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INSESSORES. 



bristles at the base ; tbe wings are rounded ; the third and fourth 

 primaries the longest ; the first scarcely longer than the sixth. 

 The color is a greenish olive ; the length seven inches. This bird 

 attracts attention by its singular notes, and the oddity of its mo- 

 tions. It comes from the tropical regions of America early in 

 May ; along the Atlantic does not advance farther than the 

 southern part of New York ; it is, however, not uncommon in 

 the Western States. It leaves us among the earliest, going 

 South about the middle of August. 



FOURTH FAMILY. CHATTERERS, or WAX- WINGS. 

 Ampelida, (Gr. afinellg, ampelis, a vine or singing bird.) 



The beak in the Chatterers is stouter in proportion to its length 

 than in the Fly-catchers, the form of the lower mandible ap- 

 proaching that of the cone-billed birds ; the upper mandible is, 

 however, rather broad at the base, flat, with the upper edge more 

 or less angular and ridged, and the tip distinctly notched. The 

 feet are, for the most part, stout, with the outer toe united to the 

 middle one as far as, or beyond the first joint. In many, the wide 

 gape extends beyond the eye, and in some it is nearly as wide as 

 in the Night-jars. The absence of bristles from the gape indi- 

 cates that the wide opening is not to catch insects on the wing, 

 as in the Swallow family. The Chatterers feed chiefly on ber- 

 ries and other soft fruit, which they swallow whole ; and this 

 food naturally requires a wide passage ; occasionally they feed 

 on insects. Their home seems to be in fruit-bearing trees, and 

 they very seldom come to the ground. 



The species in this family are not very numerous ; but they 

 are of varying forms, and widely scattered. Many of them are 

 distinguished for their soft and silky plumage and the brilliant 

 colors which adorn it. The plumage of the head forms a long 

 and pointed crest, which is capable of being erected, and is com- 

 mon to both sexes. Some of these birds are distinguished by hav- 

 ing singular appendages to the secondaries of the wing, and 

 sometimes to the feathers of the tail ; the shaft of the feather 

 being extended beyond the vane, and its tip dilated into a flat 

 oval appendage of a brilliant scarlet hue, and exactly resembling 

 the appearance of red sealing-wax. Hence they are sometimes 

 called Wax-wings ; from the silky softness and smoothness of 

 their plumage, and particularly that of the tail, they are also 

 named SILK-TAILS. 



The BOHEMIAN CHATTERER, or SILK-TAIL, A. garrulus, or 

 Bombycilla, (Gr. Bombux, silk-worm,) garrulus, is the only spe- 



