WAXWJNG. 



PASSE RES. 



523 



AMPELID^E. 



- ~- 



AMPELIS GAEEULUS, Linnaeus*. 

 THE WAXWINGU. 

 Bombycilla garrula. 



AMPELIS, Linnceus*. Bill strong, short and straight; broad at the base; 

 both mandibles slightly hooked at the tip, and the upper one notched. Gape 

 wide, without bristles. Nostrils basal, oval and large, partly concealed by 

 closely-set feathers directed forwards. Feathers of the head forming an elongated 

 erectile crest. Wings long, with ten primaries, the first nearly aborted, the second 

 the longest in the wing, but the third nearly equal to it. Tail short and almost 

 even. Legs with the tarsus scutellated in front, and shorter than the middle 

 toe with its claw ; toes stout. Plumage very soft. 



THE WAXWING is one of the most beautiful of the birds 

 that visit this country, and for many years especially 

 attracted the attention of ornithologists, not so much from 

 the brilliant, varied and yet harmonious colours of its 



* Syst. Nat. Ed. 12, i. p. 297 (1766). 



