the Homeric and later classical epic similes referring to the fall migration of the crane. Vid. s. v. grus. ^2 THE BIRDS OF THE LATIN POETS The crane {grus) later came into vog-iie. cf. Plin. X, 30, 3: Cornelius Nepos, qui Augusti principatu obiit, scribit ciconias niagis placere, quara grues : cum haec nunc ales inter primas expetatur, illam nemo velit attigisse. \'id. s. v. grus. This bird when fat is considered by many to be excellent eating. — Alexander Wilson, op. cit., s. v. American Bittern. The young are said to be excellent for the table, and even old birds, when in good order, and properly cooked, are esteemed by many. — Alex- ander Wilson, op. cit., s. v. Great Heron. The Rufus mentioned above was rejected and this epigram against him followed : Ciconiarum Rufus iste conditor Hie est duobus elegantior Plancis. Suffragiorum puncta non tulit septem. Ciconiarum populus ultus est mortem. — Porphyr. in loc, Biich., P. L. M., p. 327. Antigone, daughter of Laomedon, was metamorphosed into a stork: Pinxit et Antigonem, ausam contendere quondam Cum magni consorte lovis, quam regia luno In volucrem vertit: nee profuit Ilion illi Laomedonve pater, sumptis quin Candida pennis Ipsa sibi plaudat crepitante ciconia rostro. — Ov., Met. VI, 93. Cf. Serv. ad. Aen. I, 27: 'Spretae formae' referunt ad Antigonam, Laomedontis filiam, quam a lunone propter formae adrogantiam in ciconiam constat esse conversam. And sacred stork, thought human soul disguised. — Bailey. A brief description of the habits of the stork, which is not a winter resident. The affection felt for the bird: Ciconia etiam grata peregrina hospita Pietaticultrix gracilipes crotalistria Avis, exul hiemis, titulus tepidi temporis, Ncquitiae nidum in caccabo fecit modo. — PuR. Syr., Ribb. Com. Rom. Frag., p. 304. Cf. Isid., Orig. XII, 7, 17: Eximia illis circa filios pietas ; nam adeo nidos impensius fovent, ut assiduo in cubitu plumas exuant. Quantum CICONIA 53 autem temporis impenderint in foetibus educandis, tantum et ipsae in- vicem a pullis aluntur. Plin. X, 23, 32: Genetricum senectam invicem educant. Juv. I, 116: Quaeque salutatio crepitat Concordia nido. And the sparrow finds her nest In the temple's sacred rest. — Tick nor. My nest upon a temple stands. — Bayard Taylor. Did he give us the beautiful stork above On the chimney top with its large round nest? — Longfellow. Behind the back of Janus, no one imitating ( with fingers) the clapping of the stork's bill, makes mockery of the god : O lane, a tergo quem nulla ciconia pinsit. — Pers. I, 58. Isid., Orig. 20, 15, 3: Ciconia levat ac deprimit rostrum dum clangit. The feeding habits of storks, young and old : Serpente ciconia pullos Nutrit et inventa per devia rura lacerta Illi eadem sumptis quaerunt animalia pinnis. —Juv. XIV, 74. Plin. X, 24: Illis in Thessalia tantus honor serpentium exitio habitus est, ut ciconiam occidere capitale est, eadem legibus poena, qua in homicidas. The Fable of the Fox and the Stork : Ad coenam vulpis dicitur ciconiam Prior invitasse, et illi in patina liquidam Posuisse sorbitionem, quam nullo modo Gustare esuriens potuerit ciconia. Quae vulpem cum revocasset, intrito cibo Plenam lagonam posuit: huic rostrum inserens Satiatur ipsa et torquet convivam fame. Quae cum lagonae collum frustra lamberet, Peregrinam sic locutam volucrem accepimus : 'Sua quisque exempla debet aequo animo pati.' — Phaed. I, 26. Field: The Cobbler and Stork. The association of the stork with the beginnings of babyhood does not occur in ancient literature. 54 THE BIRDS OF THli LATIN POETS A folk-lore tale from Oppiatius : In Italia (inquit Oppianus), ut fertur, cum serpens quidam ad nidum prorepens ciconiarum pnllos devorasset et alteram deinde sequentis anni foeturam sic iter perdidisset, ciconiae tertio demuni anno reversae, novam quandam avem et prius non visam (quae brevior quidem ciconiis erat, sed rostrum magnum et acutum ensis instar a capite exerebat) secum adduxerunt. indicata nimirum ei foetus calamitate sui, sive polli- citationibus ullis sive verbis, ut opem ferret invitatam. Nam utrum aves et animantes aliae. suum inter se colloquium nobis ignotum misceant, in dubium vocari potest. Avis haec, nondum absoluto ciconarium foetu, coniuncta eis non erat: pullis vero iam exclusis cum parentes ad com- parandum pullis avique custodi victum longius avolarent, ipsa nidum non deseruit, ut serpenti obsisteret. Serpens igitur paulo post progressus e latibulo, pullos aggreditur : et licet ab ave custode rostro impeteretur, non statim recessit, sed erectus corpore, caudaeque innitens, se opponebat, et secundo iam ictus spiris involere custodem frustra moliebatur, utcunque plurimis se flexibus insinuaret, nam facile evadebat avis in sublime se recipiens. Sic dum ille perdere, haec servare pullos annituntur, plurimis tandem ille vulneribus confossus iacuit : at non impune, avem enim in conflictu dentibus venerantis adeo laesit, ut omnes ei pennae defluerent. Cum vero revertendi tempus appetiisset, ac reliquae ciconiae, iam avo- lassent, parentes cum pullis servatis, ut beneficii memores se declararent, tantis permanserunt. donee novis ei pennis renatis simul avolarent. — Opp.. Ixcut., Gesner, op. cit., p. 256. The clattering note of the stork's bill : Longoque ciconia collo Glottorat et ranas grandi rapit improba rostro. —Anth. Lat. 733, 7. Glottorat immenso maerens ciconia rostro. — Anth. Lat. 762, 29. Vid. Wackernagel, op. cit. 75, 137; Isid., Orig. XII, 7. Ciconiae vocatae a sono, quo crepitant, quasi cicaniae, quem sonum oris potius esse constat, quam vocis, quia eum quatiente rostro faciunt. Cf. supra, Pers. I, 58. Ov. Met. VI. 97 and Juv. i, 116; where crepitare is wrongly taken by Mayor, as it is also in the lexicons : Mettendo i denti in nota di cicogna. — Dante, Inf. XXXI, 36. He just glanced downward And snapped to his beak. — Christina G. Rosetti. Thus mused the stork, with snap of beak. — Bayard Taylor. COLUMBA 55 COLUMBA. UEQiaxegd, nileia. Pigeon, dove. Colnmba livia. Blue-rock pigeon. Rock-dove. Colnmba was the name usually applied to both the wild blue-rock pigeon and to its descendant, the domestic pigeon. Colnmba and palum- bes were sometimes confused. American parallels : Dove, pigeon, ring dove. Newton, op. cit., p. 163. Fowler, op. cit. 219-223. Lorrenz: Die Taube im Alterthnmc. Thompson, op. cit., p. 132: Astronomic lore. Philip Robinson : The Poets' Birds. Atlantic 49, 675. Benjamin (Griswold) : The Dove's Errand. Willis : The Belfry Pigeon. Mace: The Tzvo Doves. Some reflections on the relation of the dove to Venus, to whom the dove was sacred: Et Veneris dominae volucres, mea turba, columbae Tinguunt Gorgoneo punica rostra lacu. — Prop. Ill, 3, 27. Punica is more accurate for the ring-dove (palumbes) than for the rock-dove (columba). See white winged swans, see red bill'd doves. — Miller. To Venus' shrine no altars raised are. No venom'd shafts from painted quiver fly: Nor wanton Doves of Aphrodite's carr. — John Rogers (Kettell). The blue-eyed Aphrodite, whom the doves. White as her breasts, delight in following. — Sutherland. Sed cape torquatae, Venus o regina, columbae Ob meritum ante tuos guttura secta focos. —Prop. IV, 5, 65. Torquatae seems to point to the ring-dove, cf. Mart. XIII, 67, Tor- quatus palumbus. Nor the pigeon so glossy a ring on her throat. — Alice Gary. In Aen. VI, 190 ff. Vergil, I believe, had the ring-dove or wood- pigeon in mind, although he uses columbae. Gf. Morris, op. cit., vol. IV, p. 170: 'The rock-pigeon does not perch in trees.' 56 THE BIRDS OF THE LATIN POETS Necte comaiii niyrto ; iiiaternas iunge columbas. Qui deccat, currum vitricus ipse dabit: Inque date curru. populo clamante triumphum, Stabis et adiunctas arte movebis aves. — Ov., Am. I. 2, 23. Ne violes teneras periuio dente columbas, Tradita si Gnidiac sunt tibi sacra deae. —Mart. XIIT. 66. Hie iuvenum lapsus suaque aut externa rcvolvit Vulnera, {pro! quanta est Paphii reverentia, mater, Numinis!) hie nostrae deflevit fata columbae! — Stat., Silv. I, 2, 100. Cf. Mart. I. 7: \"II, 14. Why doves are dear to Venus : Quae autem causa sit ficta, propter quam Venus columba delecta sit, talis est ; quod Venus et Cupido, cum quodam tempore voluptatis gratia in quosdam nitentes descendissent campos, I'asciva contentia certare coe- perunt, qui plus sibi gemmates colligeret flores. Quorum Cupido adiutus mobilitate pennarum, postquam naturam corporis volatu superavit, victus est numero. Peristera enim nympha subito accurrit et adiuvando Ve- nerem superiorem effecit cum poena sua. Cupido siquidem indignatus mutavit puellam in avem, quae a Graecis jteQioteQoi appellatur. Sed poenam honor minuit. Venus namque consolatura puellae et innocentis transfigurationem. columbam in tutela sua esse mandavit. — Lact., ad Stat. Theb. IV, 226. In Euphratem flumen de coelo ovum mira magnitudine cecidisse dicitur, quod pisces ad ripam evoluerunt. Super quod columbae con- sederunt et excalfactum excludisse Venerem. — Hyg., Fab. 197. Veneri consccratas, proper fetum frequentem et coitum. — Serv., ad Verg. Aen. VI, 193. Cf. also Ov., Met. XV, 389; Sil. Ital. IV, 106. Take Venus, with her turtle doves. — Fessenden. How doves were sacrified to Venus. Soothsaying: Ergo saepe suo coniunx abducta marito Uritur Idaliis alba columba focis. — Ov., Fast. I, 451. Cf. supra. Prop. IV, 5, 65. Calidae pulmone columbae Tractato Armenius vel Commagenus haruspex. — Juv. VI, 549. COLUMBA 57 Lovers ever ran before the clock. Oh, ten times faster Venus' pigeons