Some birds which feed on insects may bring food to the nest more than a thousand times in one day. - Edward Allworthy Armstrong

… bore twin children, Apollo and Artemis, who had a sanctuary in common at Troy (Il. v. 445-448). Apollo also had twins by the Cretan woman . —another form of Leto—laid two eggs after consorting with Jupiter. Out of one came , out of the other and Helena.

... All large sociable birds make noticeable preparations when about to take wing, and some of these initiating movements have no apparent usefulness so far as rising from the ground or water is concerned. ... It is of great advantage to birds which migrate in flocks, such as geese, to take flight so far as possible simultaneously, and thus range themselves without delay into orderly squadrons. Moreover, the movements serve as a quiet hint of danger to neighbors when a bird sights a suspicious object. They have, in fact, a contagious effect. Large gaggles of geese in which one or other of the birds is constantly initiating flight in this way fly up much more often than small parties.

A rich store of Christian s appeared throughout the centuries before the time of Saint Francis, and he was by no means the first saint to show compassion for animals; but the blossoming of Christian compassion for nature in the thirteenth century and the , taken for granted by most writers, require explanation. Prior to his appearance, Italy had not been fertile in stories, true or apocryphal, telling of men and animals on friendly terms with one another, nor were Italians then any more renowned than they are now for their kindly treatment of birds and beasts. Why, then, should there have accumulated in connexion with a humble n friar a galaxy of stories of this kind?