History of Monsters 559

To our own observations, we add a three-legged hen that had a third leg growing near the vent. This hen was almost entirely yellow, though its wings and back were sprinkled with dark spots, and certain dark feathers hung from the neck over the start of the wings. Finally, the entire tail was dark, while the rest was a saffron yellow. This is depicted in Figure VII along with some barley.

It also happened some years ago that we saw a chick recently hatched from its egg that was equipped with three feet; the third foot grew out of the tailbone, as it were. For this reason, we saw to it that it was drawn among our monstrous varieties, and we provide it here as it was painted in Figure VIII.

Indeed, we did not hesitate to display a drawing of the skeleton of a monstrous cockerel, quite similar to the chick mentioned above, except that the third leg born near the vent was furnished with five toes, as shown in Figure IX.

Nor do we wish to omit the memory of a living three-legged rooster given to us by the learned and most kind Francesco Severino, a Doctor of Philosophy and Medicine, in the year of our salvation 1635. In addition to the two perfect legs common to all roosters, it had a third emerging from the vent, complete with six toes. Because of this, it could not mate with the hens, as that third six-toed leg acted as an obstacle to copulation. Therefore, as a lasting monument to the donor, we have placed a life-colored painting of this creature in the Museum of the Illustrious Senate of Bologna. Anyone visiting this public museum can also see and marvel at the hanging skeleton of this same rooster, for it died recently.

Furthermore, we must not pass over the beautiful image of a monstrous capon we observed. Some might not think it should be counted among three-legged creatures, since it had two long toes attached in addition to its two perfect legs. Nevertheless, in the living animal, these two attached toes, growing from the right leg, represented a third foot of sorts, just as we have depicted in Figure X along with *Bromus*, or sterile oats.

Since we are speaking of the multiplication of toes on the feet of animals, we must not omit the observation of a young chick equipped with five toes on each foot, which we provide as drawn in Figure XI.

We can confirm this with an observation by the most distinguished Liceti, who reported that in Padua in the year 1624, a maid plucking a hen found five distinct toes with their own claws on each foot. We gladly support this with another observation of a three-legged chick born in Bologna, which stood on only a single foot, as the other two legs were mutilated—one equipped with five toes, the other with four. Moreover, it had a double exit for its excrement, as appears in Figure XII.

Before we depart from the poultry family, we do not wish to leave in silence a monstrous hen that is kept today as a truly marvelous thing in the home of the most illustrious and prudent Senator of Bologna, Fulvio Antonio Marescalchi. This hen is of an ash-grey color tending toward yellow; it has no tail and walks upright in the manner of a human, with its hip joints set low down by its heels, as appears in Figure XIII. It seems appropriate to describe it here, not because it is burdened with monstrous feet, but because it cannot walk any other way due to the deformed structure of its lower parts. Indeed, that distinguished man Giovanni Antonio Godius, who is uncommonly skilled in anatomical practice, carefully handled and examined the parts of this hen and found the hip joints to be longer than they should be and the innominate bones poorly formed. Consequently, this bird is forced to sweep the ground with its vent and walk somewhat upright.

She does produce offspring, but usually miscarries, as the Senator’s brother, the most illustrious Gian Francesco Marescalchi, very kindly reported to us. We believe this happens because of the poor constitution of the aforementioned parts, as well as the observed length of the sternum; as the creature moves clumsily from time to time, it easily suffers a miscarriage.