fly. — Shakespeare. Pity thou, And I will offer thee white doves, whose note Sounds softer in the woods than hynming lutes. — Sutherland. And since from Aphrodite's dove The pattern of the fan was given No wonder it breathes of Love. — Holmes. Even as, wafted by her doves. She kissed the faces of the yearning waves. — Stedman. Vid. also Gen. Albert Pike: Hymn to Venus. Color and descriptive epithets applied to the dove : Alba, albulus, albiplumen, niveo, sine labe, pulchra, torquatae, aeriae, praecipites, sublimem in nube, timidus, timidissima, trepidas, pavidae, placida, trepidante penna, teneras, castus, blanda, sine felle, molles, Argoa. Love to her Was whiter than the foam-white doves that warmed The rosy feet of Venus. — Sutherland. In the east The sky is like the bosom of a dove, All gray and crimson. — Sutherland. How the oracles of Zeus at Dodona and in Libya were occasioned by two doves from Thebes : Nam cui dona lovi non divulgata per orbem, In gremio Thebes geminas sedisse columbas? Ouarum, Chaonias pennis quae contigit oras, Implet fatidico Dodonida murmure quercum. At quae, Carpathium super aequor vecta, per Auras in Libyen niveis tranavit concolor alis, Hanc sedem templo C>i;hereia condidit ales ; Hie, ubi nunc aram lucosque videtis opacos, Ductore electo gregis, admirabile dictu, Lanigeri capitis media inter cornua perstans, Marmaricis ales populis responsa canebat. — SiL. Ital. Ill, 677. The air with birds they flocked ; oracular dove. Thrice holy in tradition from the egg. Hid by Aturian turtle, and the flood. To Jordan's sacred streamlet. — Bailey. 58 THE BIRDS OF THE LATIN POETS Where once the mighty voice of Jove Rang through Dodona's haunted grove, No more the dove with sable plumes Swept through the forest's georgeous glooms. — Sarah Helen Whitman. Cf. Herod. H. 55. For a discussion of the doves at Dodona, vid. Jebb, Soph., Track. 1166. Appendix: Serv. ad. Verg., Aen. IH, 466. For doves in Palestine, vid. Tib. I, 7, 17; Hyg. 197. White dove-cots were preferred. Other references to dove-cots. Totus autem locus et ipsae columbarum cellae poliri debent albo tectorio. quoniam eo colore praecipue delectatur hoc genus avium. Oolum. 8, 8. Aspicis, ut veniant ad Candida tecta columbae, Accipiat nullas sordida turris aves? — Ov,, Trist. I, 9, 7. God ! if I might in this white dove-cote dwell. — Higginson. A poor soiled dove of this dear St. Mark. — Miller. Cf. Gould, The Dove on the Chimney. Quaeque gerit similes Candida turris aves, Munera sunt dominae. — Mart. XH, 31, 6. Quasque colat turres, Chaonis ales habet. — Ov., A. A. II, 150. Nam prius incipient turres vitare columbae, Antra ferae, pecudes gramina, mergus aquas ; Quam male se praestat veteri Graecinus amico. — Ov., Ex Pont. I, 6, 51. Sonantque turres plausibus columbarum. —Mart. HI, 58, 18. And hear, from their high perch along the eaves. The bright-necked pigeons call. — Elizabeth A. Allen. Qualiter Idaliae volucres, ubi mollia frangunt Nubila, iam longum coeloque domoque gregatae. Si iunxit pennas diversoque hospita tractu Venit avis, cunctae primum mirantur et horrent : Mox propius propiusque volant, atque aere in ipso Paulatim fecere suam. plausuque secundo Circueunt hi^ares et ad alta cubilia ducunt. — Stat., Ach. I, 372. COLUMBA 59 The epithet hilares is almost unique as applied to bird life among the Roman poets. The note of joy is the prevailing modern concept, save where the ancient tradition is followed. Vid. s. v. luscinia and Note IV, RUSCINIA. Sic ubi perspicuae scandentem limina turris Idaliae volucres fulvum adspexere draconem, Intus agunt natos et feta cubilia valiant Unguibus, imbellesque citant ad proelia pennas. Mox merit licet ille retro, tamen aera nudum Candida turba timet, tandemque ingressa volatus Horret et a mediis etiamnum respicit astris. —Stat., Theh. XII, 15. There too the dove-cot stood, with its meek and innocent in- mates Murmuring ever of love. — Longfellow. There must have been a dove-cote too, I know, Where white-winged birds like Spirits come and go. — Stedman. Cf. also Varr., R. R. Ill, 7; Juv. Ill, 200. The metamorphosis of Dercetis and her daughter Semiramis : Ilia, quid e multis referat (nam plurima norat), Cogitat et dubia est, de te. Babylonia, narret, Derceti, quam versa squamis velantibus artus Stagna Palaestini credunt motasse figura An magis, ut sumptis illius filia pennis Extremos albis in turribus egerit annos. — Ov., Met. IV, 44. But all agree that from no lawful bed. This great renowned empress issued. For which she was obscurely nourished. Whence rose that fable, she by birds was fed. (Semiramis.) — Anne Bradstreet. The poets feign'd her turn'd into a dove, Leaving the world to Venus soar'd above. (Semiramis.) — Anne Bradstreet. Medea passes over the city of Alcidamas, whose daughter was trans- formed into a dove : Transit et antiquae Cartheia moenia Ceae. Qua pater Alcidamas placidam de corpore natae Miratus erat nasci potuisse columbam. — Ov., Met. VII, 368. 6o THE RIRDS OF THE LATIN POETS Tenderly her dove-eyes glistened. — Morris. And then a dove, dear nunlike dove With eyes all tenderness. — Miller. Now what is thy secret, serene g'ray dove? — Miller. How the daughters of Anius were changed into doves: Nee qua ratione figuram Perdiderint, potui scire aut nunc dicere possum : Summa mali nota est : pennas sumpsere tuaeque Coniugis in volucres. niveas abiere columbas. — Ov., Met. XIII, 672. Where, transform'd to sacred doves, Many a blessed Indian roves Through the air on wing, as white As those wond'rous stones of light. — Thomas Moore. {Poems relating to America.) Daedalion, metamorphosed into a hawk, preys upon the Thisbean doves : Illius virtus reges gentesque subegit, Quae nunc Thisbaeas agitat mutata columbas. — Ov., Met. XI, 299. Cf. Horn., //. II, 502; Stat., Theh. VII, 261. Doves are still found in enormous numbers at Kokosi, on the site of ancient Thisbe, and from this fact Chandler identified the site. Vid. Frazer, Pans., vol. V, p. 160. References to the Argo, Symplegades and Dove: Tuque tuo Colchum propellas remige Phasim, Peliacaeque trabis totuni iter ipse legas, Qua rudis Argoa natat inter saxa columba In faciem prorae pinus adacta novae. — Prop. Ill, 22, 11. Et qui movistis duo litora, cum ratis Argo Dux erat ignoto missa columba mari. — Prop. II, 16, 39. QuaHs et ille fuit, quo praecipiente columba Est data Palladiae praevia duxque rati. — Ov., lb. 265. How a dove (possibly a carrier-pigeon — cf. Thompson, op. cit., p. 143 j came to Aretulla: COI.UMBA 6l Aera per taciturn delapsa sedentis in ipsos Fluxit Aretullae blanda columba sinus. Luserat hoc casus, nisi inobservata maneret Permissaque sibi nollet abire fuga. Si meliora piae fas est sperare sorori Et dominum nmndi flectere vota valent, Haec a Sardois tibi forsitan exulis oris Fratre reversuro, nuntia venit avis. — Mart. VIII, 32. Bear gently, Ocean's carrier-dove, Thy errands to and fro. — Whittif.r. True as the homing-bird flies with its message. — Ward (Stedman). Like homeward pigeon with uncaged wing. — Lampman. But nightly, like white courier doves They all come home to rest. — Higginson. As some stray carrier-pigeon onward 'hies O'er alien spire, and dim cathedral dome, With weakening pinions, that reluctant roam Athwart the high, inhospitable skies ; Famished and faint, with eager, yearning eyes. Whirled by the winds above the wild sea's foam, Till, at the last, outworn, he gains his home, Falls at his mistress's feet, content, and dies. — Mifflin. Medea flees to Jason even as a dove flees when seeing the shadow of a hawk: Ecce autem pavidae virgo de more columbae. Quae super ingenti circumdata praepetis umbra In quemcumque tremens hominem cadit : baud secus ilia Acta timore gravi mediam se immisit. — Val. Flacc. VIII, 32. But fly all helpless here to me A fluttered dove that night of dread. — Miller. Like shadows by a brilliant day Cast down from falcons on their prey. — PiNKNEY (Duyckinck). Whose omen flits Across thy heart as o'er a troop of doves The fearful shadow of the kite.— Lowell. Seest thou shadows sailing by As the dove with startled eye Sees the falcon's shadow fly? — Longfellow. 62 THE BIRDS OF THE LATIN POETS For columba used as a term of endearment, vid. Plant., Asiii. 693 ; Cos. 138. This use is by no means 'very frequent' (cf. Thompson, op. cit.. p. 142). Very hkely the poor chick sheds copious tears. — Field. I kissed him and called him my little bird O' th' woods, my dove, my darling. — Alice Gary. Poor little dove! Thou tremblest like a leaf.— Longfellow. Cruel death ! To take away my dove, my lamb, my darling. — Longfellow. My sad, sweet dove. — Miller. A Christian use of columba from the grave of an unknown pope: Quam domino fuerant devota mente parentes. Qui confessorem talem genuere potentem Adque sacerdotem sanctum, sine felle columbam, Divinae legis sincero corde magistrum. — BiJcH., Cann. Epig. 787. The Holy Dove of Peace, the promised giiest. Folded its fragrant pinions on my breast. — Sarah Helen Whitman. With patient hand Jesus in clay once wrought. And made a snowy dove that upward flew. (Jesus and the Dove.) — Maria Lowell (Griswold). Go then, my Dove, but now no longer mine ! Leave Earth and now in Heavenly Glory shine. {Epitaph of Abigail, his z^'ife, 1703. ) — Cotton Mather. So with the wings of Faith and Love, And feathers of an Holy Dove, She bid this wretched world adieu And swiftly up to Heaven flew. — Noyes. (.'