33G 



PASSERES. BIRDS. AMPELIDJJ. 



thers, and hairs, with fragments of cast snake's skin ; 

 the latter, according to Wilson, being always present. 



THE PIED ALECTETTEUS (Alectrurus tricolor). This 

 bird is remarkable among the Flycatchers for having 

 the tail feathers elongated and vertical, forming a tail 

 like that of a cock, from which the generic name is 

 derived. The present species, which is a native of 

 tropical South America, is nearly six inches in length, 

 and is pied with black and white, but with the back 

 ash-colour. It generally inhabits the vicinity of water, 

 flies lightly, and perches upon rushes and other aquatic 

 plants, and not upon the branches of trees. The male 

 sometimes rises nearly perpendicular to a height of 

 thirty or f6rty feet by rapid beats of his wings ; when 

 thus engaged, he looks more like a large black and 

 white butterfly than a bird. 



FAMILY IV.-AMPELID^E. 



In the birds of this family, which are often called 

 Chatterers, the notches characteristic of the dentirostral 

 birds, although small, are always distinctly to be seen 

 on each side of the tip of the bill, which is rather short, 

 and broad and depressed at the base, so that when 

 viewed from above it is clearly triangular. The ridge 

 of the upper mandible is more curved than in the pre- 

 ceding families. The wings in these birds are gene- 

 rally long, and the tail short ; the feet are slender, and 

 the toes are terminated by curved, acute claws, grooved 

 along their lower surface. 



Most of these birds are met with in the warmer 

 regions, where they feed both upon insects and fruits. 

 Their plumage is often very beautiful, and brilliant in 

 its colouring. 



THE BOHEMIAN CHATTEEEE (Bombycilla gar- 

 rula). Although as already stated, the majority of 

 the birds of the present family are found in hot coun- 

 tries, there are some, forming the genus Bombycilla, 

 which dwell in the cold regions of the north ; amongst 

 these the Bohemian-chatterer is the best known. 

 During the summer this bird inhabits the northern 

 parts of both continents, but migrates southwards at 

 the approach of winter, at which season it is not 

 unfrequently seen in this country. 



It is a gay and handsome bird, of a light brown 

 colour above, paler beneath ; the face and chin are 

 deep black, and the top of the head is adorned with a 

 crest of elongated light brown feathers, which the bird 

 can erect at pleasure ; the feathers of the short tail are 

 grey with bright yellow tips, and the quills of the wings 

 black spotted with yellow. Four of the secondary 

 quills, and a portion of. the tertials, are terminated by 

 small flat palettes of a bright red colour, exactly re- 

 sembling portions of red sealing-wax attached to the 

 extremity of the shaft of each feather; from these the 

 bird has received the appropriate name of the Waxwing. 



The Bohemian Chatterer, or Waxwing, is an active 

 and lively bird, generally haunting the hedges in this 

 country, and feeding on the berries of the hawthorn, 

 mountain ash, and ivy. In North America, according 

 to Sir John Richardson, it makes its appearance, coming 

 from the south, at the Great Bear Lake about the end 

 of May, when it feeds upon the berries of the arbutus, 



cranberries, and other fruits, then just exposed by the 

 spring thaw. Its breeding places appear to be the rugged 

 mountain districts of high latitudes, where its food con- 

 sists principally of the berries of the juniper. In default 

 of fruits, it is said sometimes to feed on insects, which 

 it captures dexterously in the air in the manner of a 

 Flycatcher. Its note is a frequently repeated chirp. 



THE CEDAE BIED (Bombycilla carolinensis), a 

 species nearly allied to the preceding, is peculiar to tho 

 North American continent, in all parts of which, from 

 Mexico to Canada, it is to be met with. It appears to 

 migrate only from one part of the country to another 

 in search of an abundance of its favourite food, the 

 berries of the red cedar. It also feeds upon other 

 berries, and is said to evince a decided partiality for 

 cherries when in season. The nest of this species is 

 built in a tree, usually in an orchard. It is composed 

 of grass, and generally contains three or four eggs of a 

 bluish-white colour spotted with black. 



THE BLUE-EIBAND COTINGA (Ampelis Cotinga}. 

 The Cotingas, forming the typical genus of this family, 

 are all inhabitants of the tropical parts of South 

 America, of which they are amongst the most brilliant 

 birds. They live in the forests, generally on the shores 

 of the small rivers and in marshy places, and feed 

 principally upon insects. The Blue Riband is of a 

 fine azure-blue colour, with the throat, breast, and 

 upper part of the belly of a beautiful purple ; an azure 

 band separates the purple of the breast from that of 

 the belly, and from this the name of the bird is derived. 

 The female of this, as of the other species, is far more 

 sober in her colouring. 



THE POMPADOUE COTINGA (Ampelis Pompadora}, 

 so called from its having been introduced into France 

 for the celebrated mistress of Louis XV., is one of the 

 most beautiful of American birds, its whole plumage 

 being of a bright carmine colour, with the exception of 

 the wing-quills, which are white ; the wing-coverts are 

 elongated, stiff, and slender, and so placed as to cross 

 the quills. ' 



THE CAPPED MANAKIN (Pipra pileata}. The 

 Manakins, which are, like the preceding, inhabitants 

 of the forests of tropical South America, are also 

 beautiful little birds of great liveliness and activity, so 

 that they have been regarded by one writer as personi- 

 fications of perpetual motion. Most of them are very 

 small, and as they are in incessant action upon the 

 branches of trees and shrubs, searching for the insects 

 which constitute their food, they present no distant 

 resemblance to the little blue Tits of our own country. 

 Small fruits also constitute a portion of their diet. 

 The Capped Manakin is of a fine cinnamon-brown 

 colour above, yellow beneath ; the crown of the head 

 is covered with black feathers, which are capable of 

 being raised so as to form a sort of crest, and over 

 each eye is a yellow streak. The quill feathers of the 

 wings are black. 



THE EED-HEADED MANAKIN (Pipra rubro-capillata) 

 is of a deep lustrous black colour, with the head orange 

 red ; and the WHITE-HEADED MANAKIN is also black, 

 with the head pure white. The BLUE-HEADED 

 MANAKIN is olive-green above, with the head blue and 

 the rump yellow ; the lower surface is yellow, and the 



