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Line 285

ἅτε γὰρ ὢν γενναῖος ὑπό τε συκοφαντῶν τίλλεται,

The participle ὢν is used here in a causal sense ('since he was noble') with the article ὢν (or rather the elided form ὢν from ὢν) functioning as a substantive relative clause or causal participle construction that emphasizes the inherent quality of the subject as the cause of his suffering. This construction, while not rare in Aristophanes, is notable here because it creates a tragic irony: the very nobility (γενναῖος) that should protect the individual is precisely what makes him a target for the sycophants (συκοφαντῶν). The verb τίλλεται ('he is plucked' or 'he is harassed') is a metaphorical extension of agricultural imagery, common in Old Comedy to describe the systematic destruction of a person's reputation or property by malicious informers.

Birds. Aristophanes. . 2026-09-08.

Current edition Experimental

Commentary (Sanjaya, generated; selected passages) (OCR draft) (English) (Source: pnadelofficial/aristophanes-sanjaya, commit c319590c139e5603e71f0699caa0663d823af8ad. Machine-generated source annotations retained; see Sanjaya import audit for coverage and limitations.)

Provisional text from uncorrected OCR; expect errors.

Editions (1)

Ὄρνιθες Perseus (Aristophanes. Aristophanis Comoediae, Vol. 1. Hall, F. W. and Geldart, William M., editors. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1906.) — 267 focus

Ὄρνις Τις

τοροτὶξ τοροτίξ.

Πισθέταιρος

ὦγάθʼ ἀλλʼ εἶς οὑτοσὶ καὶ δή τις ὄρνις ἔρχεται.

Ἐυελπίδης

νὴ Δίʼ ὄρνις δῆτα. τίς ποτʼ ἐστίν; οὐ δήπου ταὧς;

Πισθέταιρος

οὗτος αὐτὸς νῷν φράσει· τίς ἐστιν ὄρνις οὑτοσί;
270

Ἔποψ

οὗτος οὐ τῶν ἠθάδων τῶνδʼ ὧν ὁρᾶθʼ ὑμεῖς ἀεί,

ἀλλὰ λιμναῖος.

Ἐυελπίδης

βαβαὶ καλός γε καὶ φοινικιοῦς.

Ἔποψ

εἰκότως γε· καὶ γὰρ ὄνομʼ αὐτῷ ʼστὶ φοινικόπτερος.

Ἐυελπίδης

οὗτος ὦ σέ τοι.

Πισθέταιρος

τί βωστρεῖς;

Ἐυελπίδης

ἕτερος ὄρνις οὑτοσί.

Πισθέταιρος

νὴ Δίʼ ἕτερος δῆτα χοὖτος ἔξεδρον χρόαν ἔχων.
275

τίς ποτʼ ἔσθʼ ὁ μουσόμαντις ἄτοπος ὄρνις ὀρειβάτης;

Ἔποψ

ὄνομα τούτῳ Μῆδός ἐστο.

Πισθέταιρος

Μῆδος; ὦναξ Ἡράκλεις·

εἶτα πῶς ἄνευ καμήλου Μῆδος ὤν εἰσέπτετο;

Ἐυελπίδης

ἕτερος αὖ λόφον κατειληφώς τις ὄρνις οὑτοσί.

Πισθέταιρος

τί τὸ τέρας τουτί ποτʼ ἐστίν; οὐ σὺ μόνος ἄρʼ ἦσθʼ ἔποψ,
280

ἀλλὰ χοὖτος ἕτερος;

Ἔποψ

οὑτοσὶ μέν ἐστι Φιλοκλέους

ἐξ ἔποπος, ἐγὼ δὲ τούτου πάππος, ὥσπερ εἰ λέγοις

Ἱππόνικος Καλλίου κἀξ Ἱππονίκου Καλλίας.

Πισθέταιρος

Καλλίας ἄρʼ οὗτος οὕρνις ἐστίν· ὡς πτερορρυεῖ.