/ consolatory poem, addressed to Cotton Mather upon the death of his wife. 1703.) A soft dove gray that shrouds the dead. — Miller. As regards color, white doves are most common : Et ille nunc superbus et superfiuens Perambulabit omnium cubilia Ut albulus columbus aut Adoneus? —Cat. XXIX, 6. 63 Nee tantum niveo gavisast ulla columbo Compar, quae multo dicitur iniprobus Oscula mordenti semper decerpere rostro. Quam quae praecipue multivolast mulier. —Cat. LXVIII, 124. Nam fuit haec quondam niveis argentea pennis Ales, ut aequaret totas sine labe columbas. — Ov., Met. II, 536. Et variis albae iunguntur saepe columbae. — Ov., Her. XV, 37. Lilia tu vincis ne adhuc delapsa ligustra, Et Tiburtino monte quod albet ebur ; Spartanus tibi cedet olor Paphiaeque columbae, Cedet Erythraeis eruta gemma vadis. —Mart. VIII, 28, 11. Absit ut albiplumem valeat calcare columbam Inter tot niveas rustica milvus avis. — Anth. Lat., 729, 3. Ad iuga blanda sedet niveas moderata columbas, Non satianda donis, divae soror alma. — Anth. Lat. 941, 22. It was white as whitest dove. — Higginson. The white doves filled the air. Like white souls of the saints. — Longfellow. References to other colors : Pluma columbarum quo pacto in sole videtur, Quae sita cervices circum collumque coronat ; Namque alia fit uti claro sit rubro pyropo. Inter dum quodam sensu fit uti videatur Inter caeruleum viridis miscere zmaragdos. — LucR. II, 799. Colla Cytheriacae splendent agitata columbae. — Baehrens, p. L. M.. p. 368. A white dove drowned in Tuscan wine. — Miller. And rows of doves that sit on beams. With plump and glossy breasts. — Alice Cary. The reflections from their necks were very beautiful. — Tiioreau. op. cit., p. 113. 64 THK BiRns OF Till-: latin poets Cf. Cic. Acad. Tl. u). yg; Sen.. A'aY. Quacst. I. 5. 6; Aus., Epist. 111. 15. Notes on the nesting habits of the dove : Qualis spelunca subito commota columba Cui donius et dulces latebroso in pumice nidi Fertur in arva volans, plausumque exterrita pennis Dat tecto ingentem, mox aere lapsa quieto Radit iter liquidum, celeres neque commovet alas. — Verg., a en. V, 213. This is one of the most exact descriptions of bird life in the Latin poets. Columba is here applied to the wild rock-dove, the progenitor of our domesticated pigeons. Cf. Shairp, op. cit., p. 165. Piscium et summa genus haesit ulmo Nota quae sedes fuerat columbis. — HoR., Od. I, 2, 9. The change to pahmibis is, of course, better ornithology, but it is unnecessary, for while columba is usually applied to the rock-dove and the domesticated pigeon, and palumbes to the wood- or stock-dove (which Horace has in mind here), yet there existed at all times a slight mingling of names, habits, and mythological lore. Cf. especially sine fellc colnmbam and palumbes sine felle. By Wordsworth the ring-dove is repeatedly called the stock-dove. Cf. Mackie, op. cit., p. 82. True as the stock-dove to her shallow nest And to the grove that holds it. — Wordsworth. He went to her as goes the wild grey dove Straight to its mate, though hills rise high, and hide The brake where bides its loved one and their nest. — Sutherland. Pet name for a child. The mss. show the expected confusion of columbo and palumbo. The former is more likely correct: y\t cur non potius, teneroque columbo, Et similes regum pueris, poppare minutum Poscis, et iratus mammae lallare recusas? — Pers. hi, 16. Yet they contrived to rear their little dove, And he repaid them with the tenderest love. — Timrod. COI.UMBA 65 Doves feed their young- by regurgitation. Some references and similes derived from this fact. The conjugal 'affection of doves was proverbial : Ubi quid dederam, quasi colunibae pulli in ore ambae meo usque eratis. — Plaut., Asin. 209. Sinuque amicani refice frigidam caldo Columbulatim labra conserens labris. — Cn. Matius, Baeiirens, P. L. M ., p. 282. Oscula dat cupido blanda columba mari. — Ov., Am. II, 6, 56. Exemplo iunctae tibi sint in amore columbae. Masculus et totum femina coniugiuni. — Prop. II, 15, 27. Issa est purior osculo columbae. — Mart. I, 109, 2. Basia me capiunt blandas imitata columbas. — Mart. XI, 104, 9, Amplexa collum basioque tarn longo Blandita, quam sunt nuptiae columbarum. Rogare coepit Phyllis amphoram vini. —Mart. XII, 65, 8. Cf. also Cat. LXVIII, 125 supra; Plin. X, 104. The loving turtle and his lovely spouse. From bough to bough, in deep affection move. And with chaste joy reciprocate their love. — Roger Wolcott. The wail of an unmated dove. — Miller. Far down the wood, a one-desiring dove. — Lanier. The righteous man that wandering dove received, And to her mate restored, who, with sad moans, Had wonder'd at her absence. — Sigourney. The turtle on yon' withered bough Who lately moaned her murdered mate, Has found another partner now. — Freneau. Monday Captain Hall called to speak to me about my paper on Pigeons ; he complained that I expressed the belief that Pigeons were possessed of affection and tenderest love, and that this raised the brute species to a level with man. — Audubon, Journal, vol. I, p. 212. 66 THE BIRDS OF THE LATIN POETS A pun on the word columbus: Ch. Isti capiti dicito. Credo alium in aliam beluam hominein vortier: Illic in columbum. credo, leno vortitur, Nam in colunibari collus hau multo post erit ; In nervuom ille hodie nidanienta congeret. — Plaut., Riid. 886. 'Stocks' and 'stock-dove' show the piin ; but the tame pigeon, not the stock-dove, was probably in the poet's mind. Cupid's wings compared to the ruffled back of a much handled dove : Horrida pendebant molles super ora capilli, Et visa est oculis horrida pinna meis ; Quolis in aeriae tergo solet esse columbae, Tractantum multae quam tetigere manus. —Ox., Ex Pont. 111,3, 17- The pet dove of Stella : Stellae delicium mei columba, Verona licet audiente dicam, Vicit. Maxime, passerem Catulli. Tanto Stella mens tuo Catullo, Ouanto passere maior est columba. "' — Mart. I, y. For the proverbial preying of eagles upon doves. Cf. Verg., Eel. IX, 13; Ov., Met. I, 506; A. A. I, 117; Mart. X, 65, 12, etc. Vid. s. V. aquila. For the traditional preying of hawks upon doves. Cf. Lucr. Ill, 752 ; Verg., Aen. XI, 721 ; Ov., Met. V, 605 ; VI, 529 ; Fast. II, 50; Trist. I, i, 75; Hor., Od. I, 37, 17; Sil. Ital. V, 282, etc. Vid. S. V. ACCIPITER. For the association of dove and kite, vid. Hor., Ep. XVI, 32; vid.

S. V. MILVUS. For the raven and dove, vid. Juv. II, 63, vid. s. v. corvus. For the swan and dove, vid. Anth. Lat. 939, vid. s. v. cycnus. References to the note of the dove : Sonantque turres plausibus columbarum. —Mart. Ill, 58, 18. Et castus turtur atque columba gemunt. — Anth. Lat. 762, 20. (>7 Ite agite, o iuvenes, et desudate medullis. Omnibus inter vos ! non murmura vestra columbae, Brachia non hederae, non vincant oscula conchae. — Anth. Lat. 711. Cf. VVackernagel, op. cit., p. 59; Winteler, op. cit., p. 17. He did not cease : but cooed and cooed : And somewhat pensively he wooed. — Wordsworth. Wihy the note of the dove is full of sadness : But under Abel's date-palm trees The dove forgot its tone, And since, o'er other lands and seas, It makes its plaintive moan ; Thus Deity hath marked the crime For cycles passing round — The blood that flowed in Adam's time Is crying from the ground — For this is why the dove declares Its tearful, sad unrest. — Stanton. For the dove as a target for archers, vid. Verg., Aen. V, 488. For the dove on a cup as a work of art, vid. Mart. VIII, 6, 10 The dove was hewn in Karnah stone Before fair Jordan's banks were known. — Miller. For the Fable of the Kite and the Doves, vid. s. v. milvus. A later myth. How pearls are polished : As pearls, we're told, that fondling doves Have play'd with, wear a smoother whiteness. {Poems relating to America.) — Thomas Moore. CORNICULA. K0X0165. Jackdaw. Corvus monedula, L. American parallel : Blue- jay. The corniciilu who robbed birds of their plumage is reduced to ridicule : Quid mihi Celsus agit? Monitus multumque monendus Privatas ut quaerat opes et tangere vitet Scripta, Palatinus quaecumque recepit Apollo ; Ne, si forte suas repetitum venerit olim Grex avium plumas, moveat cornicula risum Furtivis nudata coloribus? — Hor., Ep. I, 3, 15. 68 THE BIRDS OF THE LATIN POETS Cf. also Phacd. I, 3, s. v. c.raculus. To shine in borrowed i^luines. with base design. — Freneau. A jackdaw faitli, mischievous, chatt'ring thing. Dress'd in a plume of every heathen's wing. — Cliffton. Who. jackdaws still, the peacock's pomp assume, And strut in pride with half a pilfer'd plume. — Lincoln (Kettell). CORNIX. KoQtovi]. Crow. Corvus corotie. American parallels : Crow, raven. Wilson (Stedman) : To a Croze. Trowbridge: IVatching the Crozes. Hosmer: The Crozv. Id.: Origin of the Crozv. Gardner: A Flock of Mythological Crozvs. Pop. Sci. Mo. 18, 43. The long life of the crow is proverbial in the Latin poets : Mvit et armiferae cornix invisa Minervae, Ilia quidem saeclis vix moritura novem. — Ov., Am. II, 6, 35. Cf. int. al. Lucr. \', 1083: cornicuni ut saecla vetusta; Ov., Met. \'ll, 274: novem cornicis saecula passae; Hor., Od. Ill, 17, 9: annosa cornix; Priap. 61, 11: cornix anus; Aus., Id. XVIII, 3; Anth. Lat. 344. 2: Ant quantum cornix atque elefans superest. A raven once an acorn took From Bashan's strongest, stoutest tree ; He hid it near a murmuring brook, And lived another oak to see. — Freneau. The oldest crow that caws below Recalls no sadder case. — Tichnor. The century living crow. — Bryant. The many-wintered crow. — Tennyson. And all noisy on the tree-tops caw-ed the rooks, that ancient race. — Linen. Sed Cinarae breves .