§230ὅσοι τʼ εὐσπόρους ἀγροίκων γύας §231νέμεσθε, φῦλα μυρία κριθοτράγων §232σπερμολόγων τε γένη §233ταχὺ πετόμενα, μαλθακὴν ἱέντα γῆρυν· §234ὅσα τʼ ἐν ἄλοκι θαμὰ §235βῶλον ἀμφιτιττυβίζεθʼ ὧδε λεπτὸν §236ἡδομένᾳ φωνᾷ· §237τιὸ τιὸ τιὸ τιὸ τιὸ τιὸ τιὸ τιό.
And you who feed upon the well-sown fields of the husbandmen, countless tribes of barley-eating and races of seed-gathering birds, swiftly flying, uttering a soft voice; and those which in the furrow often chirp thus around the fine clod of earth with a joyful voice; Tio, tio, tio, tio, tio, tio, tio, tio!
§238ὅσα θʼ ὑμῶν κατὰ κήπους ἐπὶ κισσοῦ §239κλάδεσι νομὸν ἔχει, §240τά τε κατʼ ὄρεα τά τε κοτινοτράγα τά τε κομαροφάγα, §242ἀνύσατε πετόμενα πρὸς ἐμὰν αὐδάν· §243τριοτὸ τριοτὸ τοτοβρίξ·
And those of you who in the gardens on ivy branches have your pasture, and those on the mountains, both wild-olive-eaters and arbutus-eaters, make haste to fly to my voice; Trioto, trioto, totobrix!
§244οἵ θʼ ἑλείας παρʼ αὐλῶνας ὀξυστόμους §245ἐμπίδας κάπτεθʼ, ὅσα τʼ εὐδρόσους γῆς τόπους §246ἔχετε λειμῶνά τʼ ἐρόεντα Μαραθῶνος, ὄρνις §248πτερυγοποίκιλός τʼ ἀτταγᾶς ἀτταγᾶς.
And you who, by the marshy ravines, snap up the sharp-stinging gnats, and those of you who hold the well-dewed places of the earth and the lovely meadow of Marathon, and the bird with variegated wings, the francolin, the francolin!
§250ὧν τʼ ἐπὶ πόντιον οἶδμα θαλάσσης §251φῦλα μετʼ ἀλκυόνεσσι ποτῆται, §252δεῦρʼ ἴτε πευσόμενοι τὰ νεώτερα, §253πάντα γὰρ ἐνθάδε φῦλʼ ἀθροΐζομεν §254οἰωνῶν ταναοδείρων.
And those of you who, over the sea-swell of the deep, fly as tribes along with the halcyons, come hither to learn the news; for we are gathering here all the tribes of long-necked birds.
For there has come a certain sharp old man, novel in thought, and an undertaker of novel deeds.
But come to the discussion, all of you, hither, hither, hither, hither!
§260τοροτοροτοροτοροτίξ.
Torotorotorotorotix!
§261κικκαβαῦ κικκαβαῦ.
Kikkabau, kikkabau!
§262τοροτοροτοροτορολιλιλίξ.
Torotorotorotorolililix!
§263ὁρᾷς τινʼ ὄρνιν;
Pisthetaerus: Do you see any bird?
Euelpides: By Apollo, not I indeed; and yet I'm staring up at the sky with open mouth.
Pisthetaerus: In vain then, it seems, did the hoopoe step into the thicket and hatch, imitating the plover.
§267τοροτὶξ τοροτίξ.
Hoopoe: Torotix, torotix!
§268ὦγάθʼ ἀλλʼ εἶς οὑτοσὶ καὶ δή τις ὄρνις ἔρχεται.
Euelpides: My good friend, but look, here comes a certain bird!
§269νὴ Δίʼ ὄρνις δῆτα.
Pisthetaerus: By Zeus, a bird indeed!
τίς ποτʼ ἐστίν;
What on earth is it?
οὐ δήπου ταὧς;
Surely not a peacock?
§270οὗτος αὐτὸς νῷν φράσει·
Euelpides: This man himself will tell us.
τίς ἐστιν ὄρνις οὑτοσί;
What bird is this?
Hoopoe: This is not one of those common ones you always see, but a marsh-bird.
§272bβαβαὶ καλός γε καὶ φοινικιοῦς.
Euelpides: My, how beautiful and crimson!
§273εἰκότως γε· καὶ γὰρ ὄνομʼ αὐτῷ ʼστὶ φοινικόπτερος.
Hoopoe: Naturally so; for indeed its name is flamingo.
§274οὗτος ὦ σέ τοι.
Euelpides: Hey, you there!
§274bτί βωστρεῖς;
Pisthetaerus: Why do you shout?
§274cἕτερος ὄρνις οὑτοσί.
Euelpides: Here is another bird.
§275νὴ Δίʼ ἕτερος δῆτα χοὖτος ἔξεδρον χρόαν ἔχων.
Pisthetaerus: By Zeus, another indeed, and this one has an unusual colour.
§276τίς ποτʼ ἔσθʼ ὁ μουσόμαντις ἄτοπος ὄρνις ὀρειβάτης;
Who on earth is this strange mountain-climbing prophet of the Muses?
§277ὄνομα τούτῳ Μῆδός ἐστο.
Hoopoe: His name is Mede.
§277bΜῆδος;
Pisthetaerus: A Mede?
ὦναξ Ἡράκλεις·
King Heracles!
§278εἶτα πῶς ἄνευ καμήλου Μῆδος ὤν εἰσέπτετο;
Then how, being a Mede, did he fly in without a camel?
