BOMBYC1LLA. 



545 



lined ; and the leaves though closely set, and thu 

 forming a thick shelter, a*e in their individual form* 

 narrow and needle-shaped, so that they offer little 

 resistance of surface to the wind ; and they are stifl 

 and smooth, so that the wind takes but little hold on 

 the surfaces which they present. Those of more 

 lowly growth again, such as the junipers, which are a 

 little more branched in their general form, are still 

 spiry in their outlines, and their timber is both tough 

 and flexible. The fruit, too, upon those plants, ot 

 more than one season's growth before it comes to 

 maturity, affords food when that of the more seasonal 

 bushes is gone ; and thus, what with buds, what with 

 the seeds of fruits, what with berries, and what with 

 young shoots (for those of the pine are eatable by 

 man, and even agreeable to the taste), the vegetable 

 feeders of those dreary climates, though dreary only 

 in the winter months, for in summer, they are the 

 lightest and most gay on the surface of the globe, 

 find food when all the animal feeders, except those 

 which depend on the sea, or feast on the flesh of 

 their fellow birds, must retire to the south. 



There is no question that the Bohemian wax-wing 

 (for we must call it " Bohemian," however faulty the 

 name may be,) belongs to those vegetable feeders ; 

 and as it is much better winged, and more discursive 

 in its range, than the cross-bills, the crested wrens, 

 and some other races which inhabit the pine forests 

 closely for the greater part of the year, we may sup- 

 pose that it annually takes its rang-e of all the kinds 

 of vegetable food which present themselves in the 

 succession of the seasons. 



When it comes into Britain it is only in the winter, 

 and during very severe storms; and then the birds 

 do not appear as stragglers, but in large flocks dis- 

 tributed over a considerable part of the country, as 

 if the whole colony had, by a storm still more severe, 

 been driven en masse from a more northerly habita- 

 tion. In 1810, they were numerous in some parts 

 of the island ; none made their appearance for about 

 twelve years afterwards ; and there is no account of 

 their appearing' in any considerable numbers ever 

 since, though a few have occasionally been observed. 

 When in this country their food is chiefly those wild 

 berries which remain on the trees in winter, and 

 become more mellowed and also more farinaceous 

 after they have been touched by frost ; such as the 

 berries of the common hawthorn and the mountain 

 ash. Of course the birds perch when feeding; upon 

 these, and when with us they have been usually seen on 

 the wing or on the perch, and rarely upon the ground. 



In the countries immediately south of the Baltic, 

 they are much more frequent and numerous ; but 

 even there they are not so plentiful as in Sweden, 

 where they are represented in such flights as abso- 

 lutely to darken the air as they pass. This very 

 numerous appearance in the southern part of the 

 Scandinavian peninsula, very naturally leads to the 

 conclusion that they are dispersed in the more north- 

 erly parts of the same country during the breeding 

 >n. From these particulars of its locality, and 

 especially from its appearing in Bohemia only as a 

 visitant (for there is no account of its having remained 

 to breed in that country), it would, perhaps, if there 

 were not some objection to the changing of a name 

 however inappropriate, be better to call this species 

 the rtiiitiiiaii wax-iving (Bombycilla nt/garis), and it 

 might not perhaps be amiss to alter the specific de- 

 nomination of the other to American (Americana}. 



NAT. HIST.-. VOL. I 



The common wax-wing is a very beautiful bird 

 of handsome shape and richly coloured. The male 

 is about three ounces in weight, and between eight 

 and nine inches long. The female is rather smaller. 



Bohemian Wax-wing. 



The flesh of both birds, when in good condition, is 

 highly esteemed. The bill is black at the tip, passing 

 into pale whitish straw colour at the base ; the 

 nostrils covered with slender black feathers which 

 incline forwards. A portion round the eye-, and the 

 chin and throat, are deep velvet black. Forehead 

 and top of the head reddish brown ; the feathers on 

 the crown being long and silky, and forming a sort 

 of short crest, which is loose and pendent, and more 

 rich in the colour, and inclining to purple, than the 

 short feathers on the forehead. The neck, upper 

 part of the back, and breast, are of a peculiar colour, 

 which is very soft and beautiful, but not easily ex- 

 pressed in terms of any single colour having a name ; 

 it partakes of brown, purple and grey, blemh d into 

 an entire tint, and blended so equally that one cannot 

 easily say which of the three predominates ; and it 

 is not mottled, even in that minute way which pro- 

 duces these colours which change in different lights, 

 but one full colour showing always the same. This 

 colour is continued upon the scapulars and lesser 

 coverts, but of a darker shade and partaking less of 

 the grey. The greater coverts are black with white 

 tips. The primary quills are black, with the outer 

 webs white, and a bright spot of rich yellow on the 

 white part of each near the end. The secondaries 

 are grey, with white tips to the outer webs, and 

 seven or eight of them have their shafts enlarged at 

 he ends (beyond the webs) into red discs, which 

 lave very much the appearance of sealing-wax. The 

 ower part of the back and the rump are sinokc-grev 

 with a reddish tinge, the tail feathers black with rich 

 yellow tips. The under tail coverts and vent feathers 

 are reddish orange-brown ; and the belly and breast 

 aurplish-red of a very pale and somewhat brownish 

 int. The irides of the eyes are purplish red ; and 

 the tarsi, toes and claws black. 



The female has nearly the same markings as the 

 male; but it is smaller in size; the yellow on the 

 wings and tail is paler, and the wax-like appendages 

 to the tips of the secondary quills are smaller and 

 not so numerous. 



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