Folio 35r Commentary

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f35r Text: Pelicans live in Egypt, and are devoted to their young. The fledglings fight their parents who kill them The mother bird pierces her side and as her blood flows over the bodies of her babies, they return to life. Illustration: the narrative is divided into three scenes showing the babies attacking their parent, the parents killing the babies and the mother piercing her side to resurrect her offspring. The birds are lively but quite unrealistic. There are both white and Dalmatian pelicans in the southern Mediterranean. They both eat fish but the rest of the account is unrealistic. Possibly the idea of mother pouring sustenance over her babies comes from the birds' habit of regurgitation. A little pricking is visible and the folio mark of three horizontal 'match sticks' is in the top right corner. The illustration in detail