The Serpent of Regulus, and the Boa
Bestiary: a serpent that swallows birds from the air, the giant killed before Marcus Regulus, and the boa that drains a cow
A page of Leonardo's mirror-script bestiary in pen, closing the dragon note and opening entries on the serpent and the boa. The serpent, a very great animal, is said to draw birds out of the air into its mouth by inhaling; the text recalls how Marcus Regulus, consul of the Roman army, was almost overwhelmed by such a beast, which was killed by a wall-engine and measured 125 feet, overtopping every tree of a wood. A further heading, 'Boa,' describes a great snake that coils about a cow's legs so it cannot move and suckles it dry, adding that in the time of the emperor Claudius one was killed on the Vatican Mount.
On this page
The serpent that swallows birds; Marcus Regulus
The serpent, a very great animal, draws its breath so strongly that it pulls birds from the air into its mouth. Marcus Regulus, consul of the Roman army, was assailed and nearly broken by such an animal, which, killed by a wall-engine, was measured at 125 feet and overtopped all the trees of a wood.
The boa that drains a cow
Under the heading 'Boa,' the entry describes a great snake that wraps itself around the legs of a cow so that it cannot move, then suckles it until it almost dries it up. Of this species, in the time of the emperor Claudius, one was killed on the Vatican Mount.