Ἐυελπίδης

ἅτε γὰρ ὢν γενναῖος ὑπό τε συκοφαντῶν τίλλεται,
285

αἵ τε θήλειαι προσεκτίλλουσιν αὐτοῦ τὰ πτερά.

Πισθέταιρος

ὦ Πόσειδον ἕτερος αὖ τις βαπτὸς ὄρνις οὑτοσί.

τίς ὀνομάξεταί ποθʼ οὗτος;

Ἔποψ

οὑτοσὶ κατωφαγᾶς.

Πισθέταιρος

ἔστι γὰρ κατωφαγᾶς τις ἄλλος ἢ Κλεώνυμος;

Ἐυελπίδης

πῶς ἂν οὖν Κλεώνυμός γʼ ὢν οὐκ ἀπέβαλε τὸν λόφον;
290

Πισθέταιρος

ἀλλὰ μέντοι τίς ποθʼ ἡ λόφωσις ἡ τῶν ὀρνέων;

ἦ ʼπὶ τὸν δίαυλον ἦλθον;

Ἔποψ

ὥσπερ οἱ Κᾶρες μὲν οὖν

ἐπὶ λόφων οἰκοῦσιν ὦγάθʼ ἀσφαλείας οὔνεκα.

Πισθέταιρος

ὦ Πόσειδον οὐχ ὁρᾷς ὅσον συνείλεκται κακὸν

ὀρνέων;
295

Ἐυελπίδης

ὦναξ Ἄπολλον τοῦ νέφους. ἰοὺ ἰού,

οὐδʼ ἰδεῖν ἔτʼ ἔσθʼ ὑπʼ αὐτῶν πετομένων τὴν εἴσοδον.

Ἔποψ

οὑτοσὶ πέρδιξ, ἐκεινοσί γε νὴ Δίʼ ἀτταγᾶς,

οὑτοσὶ δὲ πηνέλοψ, ἐκεινηὶ δέ γʼ ἀλκυών.

Πισθέταιρος

τίς γάρ ἐσθʼ οὕπισθεν αὐτῆς;

Ἔποψ

ὅστις ἐστί; κειρύλος.

Πισθέταιρος

κειρύλος γάρ ἐστιν ὄρνις;
300

Ἔποψ

οὐ γάρ ἐστι Σποργίλος;

χαὐτηί γε γλαῦξ.

Ἐυελπίδης

τί φῄς; τίς γλαῦκʼ Ἀθήναζʼ ἤγαγεν;

Ἔποψ

κίττα τρυγὼν κορυδὸς ἐλεᾶς ὑποθυμὶς περιστερὰ

νέρτος ἱέραξ φάττα κόκκυξ ἐρυθρόπους κεβλήπυρις

πορφυρὶς κερχνῂς κολυμβὶς ἀμπελὶς φήνη δρύοψ.

Πισθέταιρος

ἰοὺ ἰοὺ τῶν ὀρνέων, ἰοὺ ἰοὺ τῶν κοψίχων·
305

οἶα πιππίζουσι καὶ τρέχουσι διακεκραγότες.

ἆρʼ ἀπειλοῦσίν γε νῷν; οἴμοι, κεχήνασίν γέ τοι

καὶ βλέπουσιν ἐς σὲ κἀμέ.

Ἐυελπίδης

τοῦτο μὲν κἀμοὶ δοκεῖ.

Translations (3)

Birds Perseus (Aristophanes. The Complete Greek Drama, Vol. 2. Anonymous, translator. O'Neill, Eugene; Oates, Whitney Jennings, editors. New York: Random House, 1938 (printing).)

No corresponding passage available

Birds (OCR draft) Experimental (Anonymous translation, 1938 compilation; legacy Perseus source migration. Preserved separately from the revised canonical perseus-eng2 at the project owner's request.) — 267 focus

A Bird
Entering.

Torotix, torotix.

Pisthetaerus

Wait, friend, there's a bird.

Euelpides

By Zeus, it is a bird, but what kind? Isn't it a peacock?

Pisthetaerus
As Epops comes out of the thicket.