\nnos fata dederunt, Servatura diu parem Cornicis vetulae temporibus Lvcen. —Hor., Od. IV, 13, 22. CORN IX 69 lam cornicibus omnibus superstes Hoc tandem sita prurit in sepulchre Calvo Plotia cum Melonthione. — Mart. X, 67, 5. Rex Pylius, magno si quidquam credis Homero, Exemplum vitae fuit a cornice secundae. — Juv. X, 247. How the crow as a weather prophet foretells the coming of storms : Et partim mutant cum tempestibus una Raucisonos cantus cornicum et saecla vetusta Corvorumque greges ubi aquam dicuntur et imbris Poscere et interdum ventos aurasque vocare. — LucR. V, 1082. Fuscaque non numquam cursans per litora cornix Demcrsit caput et fluctum cervice recepit. — Cic, Proiy. 222f. Turn cornix plena pluviam vocat improba voce Et sola in sicca secum spatiatur^ arena. — Verg., Geor. I, 388. A comparison of the above lines from Verg., Cic, and Lucr. might seem to give some support for the genuineness of the marginal line found in mss. Med. and Gud. at Verg., Geor. I, 389: Aut caput obiectat queru- lum venientibus undis. The resemblance, however, to Geor. I, 386, is suspicious ; furthermore, the epithet querulus as applied to the crow is unique, and is apparently due to the metamorphosis association. But cf. : Who feeds the ravens, when the croaking brood Raise hoarsely querulous their plaint to God? — Devens (Kettell). Quodque caput spargens undis, velut occupet imbrem, Instabili gressu metitur litora cornix. -Luc. V, 556. Cras foliis nemus Multis et alga litus inutili Demissa tempestas ab Euro Sternet, aquae nisi fallit augur Annosa cornix. — Hor., Od. HI. 17, 6. 'Cf. In there stepped a stately Raven of the saintly days of yore. — Poe. In the bare cornfield stalked the silent crow. — Mifflin. Along the brim the lovely plover stalks And to his visionary fellow talks. — Knapp(?) (Duyckinck). (A New England Pond.) TO THE BIRDS OF THE LATIN POETS Antequam stantes repetat paludes Imbrium divina avis imminentum, Oscineni corvuni prece suscitabo Solis ab ortu. — Hor., Od. Ill, 27, 9. Or gloom the strand, and croak the coming storm. {Conquest of Canau)i.) — Dvvight. Warned is the reaper of foul weather nigh. When the prophetic creature, in its flight, With changed note in its discordant cry. Moves like a gliding kite. While louder grows that wild, presageful call, Sheaves are piled high upon the harvest wain, And the stack neatly rounded ere the fall Of hail, and driving rain. — Hosmer. Cf. Cawein, The Raiu-Crozv. With us this name is most often applied to the cuckoo. \'id. Alexander Wilson, op. cit., s. v. yellow- billed CUCKOO. How the crow appeared in omens and warnings : Impetritum, inauguratumst : quovis admittunt aves, Picus et cornix est ab laeva, corvus, parra ab dextera Consuedent. — Plaut., Asin. 259. Quod nisi me quacumque novas incidere lites Ante sinistra cava monuisset ab dice cornix. Nee tuus hie Moeris, nee viveret ipse Menalcas. — Verg., Eel. IX, 14. From the second line is evidently made Verg., Eel. 1, 18: Saepe sinistra cava praedixit ab ilice cornix. Cf. And the ill-omened cawing of the crow. — Longfellow. Cf. Cic, De Div. I, 39; Hopf., op. cit., p. 115. Sis licet felix, ubicumque mavis, Et memor nostri, Galatea, vivas, Teque nee laevus vetet ire picus. Nee vaga cornix. — HoR., Od. Ill, 27, 13. Heard with alarm the cawing of the crow, That mingled with universal mirth. Cassandra-like, prognosticating woe. — Longfellow. CORNIX 71 How the crow was used in incantations : Cornicum imnieritas emit ungue genas, Consuluitque striges nostro de sanguine, ct in me Hippomenes fetae semina legit equae. — Prop. IV, 5, 13. Nee defuit illic Squamea Cinyphii tenuis membrana chelydri Vivacisque iecur cervi ; quibus insuper addit Ora caputque novem cornicis saecula passae. — Ov., Met. VII, 272. How a crow tried to dissuade a raven, then the favorite bird of Apollo (and pure white), from revealing to the god the infidelity of the nymph Coronis. As a warning to the raven the crow tells her own story : how for tale-bearing (when she was yet the maiden Coronis) concerning the basket in which Erechthonius was concealed, she had been banished from the protection of Minerva and succeeded by the owl. The first words of the crow to the raven : Quem garrula motis Consequitur pennis, scitetur ut omnia, cornix ; Auditaque viae causa, "Non utile carpis," Inquit, "iter. Ne sperne meae praesagia linguae." — Ov., Met. II, 547. For the garrulity of the crow cf. And from the wood-top calls the crow through all the gloomy day. — Bryant. Shrieks the crow the live long day. — Whittier. Whole flocks o' camp-meetin' crows Shoutin' hallelujah. — Dunbar. How the crow saw the basket opened : Abdita fronde levi densa spectabar ab ulmo. Quid facerent. — Ov., Met. II, 557. The crow moralizes upon her action and gives a warning to other birds: „ ... ^. ^ ,■ I ro quo mihi gratia talis Redditur, ut dicar tutela pulsa^ Minervae, Et ponar post noctis avem." Mea poena volucres Admonuisse potest, ne voce pericula quaerant. — Ov., Met. II, 562. 'Cf. Ov., Am. 11, 6, 2>'^: Cornix invisa Minerva. "Cf. s. v. NOCTUA. y2 THE BIRDS OF THE LATIN POETS How Coronis was metamorphosed into a crow by Minerva to save her from the violence of Neptune: Forma mihi nocuit. Nam cum per litora lentis Passibus. ut soleo, summa spatiarer arena, \'idit et incaluit pelag-i deus ; utque precando Tempora cum blandis absunipsit inania verbis ; Vim parat et sequitur. Fugio, densumque reHnquo Litus, et in molli nequidquam lassor arena. Inde deos hominesque voco: nee contigit uUum Vox mea mortalem. Mota est pro viro;ine virgo, AuxiHumque tulit. Tendebam brachia coelo: Brachia coeperunt levibus nigrescere pennis. Reicere ex humeris vestem moHbar : at ilia Pluma erat, inque cutem radices egerat imas. Plangere nuda meis conabar pectora palmis : Sed neque iam palmas, nee pectora nuda gerebam. Currebam : nee, ut ante, pedes retinebat arena Sed summa tollebar humo ; mox acta per auras Evehor, et data sum comes inculpata Minervae. Quid tamen hoc prodest, si diro facta volucris Crimine Nyctimene nostro successit honori ? — Ov., Met. II, 572. For the hostility of the crows and owls cf. int. al. Ov., F. II, 89: Et sine lite loquax cum Palladis alite cornix. The Crow himself sometimes falls a prey to the superior strength and rapacity of the Great Owl, whose weapons of offense are by far the more formidable of the two. — Alexander Wilson, op. cit., s. v. crow. Why the crows avoid the Acropolis of Athens and the regions near Cumae : Is locus est Cumas aput, acri sulphure montes Oppleti calidis ubi fumant fontibus aucti. Est et Athenaeis in moenibus, arcis in ipso Vertice, Palladis ad templum Tritonidis almae. Quo numquam pennis appellunt corpora raucae Cornices, non cum fumant altaria donis ; Usque adeo fugitant, non iras Palladis acris Pervigili causa, Graium ut cecinere poetae ; Sed natura loci opus efificit ipsa suapte. — LucR. VI, 747. Lapwing and reptile shun the curst abode, And the foul dragon, now no more a god. Trails off his train ; the sickly raven flies ; A wide strong-stencht Avernus chokes the skies. — Barlow. {Columhiad.) coRvus 73 Cf. Leake, Athens I, p. 206. "As to the crow, the explanation seems to be that these birds, which are seen in great numbers around the rocks of the Acropolis, seldom rise to the summit." For a dream in which a crow appears as symbolic of a trouble- causing procuress, cf. Ov., Ajh. Ill, 5. For Tranio (as a crow) and two old men (as vultures), vid. Plant., Most. 822 if., S. V. VULTUR. For proverbial reference to the crow and the acanthis vid. s. v. ACALANTHIS. For a speaking crow vid. Suet., Dom. 27, ; Baehrens, P. L. M., p. 370. For the Fable of the Eagle, Crow and Tortoise, vid. s. v. aquila. For the Fable of the Crane, Crow and Countryman, vid. s. v. grus. For the Fable of the Crow and the Sheep, vid. Phaed., Fab. Nov. 24. CORVUS. KoQa^. Raven. Corvtts corax, L. The name corvus was applied also by Roman writers to both the crow and the rook. For a discussion of conms and comix cf . Fowler : A Year with the Birds, p. 234 flf. American parallels : Raven, crow. Macdonald : Consider the Rarens. Poe : The Raven. The raven, originally white, was made black because of his tale- bearing to Apollo concerning the nymph Coronis. Vid. the charming paraphrase by Saxe, How the Raven Became Black. Di maris adnuerant : habili Saturnia curru Ingreditur liquidum pavonibus aethera pictis, Tam nuper pictis caeso pavonibus Argo, Quam tu nuper eras, cum candidus ante fuisses, Corve loquax, subito nigrantes versus in alas. Nam fuit haec quondam niveis argentea pennis Ales, ut aequaret totas sine labe columbas, Nee servaturis vigili Capitolia voce Cederet anseribus. nee amanti flumina cycno. Lingua fuit damno ; lingua faciente loquaci Cui color albus erat. nunc est contrarius albo. — Ov.. ^fct. II, 531. No raven's notes her sacred groves annoy. — R. T. Paine. 74 THE BIRDS OF THE LATIN POETS How the raven was forbidden by Apollo to consort with white birds : Sperantenique sibi non falsae praemia linguae, Inter aves albas vetuit oonsistere corvuni. — Ov., Met. II, 631. The color of ravens in ilight: Conveniebat enim, corvos quoque saepe volantis Ex albis album pennis iactare colorem. — LucR. II, 820. A plagiarized page suggests a raven among swans : Sic niger in ripis errat cum forte Caystri, Inter Ledaeos ridetur corvus olores. —Mart. I, 53, 7. An old man who dyed his hair black : Mentiris invenem tinctis, Lentine, capillis ; Tam subito corvus, qui modo cygnus eras. — Mart. Ill, 43, i. Cf. Anth. Lat. 182. When gay and raven-headed. — Carlton. His locks are black as a raven. — Longfellow. 