CHAPTER 5.V.
Of the dumb Knight-hawks of the Ringing Island.
These words were scarce out of his mouth when some five-and-twenty or thirty birds flew towards us; they were of a hue and feather like which we had not seen anything in the whole island.

Their plumes were as changeable as the skin of the chameleon, and the flower of tripolion, or teucrion.
They had all under the left wing a mark like two diameters dividing a circle into equal parts, or, if you had rather have it so, like a perpendicular line falling on a right line.

The marks which each of them bore were much of the same shape, but of different colours; for some were white, others green, some red, others purple, and some blue.

Who are those?
asked Panurge; and how do you call them?
They are mongrels, quoth Aedituus.
We call them knight-hawks, and they have a great number of rich commanderies (fat livings) in your world.

Good your worship, said I, make them give us a song, an't please you, that we may know how they sing.