270 Epops will tell us. What is this bird?

Epops

It's not one of those you are used to seeing; it's a bird from the marshes.

Euelpides

Oh! oh! but he is very handsome with his wings as crimson as flame.

Epops

Undoubtedly; indeed he is called flamingo.

Euelpides
Excitedly.

Hi! I say! You!

Pisthetaerus

What are you shouting for?

Euelpides

Why, here's another bird.

Pisthetaerus

275 Aye, indeed; this one's a foreign bird too. To Epops. What is this bird from beyond the mountains with a look as solemn as it is stupid?

Epops

He is called the Mede.

Euelpides

The Mede! But, by Heracles, how, if a Mede, has he flown here without a camel?

Pisthetaerus

Here's another bird with a crest.

From here on, the numerous birds that make up the Chorus keep rushing in.

Euelpides

Ah! that's curious. I say, Epops, 280 you are not the only one of your kind then?

Epops

This bird is the son of Philocles, who is the son of Epops; so that, you see, I am his grandfather; just as one might say, Hipponicus, the son of Callias, who is the son of Hipponicus.

Euelpides

Then this bird is Callias! Why, what a lot of his feathers he has lost!

Epops

285 That's because he is honest; so the informers set upon him and the women too pluck out his feathers.

Euelpides

By Poseidon, do you see that many-coloured bird? What is his name?

Epops

This one? That's the glutton.

Euelpides

Is there another glutton besides Cleonymus? 290 But why, if he is Cleonymus, has he not thrown away his crest? But what is the meaning of all these crests? Have these birds come to contend for the double stadium prize?

Epops

They are like the Carians, who cling to the crests of their mountains for greater safety.

Pisthetaerus

Oh, Poseidon! look what awful swarms of birds are gathering here!

Euelpides

295 By Phoebus! what a cloud! The entrance to the stage is no longer visible so closely do they fly together.

Pisthetaerus

Here is the partridge.

Euelpides

Why, there is the francolin.

Pisthetaerus

There is the poachard.

Euelpides

Here is the kingfisher. To Epops. What's that bird behind the kingfisher?

Epops

That's the barber.

Euelpides

300 What? a bird a barber?

Pisthetaerus

Why, Sporgilus is one.

Epops

Here comes the owl.

Euelpides

And who is it brings an owl to Athens ?

Epops
Pointing to the various species.

Here is the magpie, the turtle-dove, the swallow, the horned-owl, the buzzard, the pigeon, the falcon, the ring-dove, the cuckoo, the red-foot, the red-cap, the purple-cap, the kestrel, the diver, the ousel, the osprey, the woodpecker . . .

Pisthetaerus

305 Oh! what a lot of birds! Oh! what a lot of blackbirds! How they scold, how they come rushing up! What a noise! what a noise! Can they be bearing us ill-will? Oh! there! there! they are opening their beaks and staring at us.

Euelpides

Why, so they are.

English (Sanjaya, generated; selected passages) (OCR draft) Experimental (Source: pnadelofficial/aristophanes-sanjaya, commit c319590c139e5603e71f0699caa0663d823af8ad. Machine-generated source annotations retained; see Sanjaya import audit for coverage and limitations.) — 267 focus

Bird Some: torotix torotix.

Pisthetaerus: Oh good, but this man here and some bird is coming.

Euelpides: By Zeus, it is indeed a bird. Who is it? Not surely a cow, is it?

Pisthetaerus: This man himself will tell us: Who is this bird?

270

hoopoe: this one is not one of the usual birds that you always see,

Ἔποψ: But a marsh-hen.

Euelpides: By Zeus, he is handsome and wears a crimson cloak.

Epops: quite rightly; for his name is also 'red-winged'.

Euelpides: 'This one, by Zeus!'

Pisthetaerus: Why are you bellowing?

Euelpides: another bird is this one.

Pisthetaerus: By Zeus, this fellow too is another with a sallow complexion.

275

Pisthetaerus: Who is that strange, bird-loving, mountain-climbing bird?

Epos: His name was Medos.

