529 



AMPELIN^. 



CHATTERERS AND ALLIED SPECIES. 



The birds of which this group is composed present in com- 

 bination so many characters individually representative of other 

 groups, that although their affinities may easily be traced to a 

 considerable extent, it is difficult to assign them a precise sta- 

 tion in a methodical arrangement. If we examine a Pipra, 

 the species named gutturosa, for example, and compare it with 

 a Parus of the same size, Parus ater, for instance, we cannot 

 fail to perceive that the transition from one genus to the other 

 is almost direct, the general form, the feet, the wings, the 

 plumage, and even the style of colouring, presenting a remark- 

 able similarity. The greatest difference is in the bill, which 

 in Pipra is much broader, with the outline of the upper man- 

 dible more curved, its ridge more narrow, and its sides more 

 slanting and flattened. These latter particulars are in a re- 

 markable degree repeated in the species of the genus Bomby- 

 cilia, which forms part of a group composed of the genera Am- 

 pelis, Procnias, Calyptomena, and Casmarhynchus, having in 

 their widened mouth, somewhat triangular bill, and small feet, 

 an obvious relationship to the ISIyiotherinjE or Flychasers. 

 Whether the Ampelinse should be considered as forming part 

 of the order Cantatores, or of that of Myiotherin?e, it is thus 

 difficult to determine. They are generally regarded as chiefly 

 frugivorous, and the only species which visits us is decidedly so 

 in the winter season at least ; but so are many Cantatores, the 

 Thrushes for example, and many ISIyiotherinas, even the com- 

 mon Grey Flycatcher ; and, although the bird usually named 

 the Bohemian Chatterer may not very much resemble the 

 species just named, I think it may be placed next to it as well 

 as in proximity to a Thrush or a Tit. 



In their general form the Ampelinne are rather full and conv 



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