☷ All XXXVII booksEnter the Living Codex ↗

LIBER X · CAPUT 11

THE CLASSIFICATION OF BIRDS

THE CLASSIFICATION OF BIRDS. Complete modern editorial illustration created specifically for this chapter.
THE CLASSIFICATION OF BIRDS · EDITORIAL PLATE X.11 · modern editorial plate
THE CLASSIFICATION OF BIRDS. Complete modern editorial illustration created specifically for this chapter.

Latine · Mayhoff 1906

Volucrum prima distinctio pedibus maxime constat: aut enim aduncos ungues habent ant digitos, aut palmipedum in genere sunt, uti anseres et aquaticae fere aves. aduncos ungues habentia care tantum vescuntur ex parte magna;

English · Bostock & Riley 1855–57

The first distinctive characteristic among birds is that which bears reference more especially to their feet: they have either hooked talons, or else toes, or else, again, they belong to the web-footed class, geese for instance, and most of the aquatic birds. Those which have hooked talons feed, for the most part, upon nothing but flesh.