Pisthetairos: A Mede? O lord Heracles!

Pisthetaerus: Then how did a Median, without a camel, get inside?

Euelpides: Another bird, this one, has seized the crest.

Pisthetaerus: What is this omen, I wonder? Were you not the only one who was a hoopoe,

280

Pisthetaerus: But even this one is another?

Epos: This man here is Philocleon's.

Epops: From an epops, and I am his grandfather, as if you were saying.

Epops: Hipponikos, son of Kallias, and Kallias, son of Hipponikos.

Pisthetaerus: Is this Callias a bird? He flies with his feathers!

Euelpides: for since he is noble, he is plucked by sycophants,

285

Euelpides: And the females pull out his feathers.

Pisthetaerus: O Poseidon, here comes another diving bird!

Pisthetaerus: Who will ever be called this man?

Epopus: This fellow is a glutton.

Pisthetaerus: For is there another glutton besides Cleonymus?

Eupolid: So how, being Kleonymos, would he not have lost his crest?

290

Pisthetaerus: But, tell me, what is this pluming of the birds?

Pisthetaerus: Have I come to the stadium?

The hoopoe: Just as the Carians, then,

Hoopoe: They dwell on the hills, good man, for the sake of security.

Pisthetaerus: Oh Poseidon, do you not see what a great evil has gathered together?

Pisthetaerus: Of birds?

295

Euelpides: O lord Apollo of the cloud. Iu, iou,

Euelpides: There is no longer even a glimpse of the entrance as they fly above.

Epops: This one is a partridge, but that one, by Zeus, is a quail.

Epops: this one is a hoopoe, and that one is a kingfisher.

Pisthetaerus: For who is behind her?

Epopos: Who is he? A Kerylos.

Pisthetaerus: for is it a hoopoe, a bird?

300

Epops: 'For isn't there Sporgilos?'

Epopos: And this one too is an owl.

Euelpides: What do you say? Who has brought an owl to Athens?

Eupops: a greenfinch, a lark, a thrush, a pigeon.

Epops: a hawk, a sparrowhawk, a cuckoo, a red-legged kingfisher, a fire-fly.

Cormorant: purple-dyed, net-diving, vine-pecking, night-jar, oak-pecking.

Pisthetaerus: Io, io of the birds, io, io of the hawks;

305

Pisthetaerus: How they chirp and run, shouting as they go.

Pisthetaerus: Are they threatening us, then? Alas, they have their mouths wide open!

Pisthetaerus: And they see you and me.

Euelpides: This also seems so to me.

Commentary

Commentary (Sanjaya, generated; selected passages) (OCR draft) (Source: pnadelofficial/aristophanes-sanjaya, commit c319590c139e5603e71f0699caa0663d823af8ad. Machine-generated source annotations retained; see Sanjaya import audit for coverage and limitations.) focus

285. mvp-tlg0019-tlg006-sanjaya-com-eng1-5

Line 285

ἅτε γὰρ ὢν γενναῖος ὑπό τε συκοφαντῶν τίλλεται,

Search the Perseus Catalog for:

Search the Perseus Catalog for:

Line 285

Current edition Experimental

Ὄρνις Τις τοροτὶξ τοροτίξ.

Πισθέταιρος ὦγάθʼ ἀλλʼ εἶς οὑτοσὶ καὶ δή τις ὄρνις ἔρχεται.

Ἐυελπίδης νὴ Δίʼ ὄρνις δῆτα. τίς ποτʼ ἐστίν; οὐ δήπου ταὧς;

Πισθέταιρος οὗτος αὐτὸς νῷν φράσει· τίς ἐστιν ὄρνις οὑτοσί; 270

Ἔποψ οὗτος οὐ τῶν ἠθάδων τῶνδʼ ὧν ὁρᾶθʼ ὑμεῖς ἀεί, ἀλλὰ λιμναῖος.

Ἐυελπίδης βαβαὶ καλός γε καὶ φοινικιοῦς.

Ἔποψ εἰκότως γε· καὶ γὰρ ὄνομʼ αὐτῷ ʼστὶ φοινικόπτερος.