'Tis not the hair like raven's plume. — Tichnor. M. Valerius won his cognomen Corvinus from the aid given him by a raven : Ex uno quidam celebres, aut torquis adempti, Aut corvi titulos auxiliaris habent. — Ov., Faj;t. I, 601. Atque hie, egregius linguae, nomenque superbum, Corvinus, Phoebea sedet cui casside fulva Ostentans ales proavitae insignia pugnae, Plenus et ipse deum, et socium terrente pavore, Immiscet precibus monita atque his vocibus infit. — SiL. Ital. \, yj. Cf. Prop. Ill, II, 64: Est cui cognomen corvus habere; Liv. 7, 26: Conserenti iam manum Romano corvus repente in galea consedit in hostem versus. Cf. also Man., Astr. I, 778. For the age of the Corvx vid. s. v. cornix. Corvi as weather prophets : Cf. Hor., Od. Ill, 27, 8. Et e pastu decedens agmine mag-no Corvoruin increpuit densis exercitus alls. — Verg., Geor. I, 381. Cf. Lucr. V. 1084. s. V. coRNix. Class. Rei'. 1904, p. 280. Note by Mr. Powell : "Vergil's exact knowledge of rooks may be illustrated by 'corvorum exercitus,' which refers not merely to their numbers, but to their military precision and discipline." Cf. Anth. Lat. yy2, 47: Corvus et agmina confert. A beautiful picture of the return of the corvi to their nests and young after a storm : Tuni liquidas corvi presso ter gutture voces Aut quater ingeminant, et saepe cubilibus altis, Nescio qua praeter solitum dulcedine laeti, Inter se in foliis strepitant ; iuvat imbribus actis Progeniem parvam dulcisque revisere nidos. — Verg.. Geor. I, 410. The corvi here, as often, are probably rooks. Cf. Fowler, op. cit., p. 143; Glover, op. cit., p. 112; Thompson, op. cit., s. v., p. 91. 'Presso gutture' means 'with clear, deep note.' Vid. Powell, CI. Rev. 1904, p. 280. Sweet throat, come back ! O liquid, mellow throat. — Brown (Stedman). In eager flights the birds wing to their nests. — TiLLEY (Stedman"). A raven on the left is a bad sign : Cf. Cic, De Div. I, 39. Non temere est quod corvos cantat mihi nunc ab laeva manu : Semul radebat pedibus terram et voce crocibat sua. — Plaut., Aul. 624. And heard the boding raven croak his song. — Ciiatterton. That raven on yon left-hand oak (Curse on his ill-betiding croak!) Bodes me no good. — Gay. With sympathetic wo. thy noontide ray. Phoebus, suspend ; ye clouds, obscure the day ; Her face let Cynthia veil. Thick darkness spread her wing. And the night-raven sing. While Britons their sad fate bewail. — Pietas et Gratulatio. yd THE BIRDS OF THE I-ATIN POETS The boding raven e'en forgets to croak, And nature seems in silent agony. — Susanna Rowson. (JThundcrstorm.^ And she heard, in her ear, a tlcath-bell toll, And the raven croak on a blasted tree. {Crystalina, a Fairy Tale.) — By an American (Kettell). Caw ! Caw ! the rooks are calling. It is a sound of woe, a sound of woe. — Longfellow. An expression of gratitude to a raven for his timely warning: Ni subvenis&et corvus, periissem miser. Nimis hercle ego ilium corvom ad me veniat velim Qui indicium fecit, ut ego illic aliquid boni Dicam ; nam quod edit tam duini quam perduim. — Plaut., Aul. 669. A raven on the right is a good sign : Plant., Asin. 259. Vid. also s. v. cornix. Augury was a special gift to the raven from the fates: Phaed. Ill, 18 (vid. s. v. aquila). Priapus makes a reference to ravens : Mentior at si quid, merdis caput inquiner albis Corvorum. — Hor., Sat. I, 8, 37. The raven often says 'good-day' first: Nunquam dicis Ave, sed reddis, Naevole, semper, Quod prior et corvus dicere saepe solet. — Mart. Ill, 95, i. Cf. Mart. XIV, 74: Corve salutator. For an explanation of the obscene allusion in the next Hne cf. Arist., De Gen. Ill, 6, 7566; Plin. X, 15: Macr. II. 4. Ravens as scavenger birds : Atque ideo, postquam ad Cimbros stragemque volabant Qui nunquam attigerant maiora cadavera corvi, Nobilis ornatur lauro collega secunda. — Juv. VIII. 251. Non equidem dubito, quin primum inimica bonorum Lingua execta avido sit data vulturio; Efifossos oculos voret atro gutture corvus, Intestina canes, cetera membri lupi. —Cat. CVIII, 3. coRvus "jy Mere trunks of ice, though Hnin'd like human frames, And lately warmed with life's endearing flames, They cannot taint the air, the world infest. Nor can you tear one fibre from their breast. No! from their visual sockets as they lie. With beak and claws you cannot pluck an eye — The frozen orb, preserving- still its form. Defies your talons as it braves the storm, But stands and stares to God as if to know In what curst hands he leaves his world below ! Fly then, or starve, though all the dreadful road From Minsk to Moscow with their bodies strow'd May count some myriads, yet they cannot suffice To feed you more beneath these dreadful skies. — Barlow. (Advice to a Raven in Russia.) These lines are from Barlow's last poem, which was written in Europe during Napoleon's retreat from Moscow. Vid. Duyckinck, op. cit., vol. I, p. 414. For the mating of the raven and dove as symbolic of the impossible cf. Anth. Lat. 390, 30, s. v. columba. The raven broods very late in the year : Corvus maturis frugibus ova refert. — Anth. Lat. 690, 2. The breeding habits of the raven and crow were totally unnoted in antiquity. Cf. Hudson, op. cit. p. 174: "The raven is the earliest bird to breed in England : the nest building begins in January and the eggs are laid in February and March." The winter-fearless crow. — "John Philip Varley." How the raven appears in Latin proverbs : "Non hominem occidi." Non pasces in cruce corvos. — HoR., Ep. I, 16, 48. Dat veniam corvis, vexat censura columbas. — Ju\'. H, 63. Felix ille tamen corvo quoque rarior albo. — Juv. Vn, 202. An passim sequeris corvos testaque lutoque, Securus quo pes ferat, atque ex tempore vivis? — Pers. hi, 61. 78 THE BIRDS OF THE LATIN POETS The last reference is the equivalent of the English, 'A wild goose chase.' Cf. Aes., Ag. 394, and Eur., Auge, Fr. 271, Nauck. Ah ! foolish man ! that sets his heart upon Such empty shadows, such wild Fowl as these. — Michael Wic.gleswgrth, For ravens as poets vid. Pers., Prol. 12, s. v. pica. For the raven as the bird of Apollo cf . Ov., Met. V, 329 : Delius in corvo; Fast. II, 250: 'I. mea,' dixit (Phoebus), 'avis'; Met. II, 545; Stat., Sih'. II, 4, 17: Planga Phoebeius ales; Stat., Theb. Ill, 506: Comes obscurus tripodum ; Petron., Sat. 122: Delphicus ales; Aus., Idyll XI, I, 5: Phoebeius oscen ; Cat. LX\'I, 57: Famulum (vid. note by Ellis). For the constellation of Corvus vid. Cic, Arat. 219, 292; Ov., Fast. II. 243. For the I'^able of the Fox and the Raven vid. Phaedr. I, 3 ; Hor., Ep. I, 17, 50; Sat. II, 5. 55. Cf. Carryl, The Sycophantic Fox and the Gullible Raven. For the Fable of the Traveller and the Raven vid. Aes. Fab. XXI. For the call of the raven cf. Wackernagel, op. cit., p. 43; Anth. Lat. 762. 28: Crocitat corvus. The raven croaked. — Emerson. Crows and blackbirds, jays and ravens. Clamorous on the dusky tree tops. — Longfellow. And de ole crow croak: 'Don' work, no, no.' — Lanier. 'Karock, karock,' the ravens cry. — Strong. COTURNIX. "O^Tvi. Quail. Coturnix communis, or C. dactyli- sonans. L. L. Quaquila; O. Fr. Quaille ; M. Fr. Caille; Ital. Quaglia. American parallel: O. Virginianus; Quail, 'Bob-white', Colin. The last is given by Hernandez as the original old Mexican name. Harris: The Bonny Brozvii Quail. Johnson : Bob-zvhite. References to Delos, Ortygia, and the metamorphosis of Latona, etc. into quails do not occur in the Latin poets, but vid. : From somewhere hidden in the dreamy dale — Latona's sorrow yet within her note — Reft of her comrades, o'er the stubbled oat We heard the calling of the lonely quail— Mifflin. COTURNIX 79 Coturnix used as a term of endearment : Die me igitur tuom passerculum, gallinam, coturniccm, Agnellum, haedillum me tuom die esse vel vitellum, Prehende auriculis, compara labella cum labellis. — Plaut., Asin. 666. Quails were given as pets to patrician lads : Nam ubi illo adveni, quasi patriciis pueris aut monerulae /\ut anites aut coturnices dantur, quicum lusitent, Itidem haec mihi advenienti upupa, qui me delectem, datast. — Plaut., Capt. 1002. Quails fatten on hellebore : Praeterea, nobis veratrum est acre venenum, At capris adipes et coturnicibus auget. — LucR. IV, 640. Cf. Plin. X, 197 ; X, 33 ; Thompson, op. cit., p. 125. Quails live in constant strife and thereby become old : Ecce, coturnices inter sua praelia vivunt, Forsitan et fiant inde frequenter anus. — Ov., Am. II, 6, 27. Cf. Newton, op. cit., p. 755 : "During both migrations immense numbers are netted for the market. On capture they are placed in long, narrow, low cages, darkened to prevent the prisoners from fighting." In a simile Martial likens himself to a parrot and an anonymous poet to a quail : Credis hoc, Prisce, Voce ut loquatur psittacus coturnicis, Et concupiscat esse Canus ascaules ? — Mart. X, 3, 7. Quails are too worthless to offer in sacrifice : Verum haec nimia est impensa, coturnix Nulla umquam pro patre cadet. — Juv. XII, 97. Cf. also Phaed. I, 3. s. v. graculus. And clouds of quails, from every region driven, Blacken'd the fields, and fill'd the bounds of heaven. (Conquest of Canaan.) — Timothy Dwight. 