Folio 36v - De pica; the magpie.
Of the magpie Magpies are like poets, because they utter words, with a distinct sound, like men; hanging in the branches of trees, they chatter rudely, and even if they cannot get their tongues round words, they nevertheless imitate human speech. On this subject someone aptly said: 'The chattering magpie, firm of voice, greets you as lord. If you do not see me, you will deny that I am a bird' (Martial, Epigrams, 14: 76). The woodpecker, picus, gets its name from Picus son of Saturn, because he used it for taking auguries. For they say that this bird has something
Folio 36v - De pica; the magpie. | The Aberdeen Bestiary | The University of Aberdeen