Ἐυελπίδης οὗτος ὦ σέ τοι.

Πισθέταιρος τί βωστρεῖς;

Ἐυελπίδης ἕτερος ὄρνις οὑτοσί.

Πισθέταιρος νὴ Δίʼ ἕτερος δῆτα χοὖτος ἔξεδρον χρόαν ἔχων. 275 τίς ποτʼ ἔσθʼ ὁ μουσόμαντις ἄτοπος ὄρνις ὀρειβάτης;

Ἔποψ ὄνομα τούτῳ Μῆδός ἐστο.

Πισθέταιρος Μῆδος; ὦναξ Ἡράκλεις· εἶτα πῶς ἄνευ καμήλου Μῆδος ὤν εἰσέπτετο;

Ἐυελπίδης ἕτερος αὖ λόφον κατειληφώς τις ὄρνις οὑτοσί.

Πισθέταιρος τί τὸ τέρας τουτί ποτʼ ἐστίν; οὐ σὺ μόνος ἄρʼ ἦσθʼ ἔποψ, 280 ἀλλὰ χοὖτος ἕτερος;

Ἔποψ οὑτοσὶ μέν ἐστι Φιλοκλέους ἐξ ἔποπος, ἐγὼ δὲ τούτου πάππος, ὥσπερ εἰ λέγοις Ἱππόνικος Καλλίου κἀξ Ἱππονίκου Καλλίας.

Πισθέταιρος Καλλίας ἄρʼ οὗτος οὕρνις ἐστίν· ὡς πτερορρυεῖ.

Ἐυελπίδης ἅτε γὰρ ὢν γενναῖος ὑπό τε συκοφαντῶν τίλλεται, 285 αἵ τε θήλειαι προσεκτίλλουσιν αὐτοῦ τὰ πτερά.

Πισθέταιρος ὦ Πόσειδον ἕτερος αὖ τις βαπτὸς ὄρνις οὑτοσί. τίς ὀνομάξεταί ποθʼ οὗτος;

Ἔποψ οὑτοσὶ κατωφαγᾶς.

Πισθέταιρος ἔστι γὰρ κατωφαγᾶς τις ἄλλος ἢ Κλεώνυμος;

Ἐυελπίδης πῶς ἂν οὖν Κλεώνυμός γʼ ὢν οὐκ ἀπέβαλε τὸν λόφον; 290

Πισθέταιρος ἀλλὰ μέντοι τίς ποθʼ ἡ λόφωσις ἡ τῶν ὀρνέων; ἦ ʼπὶ τὸν δίαυλον ἦλθον;

Ἔποψ ὥσπερ οἱ Κᾶρες μὲν οὖν ἐπὶ λόφων οἰκοῦσιν ὦγάθʼ ἀσφαλείας οὔνεκα.

Πισθέταιρος ὦ Πόσειδον οὐχ ὁρᾷς ὅσον συνείλεκται κακὸν ὀρνέων; 295

Ἐυελπίδης ὦναξ Ἄπολλον τοῦ νέφους. ἰοὺ ἰού, οὐδʼ ἰδεῖν ἔτʼ ἔσθʼ ὑπʼ αὐτῶν πετομένων τὴν εἴσοδον.

Ἔποψ οὑτοσὶ πέρδιξ, ἐκεινοσί γε νὴ Δίʼ ἀτταγᾶς, οὑτοσὶ δὲ πηνέλοψ, ἐκεινηὶ δέ γʼ ἀλκυών.

Πισθέταιρος τίς γάρ ἐσθʼ οὕπισθεν αὐτῆς;

Ἔποψ ὅστις ἐστί; κειρύλος.

Πισθέταιρος κειρύλος γάρ ἐστιν ὄρνις; 300

Ἔποψ οὐ γάρ ἐστι Σποργίλος; χαὐτηί γε γλαῦξ.

