A bird,[1] which people suffering from jaundice look at, as the story goes, and easily get over the disease.[2] Hence people who are selling them hide them so that those who are sick will not get their benefit. "And indeed, you're covering up; surely you aren't selling plovers?" So Hipponax [writes].[3]
And [there is] a proverb from this: 'mimicking a plover',[4] in reference to those who are hiding themselves. So Euphronius [uses the phrase].[5] For since the plover when it is seen helps those suffering from jaundice, those who are selling it cover it up, so that no-one can be accidentally cured before paying. It is a type of bird, changing into the preceding matters.[6] And in reference to the bird the accent is oxytone, but in reference to the ravine [charadra] it is barytone.[7] Since plovers also produce a certain type of melody through the streams. Therefore, "mimicking a plover" [is said] to mean "hiding". Some say it is not those who see the plover but those who eat it who are cured of the disease.