This is an onomatopoeic representation of bird calls (specifically thrushes or finches) rather than intelligible language. Aristophanes employs 'comic onomatopoeia' here, utilizing the guttural and plosive sounds (τ, ξ, γ) to mimic the harsh, repetitive notes of the birds, a device used throughout the play to establish the chorus's avian identity and the absurdity of their new city, Nephelococcygia.

The phrase 'ἔλε δὲ θάμβος ἄνακτας' (v. 1707 in some editions, though often cited as 1706 or 1708 depending on the edition; the text provided corresponds to the moment the Birds' city, Cloudcuckooland, is revealed) is a striking example of Aristophanic personification where 'θᾶμβος' (amazement) acts as the agent taking the 'ἄνακτας' (lords/masters). The syntax is elliptical for 'ἔλαβεν' (took) or 'ἔσχε' (held), but more significantly, the construction 'ἔλε ... ἄνακτας' implies a capture or seizure of the gods themselves by the emotion of wonder, rather than the gods merely feeling wonder. This inversion of the expected subject-object relationship (where the gods would be the subjects experiencing the emotion) is a hallmark of the play's comic hyperbole, suggesting the Birds' achievement is so profound it physically overpowers the Olympians. The subsequent clause 'Ὀλυμπιάδες δὲ μέλος Χάριτες' is often emended or requires careful parsing; 'Ὀλυμπιάδες' is a rare poetic plural for the Olympian gods or specifically the Olympian festivals, but here it likely functions as an appositional nominative to 'ἄνακτας' or a vocative, while 'μέλος' (song/tune) and 'Χάριτες' (Graces) form a choral image. The lack of a finite verb in the second clause, relying on the implied 'ἦν' or 'ἔδρασαν' from the context of the Birds' song, creates a rhythmic, staccato effect mimicking the sudden, disjointed reaction of the gods. This syntactic fragmentation is a deliberate rhetorical device to convey the shock of the Olympians.