Ἐυελπίδης τί φῄς; τίς γλαῦκʼ Ἀθήναζʼ ἤγαγεν;

Ἔποψ κίττα τρυγὼν κορυδὸς ἐλεᾶς ὑποθυμὶς περιστερὰ νέρτος ἱέραξ φάττα κόκκυξ ἐρυθρόπους κεβλήπυρις πορφυρὶς κερχνῂς κολυμβὶς ἀμπελὶς φήνη δρύοψ.

Ἐυελπίδης τοῦτο μὲν κἀμοὶ δοκεῖ.

A Bird Entering. Torotix, torotix.

Pisthetaerus Wait, friend, there's a bird.

Euelpides By Zeus, it is a bird, but what kind? Isn't it a peacock?

Pisthetaerus As Epops comes out of the thicket. 270 Epops will tell us. What is this bird?

Epops It's not one of those you are used to seeing; it's a bird from the marshes.

Euelpides Oh! oh! but he is very handsome with his wings as crimson as flame.

Epops Undoubtedly; indeed he is called flamingo.

Euelpides Excitedly. Hi! I say! You!

Pisthetaerus What are you shouting for?

Euelpides Why, here's another bird.

Pisthetaerus 275 Aye, indeed; this one's a foreign bird too. To Epops. What is this bird from beyond the mountains with a look as solemn as it is stupid?

Epops He is called the Mede.

Euelpides The Mede! But, by Heracles, how, if a Mede, has he flown here without a camel?

Pisthetaerus Here's another bird with a crest.

Euelpides Ah! that's curious. I say, Epops, 280 you are not the only one of your kind then?

Epops This bird is the son of Philocles, who is the son of Epops; so that, you see, I am his grandfather; just as one might say, Hipponicus, the son of Callias, who is the son of Hipponicus.

Euelpides Then this bird is Callias! Why, what a lot of his feathers he has lost!

Epops 285 That's because he is honest; so the informers set upon him and the women too pluck out his feathers.

Euelpides By Poseidon, do you see that many-coloured bird? What is his name?

Epops This one? That's the glutton.

Euelpides Is there another glutton besides Cleonymus? 290 But why, if he is Cleonymus, has he not thrown away his crest? But what is the meaning of all these crests? Have these birds come to contend for the double stadium prize?

Epops They are like the Carians, who cling to the crests of their mountains for greater safety.

Pisthetaerus Oh, Poseidon! look what awful swarms of birds are gathering here!

Euelpides 295 By Phoebus! what a cloud! The entrance to the stage is no longer visible so closely do they fly together.

Pisthetaerus Here is the partridge.

Euelpides Why, there is the francolin.

Pisthetaerus There is the poachard.

Euelpides Here is the kingfisher. To Epops. What's that bird behind the kingfisher?

Epops That's the barber.

Euelpides 300 What? a bird a barber?

Pisthetaerus Why, Sporgilus is one.

Epops Here comes the owl.

Euelpides And who is it brings an owl to Athens ?

Epops Pointing to the various species. Here is the magpie, the turtle-dove, the swallow, the horned-owl, the buzzard, the pigeon, the falcon, the ring-dove, the cuckoo, the red-foot, the red-cap, the purple-cap, the kestrel, the diver, the ousel, the osprey, the woodpecker . . .

Pisthetaerus 305 Oh! what a lot of birds! Oh! what a lot of blackbirds! How they scold, how they come rushing up! What a noise! what a noise! Can they be bearing us ill-will? Oh! there! there! they are opening their beaks and staring at us.

Euelpides Why, so they are.

Commentary

Line 285

Stable identifiers

Ὄρνις Τις

τοροτὶξ τοροτίξ.

Πισθέταιρος

ὦγάθʼ ἀλλʼ εἶς οὑτοσὶ καὶ δή τις ὄρνις ἔρχεται.

Ἐυελπίδης

νὴ Δίʼ ὄρνις δῆτα. τίς ποτʼ ἐστίν; οὐ δήπου ταὧς;

Πισθέταιρος

οὗτος αὐτὸς νῷν φράσει· τίς ἐστιν ὄρνις οὑτοσί;
270

Ἔποψ

οὗτος οὐ τῶν ἠθάδων τῶνδʼ ὧν ὁρᾶθʼ ὑμεῖς ἀεί,

ἀλλὰ λιμναῖος.