80 THE BIRDS OF THE I-ATIN POETS The call and flight of the quail : Scar'd by the pond'rous mower starts the rail. Or. whirring, flies the "frighted, ominous quail. — Chatterton. When the quail all day Pipe on the chaparral hill. — Miller. But the quail, whose quick whistle has lured me along, No more will recall his stray'd mate with his song. — Street. And. tilted on the ridered rails Of deadnin" fences, "Old Bob White" Whissels his name in high delight. — Riley. The bobwhite's liquid yodel, and the whir of sudden flight. — Riley. CUCULUS. Koy.y.v'E,. Cuckoo. Cucnlus canorus. CuchIus is onomatopoetic. Cf. Anth. Lat. 762, 35 : Et cuculi cu- culant. American literary parallels : Black-billed cuckoo, yellow-billed cuckoo, cow-bunting. The last named (after the manner of the European cuckoo) intrudes its eggs into the nests of other birds. Hosmer: The Cuckoo. Saxe (from Yriarte) : Fable of the Bee and the Cuckoo. Wordsworth : Ode to the Cuckoo. Logan : To the Cuckoo. Matthew Arnold: Thyrsis. Cuculus used as a term of reproach, a usage probably first suggested by the vagabond habits of the bird : . . . Immo es, ne nega, omnium (hominum) pol nequissumus At enim cubat cuculus. Surge, amator, i domum. — Plaut., Asin. 923 (cf. 934). Mocks married men : for thus sings he. Cuckoo, cuckoo ! O word of fear, Unpleasing to a married ear. — Shakespeare. Hephaistos, the lame cuckold. — Stedman. But indolence, like the cow-bird, That's hatched in an alien nest. — Trowbridge. It can't build nests, for it's — ^the air! I know a boy that knows! — Mrs. Piatt. (His Views of the Cuckoo.) CUCULUS 8l Cf. also Plant.. Pseud. 96; 7Vm. 245; Pers. 282 and possibly 173. How Jupiter, in the form of a cuckoo, beguiled Juno on Mount Tho- max. V'id. Pausan II. 17, 4, and Schol. ad Theocr. XV, 16: Oft there came Blest visions to his soul of forms divine; — Of white-armed Juno, in that hour of love, When, fondling close the cuckoo, tempest-chilled, She all unconscious in that form did press The mighty sire of the eternal gods To her soft bosom. — Grace Greenwood. It was an insult to call a belated pruner a cuckoo. A hint from the spring migration and spring song of the bird : Tum Praenestinus salso multoque fluenti Expressa arbusto regerit convicia, dnrus Vindemiator et invictus, cui saepe viator Cessisset, magna compellans voce cuculum. — HoR., Sat. I, 7, 28. Or heard from branch of flowering thorn The song of friendly cuckoo warn The tardy-moving swain. — Allston. Cf. Plin. 18, 66, 249; Aus., Idyll. X, 167. A cuckoo chuckles, half throttled on a neighboring tree. — Thoreau, op. cit., p. III. And the cuckoo's shy, complaining note Mocks the maidens in the corn. — Bayard Taylor. The cuckoo in American lore foretells the coming of rain : "Here in this book," she said, — in faltering tones. As sweet and sad as those the cuckoo frames, Hid in her leafy covert, when the wind Sighs from the east and clouds are set for rain. — Proctor. The call of the cuckoo to its mates during the spring migration : Nunc cuculus cantans socios^ iter ire perurget.^ —Anth. Lat. 733, 13. ^Burmann ; the ms. reading is unintelligible. *Cf. Newton, op. cit., p. 119: "Its arrival is at once proclaimed by the peculiar and in nearly all languages onomatopoetic cry of the cock — a true song, since it is confined to the male sex and to the season of love." S2 THE BIRDS OF THE LATIN POETS IIqcoto; tcov j^t)]V(ov {'|.ilv to '?uq dyvf^^t^^v: l)i(in., Dc Avibns, i, 13. The cuckoo told his name to all the hills. — Tennyson. Sure, he's arrived, The tell-tale cuckoo ; Spring's his confidant, And he lets out her April purposes ! — Robert Browning. Hark how the jolly cuckoos sing Cuckoo! to welcome in the spring. — John Lyly. The cuckoo's April call. — Bayard Taylor. I hear a cuckoo's silver call. That stirs the slumberous solitude W^ith many a mellow rise and fall. — Proctor. Again the year is at the prime With flush of rose and cuckoo-croon. — Scollard. Thou hast no sorrow in thy song, No winter in thy year. — Logan. Cares the cuckoo for the woods When the red leaves are down? — Sill. And beyond the meadow the cuckoo lingers. — Strong. From that spot I heard a Cuckoo cry, for I do not, like the English, call it singing. Many people speak in raptures of the sweet voice of the Cuckoo, and the same people tell me in cold blood that we have no birds that can sing in America. I wish they had a chance to judge of the powers of the Mock-bird, the Red Thrush, the Cat-bird, the Oriole, the Indigo Bunting and even the Whip-poor-will. — Audubon, Journal, vol. I, p. 245- Logan, whose "Cuckoo" will sing forever. For a brief moment, my attention caught. — Hosmer. CYCNUS and OLOR. Kvjxvoc;. Swan. Mute swan, Cygnus olor. Whistling swan or whooper, C. musicus. American parallels : Trumpeter swan and whistling swan. Hosmer: Address to the Swan. The exalted position of the swan in the ancient poets can be rationalized only by its connection with astronomical lore and myths of metamorphosis, whose inner meanings are for the most part veiled to us. fCf. Thompson, op. cit. Preface and passim.) The widely attested belief in the swan's song, however, does, I believe, rest upon real observation, later expanded by the associations and influences mentioned above. In this connection the following testimony from Elliot, op. cit., p. 24, is of more than ordinary interest : "The song of the dying swan has been the theme of poets for centuries, and is generally considered one of those pleasing myths that are handed down through the ages. I had killed many swan and never heard aught from them at any time, save the familiar notes that reach the ears of every one in their vicinity. But once, when shooting in Currituck Sound over water belonging to a club of which I am a member, in com- pany with a friend, a number of swan passed over us at a considerable height. We fired at them, and one splendid bird was mortally hurt. On receiving his wound the wings became fixed and he commenced at once his song, which was continued until the water was reached, nearly half a mile away. I am perfectly familiar with every note a swan is accustomed to utter, but never before nor since have I heard any like those sung by this stricken bird. Most plaintive in character and musical in tone, it sounded at times like the soft running of the notes in an octave. And now 'twas like all instruments, Now like a lonely flute ; And now it is an angel's song Which makes the heavens be mute. and as the sound was borne to us, mellowed by the distance, we stood astonished, and could only exclaim, 'We have heard the song of the dying swan.' " For the other side int. al. cf. Harting, op. cit., p. 201 ff. Neri, op. cit., p. 10. "II canto dei cigni celebrato da tutti i poeti e pura finzione, emettendo anzi quest' animale un suono sgradevolissimo." Ferrariae multos cygnos vidimus, sed cantores sane malos, neque melius ansere canere. — Scaliger, quoted by Thompson (op. cit., p. 107), who is also a dissenter. Epithets : Albus, amans flumina, Amyclaeus, argutus, candens, candidus, canorus, cantans, Caystrius, Cyllenius, dulcis, flebilis, fluvialis,, flumineus, Idalius, innocuus, Ledaeus, loquax. lugubri voce, moribundus, niveus, plumeus, purpureus, Oebalius, raucus, Spartanus, senex. The haunts of swans. The Minco, the Po, etc. : Saltus et saturi petito longinqua Tarenti, Et qualem infelix amisit Mantua campum, Pascentem niveos herboso flumine cycnos. — Verg., Geor. II, 197. The swan, once familiar in the region of Mantua, is now rarely to be seen. This condition has been brought about by possible changes in the climate and by the drainage of swamps and marshes. Vid. Glover, op. cit., p. 112. Fowler. Year with Birds, pp. 143, 148, 153. The wild swan swims the waters' azure breast With graceful sweep, or, startled, soars away, Cleaving with mounting wing the clear, bright air. — Ellet (Griswold). Then other swans wide-winged and white as snow. Flew overhead and topp'd the timbered hills. — Miller. Speed thou upon thy white swans' wings. — Field. Hand procul Hennaeis lacus est a moenibus altae, Nomine Fergus, aquae. Non illo plura Caystros Carmina cvgnorum labentibus audit in undis. — Ov., Met. V, 385. Haud secus atque alto in luco cum forte catervae Consedere avium, piscosove amne Padusae Dant sonitum rauci per stagna loquacia cycni. — Yerg., Ae>i. XI, 456. Rauci is almost unique as an epithet of real observation applied to the ordinary note of the swan, without the influence of the usual metamor- phosis association. It is truly Vergilian. Cf. Et canoras non tacere diva iussit alites. lam loquaces ore rauco stagna cycni perstrepunt. — Pert'. Veil. 85. Guiltless swans frequent the Elysian fields of the birds: Colle sub Elysio nigra nemus dice frondens, Udaque perpetuo gramine terra viret. Si qua fides dubiis : volucrum locus ille piarum Dicitur, obscenae quo prohibentur aves. Illic innocui late pascuntur olores, Et vivax Phoenix, unica semper avis. — Ov.. Am. II, 6, 49. Ovid, in his sweetest verse. Loved thy praises to rehearse ; Flaccus, in his polished lay. Tribute unto thee did pay, And in Plato's mighty tome Ever wilt thou find a home. — Hosmer. A swan soft floating tow'ds a magic strand. — Lanier. Swans the prey of eagles : Namque volans rubra fulvus lovis ales in aethra Litoreas agitabat aves turbamque sonantem Agminis aligeri ; subito cum lapsus ad undas Cygnum excellentem pedibus rapit improbus uncis. — Verg., Aen. XII, 247. Qualis ubi aut leporem aut candenti corpore cygnum Sustulit alta petens pedibus lovis armiger uncis. — Verg., Aen. IX, 560. Vid. s. V. AQUiLA. Cf. int. al. Verg., Aen. I, 392. Stat., Theb. 111,524; VIII, 674. The swan was a good omen to sailors : Cygnus in auspiciis semper laetissimus ales, Hunc optant nautae, quia se non mergit in undas. — Aem. Mac, Baehrens, P. L. M., p. 344. For the