Natural History (Pliny) developed for counterfeit coins and proved very popular with the victims, mostly ordinary people. He deals with the liquid metal mercury, also found in silver mines. He records that it is toxic, and amalgamates with gold, so is used for refining and extracting that metal. He says mercury is used for gilding copper, while antimony is found in silver mines and is used as an eyebrow cosmetic. The main ore of mercury is cinnabar, long used as a pigment by painters. He says that the colour is similar to "scolecium", probably the kermes insect. The dust is very toxic, so
Cinnabar boobook Cinnabar boobook The cinnabar boobook ("Ninox ios") also known as the cinnabar hawk owl, is a hawk owl endemic to the island of Sulawesi, Indonesia. It was described as a new species to science by American ornithologist Pamela C. Rasmussen in 1999 based on a single specimen collected by Frank Rozendaal from Bogani Nani Wartabone National Park on Minahassa Peninsula, northern Sulawesi, in 1985. Subsequently, it has also been observed in Lore Lindu National Park in central Sulawesi, greatly expanding the known habitat range. The cinnabar boobook is small (total length 22 cm or 8.5 in) and has a relatively