Ἐυελπίδης

βαβαὶ καλός γε καὶ φοινικιοῦς.

Ἔποψ

εἰκότως γε· καὶ γὰρ ὄνομʼ αὐτῷ ʼστὶ φοινικόπτερος.

Ἐυελπίδης

οὗτος ὦ σέ τοι.

Πισθέταιρος

τί βωστρεῖς;

Ἐυελπίδης

ἕτερος ὄρνις οὑτοσί.

Πισθέταιρος

νὴ Δίʼ ἕτερος δῆτα χοὖτος ἔξεδρον χρόαν ἔχων.
275

τίς ποτʼ ἔσθʼ ὁ μουσόμαντις ἄτοπος ὄρνις ὀρειβάτης;

Ἔποψ

ὄνομα τούτῳ Μῆδός ἐστο.

Πισθέταιρος

Μῆδος; ὦναξ Ἡράκλεις·

εἶτα πῶς ἄνευ καμήλου Μῆδος ὤν εἰσέπτετο;

Ἐυελπίδης

ἕτερος αὖ λόφον κατειληφώς τις ὄρνις οὑτοσί.

Πισθέταιρος

τί τὸ τέρας τουτί ποτʼ ἐστίν; οὐ σὺ μόνος ἄρʼ ἦσθʼ ἔποψ,
280

ἀλλὰ χοὖτος ἕτερος;

Ἔποψ

οὑτοσὶ μέν ἐστι Φιλοκλέους

ἐξ ἔποπος, ἐγὼ δὲ τούτου πάππος, ὥσπερ εἰ λέγοις

Ἱππόνικος Καλλίου κἀξ Ἱππονίκου Καλλίας.

Πισθέταιρος

Καλλίας ἄρʼ οὗτος οὕρνις ἐστίν· ὡς πτερορρυεῖ.

Ἐυελπίδης

ἅτε γὰρ ὢν γενναῖος ὑπό τε συκοφαντῶν τίλλεται,
285

αἵ τε θήλειαι προσεκτίλλουσιν αὐτοῦ τὰ πτερά.

Πισθέταιρος

ὦ Πόσειδον ἕτερος αὖ τις βαπτὸς ὄρνις οὑτοσί.

τίς ὀνομάξεταί ποθʼ οὗτος;

Ἔποψ

οὑτοσὶ κατωφαγᾶς.

Πισθέταιρος

ἔστι γὰρ κατωφαγᾶς τις ἄλλος ἢ Κλεώνυμος;

Ἐυελπίδης

πῶς ἂν οὖν Κλεώνυμός γʼ ὢν οὐκ ἀπέβαλε τὸν λόφον;
290

Πισθέταιρος

ἀλλὰ μέντοι τίς ποθʼ ἡ λόφωσις ἡ τῶν ὀρνέων;

ἦ ʼπὶ τὸν δίαυλον ἦλθον;

Ἔποψ

ὥσπερ οἱ Κᾶρες μὲν οὖν

ἐπὶ λόφων οἰκοῦσιν ὦγάθʼ ἀσφαλείας οὔνεκα.

Πισθέταιρος

ὦ Πόσειδον οὐχ ὁρᾷς ὅσον συνείλεκται κακὸν

ὀρνέων;
295

Ἐυελπίδης

ὦναξ Ἄπολλον τοῦ νέφους. ἰοὺ ἰού,

οὐδʼ ἰδεῖν ἔτʼ ἔσθʼ ὑπʼ αὐτῶν πετομένων τὴν εἴσοδον.

Ἔποψ

οὑτοσὶ πέρδιξ, ἐκεινοσί γε νὴ Δίʼ ἀτταγᾶς,

οὑτοσὶ δὲ πηνέλοψ, ἐκεινηὶ δέ γʼ ἀλκυών.

