CHAP. 42.—THE VARIOUS KINDS OF BIRDS WHICH AFFORD OMENS
BY THEIR NOTE—BIRDS WHICH CHANGE THEIR COLOUR AND
THEIR VOICE.
There is another remarkable fact too, relative to the birds
which give omens by their note; they generally change their
colour and voice at a certain season of the year, and suddenly
become quite altered in appearance; a thing that, among the
larger birds, happens with the crane only, which grows black
in its old age. From black, the blackbird changes to a reddish colour, sings in summer, chatters in winter, and about
the summer solstice loses its voice; when a year old, the beak
also assumes the appearance of ivory; this, however, is the case
only with the male. In the summer, the thrush is mottled
about the neck, but in the winter it becomes of one uniform
colour all over.