AMPELID.E — THE CHATTERERS. 



397 



Sp. Char. Crest lengthened. Body generally soft, silky brownish-ashy, with a purplish 

 cast, the wing-coverts and scapulars more brownish, becoming more reddish anteriorly 

 and ashy posteriorly ; the rump and upper tail-coverts, as well as the secondaries, being 

 nearly pure ash. Anteriorly the color passes gradually into deep vinaceous-chestnut on 

 the forehead to behind the eye and on the cheeks ; abdomen yellowish-white. Lower 

 tail-coverts deep chestnut. A stripe on side of the head, covering the lores and nasal 

 feathers (scarcely meeting across the forehead), involving the eye and continued back to- 

 ward the occiput and beneath the crest, with a large patch covering the chin and throat, 

 deep black ; a narrow crescent on lower eyelid, and a short stripe between the black of 



the throat and that of the chin at the base of the lower mandible, two very broad bars on 

 the wing, one across ends of primary coverts, and the other across ends of secondaries (the 

 first occupying both webs, and the latter the outer), white. Primary coverts, primaries, 

 and tail slaty-black, the latter growing gradually ashy basally. A broad band across end 

 of tail, and a longitudinal space along end of outer Aveb of primaries, gamboge- yellow, — 

 the marks on primaries, however, sometimes white, only stained with yellow. Each of the 

 secondaries with an expanded continuation of the shaft, in form of flattened, very thin, 

 somewhat elliptical appendages, of a bright vermilion-red resembling red sealing-wax. Male 

 with the white of outer web of primaries continued around end of inner webs also. 

 Female Avithout white on terminal edge of inner webs of primaries, and with the "seal- 

 ing-wax "' appendages smaller. Fown^f not seen. Length, 7.40; wing, 4.50; tail, 3.00. 



Hab. Northern parts of Europe, America, and Asia. In America not hitherto found 

 in the Pacific Province. In winter extending along the Rocky Mountains and the Plains 

 as far south as Fort Massachusetts and Fort Riley ; regular visitor to shores of Lake Michi- 

 gan and Lake Erie. East of this rarely seen along the United States border-. Fort Mo- 

 have (???) (Cooper). 



The specimen seen by Dr. Cooper, at Fort Mohave, if really of this spe- 

 cies, fixes the most western locality on record. 



For many years authentic eggs of the Bohemian Chatterer were greatly 

 sought after, but it was not until 1856 that any were brought to the notice 

 of the scientific world, when the late Mr. H. Wolley discovered them in 

 Lapland. Early duplicates from his collection were sold at five guineas each, 

 and although a good many have since been obtained, they are yet consid- 

 ered as great prizes. A nest, with its eggs, of those collected by Mr. Wol- 

 ley, has been presented to the Smithsonian Institution by Mr. Alfred Newton. 

 Tlie only instances on record of their discovery in America are of a nest and 

 one egg by Mr. Kennicott, on the Yukon, in 1861, and a nest and single egg 