Πισθέταιρος

τίς γάρ ἐσθʼ οὕπισθεν αὐτῆς;

Ἔποψ

ὅστις ἐστί; κειρύλος.

Πισθέταιρος

κειρύλος γάρ ἐστιν ὄρνις;
300

Ἔποψ

οὐ γάρ ἐστι Σποργίλος;

χαὐτηί γε γλαῦξ.

Ἐυελπίδης

τί φῄς; τίς γλαῦκʼ Ἀθήναζʼ ἤγαγεν;

Ἔποψ

κίττα τρυγὼν κορυδὸς ἐλεᾶς ὑποθυμὶς περιστερὰ

νέρτος ἱέραξ φάττα κόκκυξ ἐρυθρόπους κεβλήπυρις

πορφυρὶς κερχνῂς κολυμβὶς ἀμπελὶς φήνη δρύοψ.

Ἐυελπίδης

τοῦτο μὲν κἀμοὶ δοκεῖ.

A Bird
Entering.

Torotix, torotix.

Pisthetaerus

Wait, friend, there's a bird.

Euelpides

By Zeus, it is a bird, but what kind? Isn't it a peacock?

Pisthetaerus
As Epops comes out of the thicket.

270 Epops will tell us. What is this bird?

Epops

It's not one of those you are used to seeing; it's a bird from the marshes.

Euelpides

Oh! oh! but he is very handsome with his wings as crimson as flame.

Epops

Undoubtedly; indeed he is called flamingo.

Euelpides
Excitedly.

Hi! I say! You!

Pisthetaerus

What are you shouting for?

Euelpides

Why, here's another bird.

Pisthetaerus

275 Aye, indeed; this one's a foreign bird too. To Epops. What is this bird from beyond the mountains with a look as solemn as it is stupid?

Epops

He is called the Mede.

Euelpides

The Mede! But, by Heracles, how, if a Mede, has he flown here without a camel?

Pisthetaerus

Here's another bird with a crest.

Euelpides

Ah! that's curious. I say, Epops, 280 you are not the only one of your kind then?

Epops

This bird is the son of Philocles, who is the son of Epops; so that, you see, I am his grandfather; just as one might say, Hipponicus, the son of Callias, who is the son of Hipponicus.

Euelpides

Then this bird is Callias! Why, what a lot of his feathers he has lost!

Epops

285 That's because he is honest; so the informers set upon him and the women too pluck out his feathers.

Euelpides

By Poseidon, do you see that many-coloured bird? What is his name?

Epops

This one? That's the glutton.

Euelpides

Is there another glutton besides Cleonymus? 290 But why, if he is Cleonymus, has he not thrown away his crest? But what is the meaning of all these crests? Have these birds come to contend for the double stadium prize?

Epops

They are like the Carians, who cling to the crests of their mountains for greater safety.

Pisthetaerus

Oh, Poseidon! look what awful swarms of birds are gathering here!

Euelpides

295 By Phoebus! what a cloud! The entrance to the stage is no longer visible so closely do they fly together.

Pisthetaerus

Here is the partridge.

Euelpides

Why, there is the francolin.

Pisthetaerus

There is the poachard.

Euelpides

Here is the kingfisher. To Epops. What's that bird behind the kingfisher?

Epops

That's the barber.

Euelpides

300 What? a bird a barber?

Pisthetaerus

Why, Sporgilus is one.

Epops

Here comes the owl.

Euelpides

And who is it brings an owl to Athens ?

Epops
Pointing to the various species.

Here is the magpie, the turtle-dove, the swallow, the horned-owl, the buzzard, the pigeon, the falcon, the ring-dove, the cuckoo, the red-foot, the red-cap, the purple-cap, the kestrel, the diver, the ousel, the osprey, the woodpecker . . .

Pisthetaerus

305 Oh! what a lot of birds! Oh! what a lot of blackbirds! How they scold, how they come rushing up! What a noise! what a noise! Can they be bearing us ill-will? Oh! there! there! they are opening their beaks and staring at us.

Euelpides

Why, so they are.