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BEING THE JOURNAL OF THE


AVICULTURAL SOCI ETY.



New Series— VO L. VII. — No. 4 .—All rights reserved. FEBRUARY, 1909.



THE WAXWING.


By W. H. St. Quintin. F.Z.S., M.B.O.U.


The Waxwing (.Ampelis garrulus ), the subject of this

paper, is one of three species of the genus Ampelis, which is

generallj’' placed near the Shrikes. It is circumpolar and, alone

of the three species which inhabit Europe, at irregular intervals

visits these islands.


Its near ally, A, cedrorum, is found in the whole of North

America, migrating iu winter as far south as Jamaica and

Cuba, and is by no means as boreal as our bird. It is smaller

than the latter; and, besides other characteristics, as Dresser

points out, can always be distinguished by its under tail coverts

being “yellowish, instead of being bay” in colour as in A.

garrulus.


The third species, A. phoenicopterus, the Japanese Wax¬

wing, has red ends to the tail in place of golden-yellow, and has

no wax tips to the secondaries, and their outside webs are red

instead of white. It breeds in Japan, and in winter wanders into

North China.


But to return to A.garrulus, or the Bohemian Waxwing,

or Chatterer, as it used to be called. Surely no bird was ever

worse named ! It is no more Bohemian than British and, as to

garrulity, anyone who has kept the Waxwing will agree that

its silence is remarkable. Its only note is a shrill, weak, trilling,

cry, which has been compared to the call of the Blue-tit.


As will be seen by the accompanying illustration, the

Waxwing is an extremely pretty bird, and the decorations that it

wears are very unusual and showy. There is no seasonal change,