color of the swan vid. Epithets, supra, and cf . the following : Hor., Od. IV, I. 10; Ov., Met. II. 536; Mart. I, 115, 2; VIII, 28, 13; Val. Flacc. VI. 102: Sil. Ital. XIII, 115: XIV, 190. et al. Throat as white as the throat of a swan And all as proudly graceful held. — Carlton. A perfect wife is as rare as a black swan. Proverbial. Rara avis in terris nigroque simillima cygno. — Juv. VI, 165. An honest treasure like a black-plumed swan, Not every day our eyes may look upon. — Holmes. No rara avis was honest John (That's the Latin for "sable swan"). — Saxe. A negro slave's name : Nanum cuiusdam Atlanta vocamus : Aethiopem Cycnum parvam extortamque puellam Europen. — Juv. VIII, 33. Ovid is now becoming old : lam mea cycneas imitantur tempora plumas, Inficit et nigras alba senecta comas. ^ — Ov., TV. IV, 8. I. For an old man who dyeil his hair, cf. Mart. Ill, 43. For the constellation vid. int. al. Thompson, op. cit., p. 107; Manil. Astron. I. 335; II, 31 et al. : Stat., Theb. VI. 521 ; Anth. Lat. 761, 9. The sw^n in various comparisons of poets : Lucretius (swallow) and Epicurus (swan), Lucr. Ill, 7; Horace (bee) and Pindar (swan), Hor., Od. IV, 2, 25; Fidentius (crow) and Martial (swan). Mart. I, 53, 7. For the goose and swan in this con- nection cf. \'ero-.. Eel. IX, 36; Prop. Ill, 26, 84 et al.. and vid. s. v. ANSER. Cf. Mifflin. Sonnet. Milton (Eagle). Horace becomes a swan : lam iam residunt cruribus asperae Pelles, et album nmtor in alitem Superne, nascunturque plumae. Per digitos humerosque plumae. — HoR., Od. II, 20, 9. The transformation of the poet into a swan realistically portrayed before our eyes is a very bold treatment of the Roman poetic usage of the metamorphosis idea, and the Ode should be interpreted and estimated with this usage in mind. Cf. the more symbolical treatment of Eur., Frag. 903. Well might the Roman Swan, along The pleasing Tiber pour his song, When bless'd with ease and quiet; Oft did he grace Maecenas' board, Who would for him throw by the lord, And in I'alernian riot. — Evans (Kettell). "Rare old Ben" could find no name Worthy of a Shakespeare's fame But thine own, majestic bird! Now a consecrated word With unmatched poetic love Intertwined for evermore. — Hosmer. Not every crow, nor croaking raven, Can match the tuneful swan of Avon. — Fessenden. When the Swan of sweet Avon touched hand to the lyre. — Matthews. /8 But again I ask'd, '*What nurtured Shakespeare?" The rejoicing birds Wove a wild song, whose burden seem'd to be, He was their pupil when he chose, and knew Their secret maze of melody to wind, Snatching its sweetness for his winged strain With careless hand. — Sigourney. How often gazing where a bird reposes, Rocked on wavelets, drifting with the tide, I lose myself in strange metempsychosis And float a sea-fowl at a sea-fowl's side. — Howells. From my window turning I find myself a plumeless biped still ; No beak, no claws, no sign of wings discerning — In fact with nothing birdlike but my quill. — Howells. My Calderon, my nightingale, My Arab soul in Spanish feathers. — Lowell. New England's poet-laureate Telling us spring has come again. — Aldrich. (The Blue Bird.) Let Tennyson his Lilian sing And lovely Oriana, And scale the skies with tireless wing, In praise of Mariana. — Gen. Albert Pike. Like his own sky-lark, up at Heaven's gate, Above the earth and all its meaner things, He sang, and soared higher than mortal ken. (Shelley.) — Gen. Albert Pike. There, like her lark, gay Chaucer leads the day. The matin carol of his country's day. — Barlow. (Columbiad.) Swift I mount me on the plume Of my Wakon-Bird, and fly. — Thomas Moore. (Poems Relating to America.) Why is't thus, this sylvan Petrarch Pours all night his serenade? 'Tis for some proud w^oodland Laura, His sad sonnets are all made! But he changes now his measure — Gladness bubbling from his mouth — Jest, and gibe, and mimic pleasure — Winged Anacreon of the South! (The Mocking Bird.) — Meek. The metamorphosis of Cycnus (tlie son of Sthenekis and king of Ligairia), into a swan, with a description of the process: Adfuit huic monstro proles Sthenelei'a Cycnus, Qui tibi materno quamvis a sanguine iunctus, ^lente tamen. Phaethon, propior fuit. Ille relicto, (Nam Ligurum po])ulos et inagnas rexerat urbes) Imperio ripas virides anmemque querehs Eridanum implerat silvamque sororibus auctam, Cum vox est tenuata viro, canaeque capillos Dissimulant plumae, coHumque e pectore longum Porrigitur, digitosque Hgat iunctura rubentes, Penna latus velat, tenet os sine acumine rostrum. Fit nova Cycnus avis nee se caeloque lovique Credit, ut iniuste missi memor ignis ab illo : Stagna petit patulosque lacus. ignemque perosus Quae colat, elegit contraria fiumina fiammis. — Ov,. Met. II, 367. Namque ferunt luctu Cycnum Phaethontis amati, Populeas inter frondes umbramque sororum Dum canit et maestum Musa solatur amorem, Canentem molli pluma duxisse senectam, Linquentem terras et sidera voce sequentem. — Verg., a en. X, iSq. Cf. Thomas (Stedman). The Tears of the Poplars. Vid. Hyg., Fab. 144: Cygnus autem rex Liguriae, qui fuit Phaethonti propinquus, dum deflet propinquum, in cygnum conversus est. Is quoque moriens flebile canit. The story of Cycnus, the son of Apollo and Hyrie, who was meta- morphosed into a swan. His mother, from grief, became thereupon the lake of Hyrie : Inde lacus Hyries videt et Cycneia tempe. Quae subitus celebravit olor. Nam Phyllius illic Imperio pueri volucresque ferumque leonem Tradiderat domitos ; taurum quoque vincere iussus Vicerat, et, spreto totiens iratus amore Praemia poscenti taurum suprema negabat. Ille indignatus, 'cupies dare." dixit, et alto Desiluit saxo. Cuncti cecidisse putabant : Factus olor niveis pendebat in acre pennis. At genetrix Hyrie, servati nescia, flendo Delicuit stagnumque suo de nomine fecit. — Ov., Met. Vn, 371. As some calm, still lake, whereon Sinks the snowy-bosomed swan, And the glistening water-rings Circle round her moving wings. — Whittier. For other associations for Apollo and the swan vid. Lucr. II, 503 ; Auth. Lot. 691, 5; Mart. IX. 43, i. with which cf. Whitman: Where the neck of the long lived swan is curving and winding. The myth of Leda and the swan : Qualis erat Leda, quam plumis aditus albis Callidus in falsa lusit adulter ave. — Ov.. Afu. I, 10, 3. Dat mihi Leda lovem cycno decepta parentem. Quae falsam gremio credula fovit avem. — Ov.. Her. XVII, 55. Non ego fluminei referam mendacia cycni Nee querar in plumis delituisse lovem. — Ov., Her. VIII, 67. Vid. also Ov., Met. VI, 109; Her. XVI, 249; Am. I, 3, 21 ; Verg., Cat. IX, 2y, Sen.. Oct. 204. 762; Manil., Astron. I, 337; Aet. 87; Mart. IX, 104. 2; Stat., Theb. X, 503; Val. Flacc. I, 431; Carni. Epig. 345, 1549, 23 ; Anth. Lat. 59 ; 141 ; 199, 93 ; 808, 46. et al. vid. s. v. .\nser. And a swan (Sire, by the light of Heaven's twin orbs, mis-told.) — Bailey. Two stately snow-white swans are seen. Whose every motion bears the trace Of that majestic haughty grace Jove left the fabled bird which gave Its form from Juno's wrath to save. — Clarke. Yon snow-white cloud that sails sublime in ether Is but the sovereign Zeus, who like a swan Flies to fair-ankled Leda. — Longfellow. (The Masque of Pandora.) The antique poetic records of the swan as a bird of Venus occur in the Latin poets only. The goddess comes to stricken Adonis in a chariot drawn by swans : Vecta levi cnrru medias Cytherea per auras Cypron olorinis nonduni pervenerat ahs. Agnovit longe gemitum niorientis et albas Flcxit aves ilhic. — Ov., Met. X, 717. \'enus borne by her swans with Amor as auriga: Sic fata, levavit Sidereos artus thalamique egressa superbum Limen, Amyclaeos ad frcna citavit olores, lungit Amor laetamque vehens per nubila matrem Gemmato temone sedet. lam Thybridis arces Ihacae : pandit nitidos domus alta penates, Claraque gaudentes plauserunt hmia cycni. — Stat., Silv. I, 2, 140. \'id. also Hor., Od. Ill, 28, 14; Prop. IV, 3, 39; Ov., Met. X, 708; Stat., 5"//t'. Ill, 4, 22; 111,4,46; Theb.V,63; Sil. Ital. VII, 440; Anth. Lat. 939, 2. In silver traces fix'd unto her car. Four snowy swans, proud of the imperial fair, Wing'd lightly on, each in gay beauty dress'd, Smooth'd the soft plumage that adorn'd her breast. Sacred to her the lucent chariot drew, Or whether wildly through the air she flew. Or whether to the dreary shades of night, Oppress'd with gloom she downward bent her flight, Or proud aspiring sought the bless'd abodes, And boldly shot among the assembled gods. — Godfrey (Kettell). Purer type the fabling mind Grace to picture cannot find, And when Art on canvas drew Venus, born of ocean blue. Yoked to chariot of the queen, Swans, with arching neck, were seen. — Hosmer. Beside them stood a chariot dazzling bright, Yok'd with two beauteous swans of purest white. — LucRETiA Davidson. The song of swans as they return from their feeding grounds : Ceu quondam nivei liquida inter nubilia cycni Cum sese e pastu referunt et longa canoros Dant per colla modos ; sonat amnis et Asia longe Pulsa palus. — Verg., Aen. VII, 699. Drensare is the technical verb for the swan's song or note: Grus gruit in gronnis, cygni prope flumina drensant. — Anth, Lat. 762, 23. The swan's song is contrasted with the trumpet's blare: Nee simili penetrant aureis primordia Cum tuba depresso graviter sub murm\ Et reboat raucum regio cita barbara hc.uain Et validis cygni torrentibus ex Heliconis Cum liquidam tollunt lugubri voce querelam. — LucR. IV, 544. But, hark! — what sound — out of the dewy deep, How like a far-off bugle's shrillest note It sinks into the listening wilderness. A Swan — I know her by the trumpet-tone. (To a Szvan, flying by night — Noble (Duyckinck). on the Banks of the Huron.) Never listened mortal ear To voice more full and clear, Not unlike in depth of tone Blast of conch-shell loudly blown. Or a far-off trumpet wail Modulated by the gale. — Hosmer. According to Mr. Shields, the cry of the Trumpeter Swan resembles the tones of the French horn. — Wheelock: Birds of California, s. v. Seebohm, who studied its habits in Siberia, says the notes of the whooper resemble those of a bass trombone. — Knowlton-Ridgway : Birds of the World, p. 173. Cf. And the owl across the twilight Trumpets to his gloomy fellow. — Roberts. A long, low bugle-note From the white-throated sparrow of the woods Begins to swell and float. — Mace. The joyous spring song of migrant swans: Patriis concentibus audis Exultare gregem, quales, cum pallida cedit Bruma, renidentem deducunt Strymona cvcni. —Stat., Theb. VII, 285. 