Ercinee

Ercinee /hercinia, ercinee/ medallion 6.8 cm diameter
The text is the exact repetition of the story by Isi-dor /XII.VII.31/. The ercinee is the bird of the German forests, her feathers shine so brightly that even in darkness they are dazzling. The bird is mentioned by Pliny /X.47.67/ and Solinus /20.3/ Pseudo-Hugh devotes a whole chapter to it /III.31/. Possibly the medieval writers called a Bohemian jay by this name (White Т. Н. The Bestiary. A Book of Beasts being a Translation from a Latin Bestiary of the XII-th century. New York, 1960, p. 130). In the miniatures of the Saint Petersburg and the New York bestiaries the silhouette of the bird is painted golden as if to show the shining of the plumage.