Two-headed Wild Geese
Near the land of the Cynocephali or dog-headed men, there were many
islands, and, "Also in this yle, and in many yles thereabout are many
wyld geese with two heads." But these were not the only extraordinary
breed of wild geese, extant.
"As the wise Wilde-geese, when they over-soar
Cicilian mounts, within their bills do bear,
A pebble stone both day and night: for fear
Lest ravenous Eagles of the North descry
Their Armies passage, by their Cackling Cry."
Aristotle mentions the Crane as another stone-bearing bird:--"Among
birds, as it was previously remarked, the Crane migrates from one
extremity of the earth to the other, and they fly against the wind. As
for the story of the stone, it is a fiction, for they say that they
carry a stone as ballast, which is useful as a touchstone for gold,
after they have vomited it up."