§279ἕτερος αὖ λόφον κατειληφώς τις ὄρνις οὑτοσί.
Euelpides: Here is another bird on his part, who has occupied a crest.
§280τί τὸ τέρας τουτί ποτʼ ἐστίν;
Pisthetaerus: What on earth is this wonder?
οὐ σὺ μόνος ἄρʼ ἦσθʼ ἔποψ, §281ἀλλὰ χοὖτος ἕτερος;
Were you not then the only hoopoe, but this other one is too?
§281bοὑτοσὶ μέν ἐστι Φιλοκλέους §282ἐξ ἔποπος, ἐγὼ δὲ τούτου πάππος, ὥσπερ εἰ λέγοις §283Ἱππόνικος Καλλίου κἀξ Ἱππονίκου Καλλίας.
Hoopoe: This one is Philocles's offspring of the hoopoe, and I am his grandfather, just as if you were to say Hipponikos is the son of Kallias, and from Hipponikos comes Kallias.
§284Καλλίας ἄρʼ οὗτος οὕρνις ἐστίν· ὡς πτερορρυεῖ.
Euelpides: So this bird is Kallias then; how he sheds his feathers!
§285ἅτε γὰρ ὢν γενναῖος ὑπό τε συκοφαντῶν τίλλεται, §286αἵ τε θήλειαι προσεκτίλλουσιν αὐτοῦ τὰ πτερά.
Hoopoe: For being noble, he is plucked by informers, and the women pluck his feathers even more.
§287ὦ Πόσειδον ἕτερος αὖ τις βαπτὸς ὄρνις οὑτοσί.
Euelpides: By Poseidon, here is yet another brightly-coloured bird.
§288τίς ὀνομάξεταί ποθʼ οὗτος;
What on earth will this one be called?
§288bοὑτοσὶ κατωφαγᾶς.
Hoopoe: This one is the glutton.
§289ἔστι γὰρ κατωφαγᾶς τις ἄλλος ἢ Κλεώνυμος;
Pisthetaerus: For is there any other glutton than Kleonymos?
§290πῶς ἂν οὖν Κλεώνυμός γʼ ὢν οὐκ ἀπέβαλε τὸν λόφον;
Euelpides: How then, being Kleonymos, did he not throw away his crest?
§291ἀλλὰ μέντοι τίς ποθʼ ἡ λόφωσις ἡ τῶν ὀρνέων;
Pisthetaerus: But indeed, what on earth is this cresting of the birds?
§292ἦ ʼπὶ τὸν δίαυλον ἦλθον;
Have they come for the double-course race?
Hoopoe: No, on the contrary, like the Carians, they live on crests, my good friend, for safety's sake.
Pisthetaerus: By Poseidon, don't you see what a plague of birds has gathered?
§295bὦναξ Ἄπολλον τοῦ νέφους.
Euelpides: King Apollo, what a cloud!
ἰοὺ ἰού,
Oh, oh!
§296οὐδʼ ἰδεῖν ἔτʼ ἔσθʼ ὑπʼ αὐτῶν πετομένων τὴν εἴσοδον.
One can't even see the entrance anymore because of them flying about.
Pisthetaerus: This one is a partridge, and that one, by Zeus, is a francolin, and this one is a wigeon, and that one is a halcyon.
§299τίς γάρ ἐσθʼ οὕπισθεν αὐτῆς;
Euelpides: And who is that behind her?
§299bὅστις ἐστί;
Hoopoe: Who is it?
κειρύλος.
A kerylos.
§300κειρύλος γάρ ἐστιν ὄρνις;
Euelpides: Is a kerylos a bird?
§300bοὐ γάρ ἐστι Σποργίλος;
Hoopoe: Why, is Sporgilos not one?
§301χαὐτηί γε γλαῦξ.
Euelpides: And this one here is an owl.
§301bτί φῄς;
Pisthetaerus: What do you say?
τίς γλαῦκʼ Ἀθήναζʼ ἤγαγεν;
Who brought an owl to Athens?
§302κίττα τρυγὼν κορυδὸς ἐλεᾶς ὑποθυμὶς περιστερὰ §303νέρτος ἱέραξ φάττα κόκκυξ ἐρυθρόπους κεβλήπυρις §304πορφυρὶς κερχνῂς κολυμβὶς ἀμπελὶς φήνη δρύοψ.
Euelpides: A jay, a turtle-dove, a lark, a reed-warbler, a thyme-finch, a pigeon, a vulture, a hawk, a wood-pigeon, a cuckoo, a red-foot, a red-cap, a purple gallinule, a kestrel, a diver, a waxwing, a lammergeier, a woodpecker.
§305ἰοὺ ἰοὺ τῶν ὀρνέων, ἰοὺ ἰοὺ τῶν κοψίχων·
Oh, oh, what a lot of birds! Oh, oh, what a lot of blackbirds!
§306οἶα πιππίζουσι καὶ τρέχουσι διακεκραγότες.
How they chirp and run about, screaming out loud!
§307ἆρʼ ἀπειλοῦσίν γε νῷν;
Pisthetaerus: Are they threatening us?
οἴμοι, κεχήνασίν γέ τοι §308καὶ βλέπουσιν ἐς σὲ κἀμέ.
Alas, they certainly have their beaks wide open, and are looking at you and me.
§308bτοῦτο μὲν κἀμοὶ δοκεῖ.
Euelpides: So it seems to me too.
§310ποποποποποποποποποποῖ ποῦ μʼ ἄρʼ ὃς
Chorus: Popopopopopopopopopoi, where indeed is he who...