92 THE RIRDS OF THE LATIN POETS Sailing on the wind to northward, Flying in great flocks. like arrows, • Like huge arrows shot through heaven, Passed the swan, the Mahuahbezec, Speaking almost as a man speaks. — Longfellow. At last I saw her watch the swan Surge toward the north, surge on and on. — Miller. The short song of the swan excels that of migrating crane; Suavidicis potius quam multis versibus edam : Parvus ut est cycni melior canor, ille gruum quam Clamor in aetheriis dispersus nubibus austri. — LucR. IV. 1 80. In song the swan is surpassed by the nightingale : ludice me cycnus et garrula cedat hirundo, Cedat et inlustri psittacus ore tibi. —Anth. Lat. 658, 19. Here silver swans with nightingales set spells. Which sweetly charm the traveller. {Mrs. Anne Bradstreet and her Poems.) — John Rogers. The power of the muses : O, testudinis aureae Dulcem quae strepitum. Pieri, temperas, O mutis quoque piscibus Donatura cvcni. si libeat, sonum. _HoR., Od. IV, 3, 17. For him, who sang like you his deathless songs, O swans Strymonian, chaunt some dolorous dirge Immortal and melodious as his own ! — Mifflin. (The Lament for Bion.) The death song of the swan : Sic ubi fata vocant, udis abiectus in herbis Ad vada Maeandri concinit albus olor. — Ov., /7^r. VII, I. Reddidit icta suos pollice chorda sonos, Flebilibus veluti numeris canentia dura Traiectus penna tempora cantat olor. — Ov.. Fast. II, 108. CYC N us 93 Penna is here an arrow. Cf. Gesner, op. cit., p. 360: Moriturus flebilem cantum emittit, fixa prius in cerebro penna: quod niiror Aris- totelem ac Plinium vel ignorasse vel si scivxrunt, non tradidisse. — Perottus. Dulcia defecta modulatur carmina lingua Cantator cycnus funeris ipsi sui. —Mart. XIII, 77. Vid. also int. al. Ov., Met. XIV, 430 ; Sen., Hippol. 301 ; Agam. 680 ; Mart. \, T,7, i ; Stat., Silv. II, 4, 10; V, 3. 80; Stat., Theb. V, 341 ; Sil. Ital. XI, 438; Lact., De Phoen. 49; Plin. X. 32, i. Still would I believer be In the tale they tell of thee — Breathing in the hour of death Music with thy latest breath ; Tuning, with a failing tongue, Strains the sweetest ever sung. — Hosmer. Then shall come singers Singing no swan song. — Lowell. Ovid, like a swan, is singing his own death song: Utque iacens ripa deflere Caystrius ales Dicitur ore suam deficiente necein, Sic ego, Sarmaticas longe proiectus in oras, Efficio. taciturn ne mihi funus eat. — Ov., Trist. V, I, II. Cf. Whittier, Tlie Swan Song of Parson Avery. How sweet the eloquence of dying men! Hence poets feigned the music of the Swan, When death upon her lays his icy hand, She melts away in melancholy strains. — Thomas Godfrey (Duyckinck). Nor Goethe sing with swan-like sweetness more. (1832.) — RoswELL Park. Where some lost maid wide chaplets wreathes, And, swan-like, there her own dirge breathes. — S PRAGUE (Griswold.) He is floating down, by himself to die ; Death darkens his eye, and unplumes his wings, Yet his sweetest song is the last he sings. — DoANE (Griswold). The swan's last song is sweetest. — Halleck, The pale swan in her watery nest Begins the sad dirge of her certain ending. — Shakespeare. Above, fly cranes, geese, ducks, herons and teals ; And swans, which take such pleasure as they fly, They sing their hymns oft long before they die. {Connecticut River.) — Roger Wolcott. DIOMEDEAE AVES. Ardea. 'EQCo8i6g. Heron. Exact species indeterniinant, but this general identification seems most in harmony with the mjth, the tradition and the natural character- istics alluded to by Ovid and V'ergil. For a full treatment, especially of the Greek sources, of the myth and legend, vid. Thompson, op. cit., p. 59. Holland, Herovogel in der Griechischen Mythologie. Heyne, Excursus; Verg., Aen. XI, 271. The Latin prose versions are of interest : Hae aves hodieque Latine Diomedeae vocantur, Graeci eas eqcoSioij!;. Habitant autem in insula, quae est baud longe a Calabria, in conspectu Tarentinae civitatis. Quin etiam de his avibus dicitur quod Graecis navibus laetae occurrant, alienas vehementer fugiant, memores et ori- ginis suae et quod Diomedes ab Illyriis interemptus est. — Serv. ad Verg., Aen. XI, 271. Nam et Diomedem fecerunt deum (sc. Graeci), quem poena divinitus inrogata perhibent ad suos non revertissee ; eiusque socios in volucres fuisse converses non fabuloso poeticoque mendacio, sed historica attesta- tione confirmant : quibus nee deus ut putant factus humanam revocare naturam vel ipse potuit vel certe a love suo rege tamquam caelicola novicius impetravit. Quin etiam templum eius esse aiunt in insula Diomedea, non longe a monte Gargano, qui est in Apulia, et hoc templum circumvolare atque incolere has alites tam mirabili obsequio, ut aquam impleant et aspergant ; et eo si Graeci venerint vel Graecorum stirpe prognati, non solum quietas esse, verum et insuper adulare; si autem alienigenas viderint, subvolare ad capita, tamque gravibus ictibus, ut etiam perimant, vulnerare. Nam duris et grandibus rostris satis ad haec proelia perhibentur armatae. — S. Aug., De civ. Dei XVIII, 16. Cf. also Plin. X, 44, 61 ; Isid. 12, 7, 28. The metamorphosis of the comrades of Diomedes : Numerusque ex agmine maior Subvolat et remos plausis circumvolat alis. Si volucrum quae sit subitarum forma, requiris, Ut non cycnorum, sic albis proxima cycnis. — Ov., Met XIV, 506. 95 Nunc etiam horribili visu portenta sequuntur, Et socii amissi petierunt aethera pennis Fluminibusque vagantur aves — heu dira nieorum Supplicia ! — et scopulos lacrimosis^ vocibus implent. — Verg., Aen. XI, 271. DROSCA. Song- thrush. Vid. s. v. turdus. EPOPS (UPUPA). "Ejioij;. Hoopoe. Cf. Thompson, op. cit., p. 54; Newton, op. cit. s. v. Hoopoe. Tereus metamorphosed into a hoopoe. A description of the bird in question : Ille dolore suo poenaeque cupidine velox Vertitur in volucrem, cui stant in vertice cristae Prominet immodicum pro longa cupidine rostrum Nomen epops volucri, facies armata videtur. — Ov., Met. VI, 671. For Tereus vid. Verg., Ed. VI, 78; Aet. 585; Sen., Thyest 275; Anth. Lat. 199, 53; 808, 4; s. v. v. luscini.\, hirundo, passim. Cf. Verg., Cul. 253 : Orbus epops maeret volucres evectus in auras. For the familiar pun on Upupa (Epops) vid. Plant., Capt. 1004. Cf. Go, borrow me a crow, a crow without feather. — Shakespeare. He knows a handsaw from a hawk whenever winds are southerly. — Field. When these young hands first closed upon a goose : I have a scar upon my thimble finger. — Holmes. FICEDULA. Swo^ig. Figeater. A name given indiscriminately to many small birds which in the autumn frequent gardens. Cf. Newton, op. cit. s. v. fig-eater. Motacilla ficedula or Silvia hortcnsis. Thompson (op. cit., p. 163) thinks that the Black-cap Warbler (Silvia atricapilla) satisfies the prose statements better than any other species yet suggested. American parallel: Reed-bird, (bobolink). 'Due to influence of metamorphosis association. 96 THE BIRDS OF THE LATIN POETS The 'reed-bird' of the Roman fable : Cerea quae patulo lucet ficedula hinibo, Cum tibi forte datur, si sapis. adde piper. —Mart. XIII, 5. Cum me ficus alat, cum pascar dulcibus uvis, Cur potius nomen non dedit uva mihi? (Ficedula.) —Mart. XIII, 49. Nee meHus de se cuiquam sperare propinquo Concedet iuvenis, qui radere tubera terrae, Boletum condire et eodem iure natantes Mergere ficedulas didicit nebulone parente Et cana monstrante gula. — Juv. XIV, 6. Vid. also Plaut., Capf. 163; Lucil. 726; Baehrens, P. L. M. 529; Petr. ZZ- There the hunter stealthily lurks for the hare or the pheasant, Or for the birds in the twigs at the great feast of the fruit. {Greek Idyl. In the Olives.) — Snider. FRINGILLUS. Smvo;. Chaffinch( ?). Fringilla coelebs. American parallels : Finch, indigo-bird, linnet. The spring song of the fringilli: Nunc sturnos inopes fringillorumque querelas Audit, et arguto passere vernat ager. —Mart. IX, 55. 7. Sjiivog, Arat. 1024, is translated by Avienus with fringilla, in a passage where the morning song of the bird is said to be prophetic of approaching storms. Querelas above is an echo of the traditional Roman attitude toward the song of birds. Here it is notably false ac- cording to modern feeling, if the equation Fringillus = chaffinch is true. Cf. Hudson, op. cit., p. 135 : "It is a loud song and a joyous sound; 'Gay as a chaffinch,' is a proverbial saying of the French." And early linnets hail the purple spring. — R. T. Paine. The yellow finches perched and sang Their few notes sweet and loud.— Htgginson. FULICA 97 FULICA.