198 BIRDS OF ILLINOIS. 



Family AMPELID-ffi.— Tiik Waxwixgs, 



t'HAit. Logs moderate. Nostrils oloiieatotl. linoiir, with the frontal funtht-rs pxtendinff 

 close to the eilRi' nml to uiiti-rlor rxtromity. oonoi-alliKt tlipni; tliuso fcatliors short, 

 vclvpty iiiKl uri'i-t. with few bristles. Wlnus very luiiK mid jioliited; outer or first prl- 

 miiry so inueli rc-duecd as to lie almost inaiiprecialile: the second nearly the longest. 

 Wing nearly twice the length of the short, narrow.even tall. Under coverts of tail 

 reaching almost to its tip. Secondary auills of fully adult Ijirds witli rial horny nrip-nd- 

 agesat end of sliaft like rod sealing- wax (o.\eept in .1. jitiiitnira). Young Ijirds streaked 

 benouth. Adults |j|iiin. • 



This family, as restricted, contains but a single genus, AmpcHs. 



The most obvious ebaracters consist in the short, broad, and rather 

 depressed bill, with short, decidedly convex gonys and densely 

 feathered nasal fossaj, and the wax-like appendages to the tips of 

 the secondary quills in the adult. 



The family is usually enlarged, liowever, to include a so-called 

 subfamily, Ptilogonatinse, which may be distinguished as follows : 



Common C'hahacters. Gape of mouth nearly straight. Metatarsal scutolhc in three 

 series. Body plain beneath, in adults. 



Ampelinee. Wings very long and much pointed, longer than the short even tall. First 

 primary excessively rudimentary: tlie outermost about the longest. Gape without 

 bristles. Frontal feathers extending forward beyond the nost ils. Often with horny 

 appendages like red sealing-wax at end of shaft of secondaries. 



Ftilogonatinee. Win a rounded, shorter than the graduated tall. First primary nearly 

 half the second. Gape well bristled. Frontal feathers falling short of the nostrils. No 

 red horny appendage to wing feathers. 



Subfamily Ampelinee. 

 Genus AMPELIS Lixn.eus. 



AmppUs LiSN. S. N. od. 12,i.l7(i(i.297» Typc,.4. 9nn-iilii!> LiNS. 



Oev. CHAlt. Tail even, much shorter than the wing. Crown with a well-developed, 

 soft. pointed crest. Other eliaracters are as given above fur th family AiniirUilir. 



Only three species of this genus are known, one of them being 

 pecuhar to North America, another restricted to Japan and adjacent 

 parts of northeastern Asia, the third of circumpolar distribution. 

 They are beautiful birds, characterized by exquisitely soft plumage 



