THE BOHEMIAN WAX-WING, OR WAXEN CHATTERER. 265 



yellow. The feathers of the head stand erect in a double row, with their extremities uniting 

 in a line corresponding with the central line of the head, and consequently form a peculiar 

 fan-like crest, which overhangs the forehead and extends quite to the back of the head. The 

 tips of the crest-feathers are tinged with brown and yellow. Upon the wing-coverts and the 

 upper tail-coverts, the feathers are modified into flowing plumes, which droop in a very grace- 

 ful manner over the firmer feathers of the tail and sides. In size the Cock of the Rock about 

 equals a common pigeon. 



The female bird is not nearly so 1 leautif ul as her mate, being of a yellowish-brown color, 

 and having only a small and inconspicuous crest. 



Another species of Manakin which belongs to the same genus is the 'Peruvian Cock of 

 the Rock (Rupicola pel uvidna), a bird which is possessed of considerable beauty, though it 

 is not quite so splendid as the previous species. Like that bird, its plumage is of a bright- 

 orange color, but its crest wants the curious fan-like form which is so conspicuous in the 

 Cock of the Rock, and the quill and tail-feathers are jetty-black, and the wing-coverts are 

 ashen-gray. Moreover, the feathers of the wing-coverts and upper tail-coverts are not so loose 

 and flowing, and its tail is longer in proportion. 



There is one species of Manakin which does not, so far as is known, inhabit America, but 

 is found in Singapore and the interior of Sumatra. This is the Gkeen Calyptomena {Calypto- 

 mena mridis), a very beautiful, though not very large bird. Like the Cock of the Rock, it is 

 extremely shy and solitary in its habits, but instead of retiring into the deep recesses of rocky 

 ground, it shrouds itself among the heavy verdure of the forest trees, where its bright green 

 feathers harmonize so well with the foliage, that it is hardly perceptible even to a practised 

 eye. The food of this bird seems to be entirely of a vegetable character. 



This bird possesses a fine and well-marked crest, which curves so boldly that it nearly 

 hides the short, wide, and hooked beak under its feathers. According to Sir S. Raffles, the 

 coloring of this species is as follows: '"The general color of this bird is a brilliant emerald- 

 green. . . . A little above and before the eyes, the feathers are of a deep velvet-black at 

 their base, and only tipped with green, but crossed in the coverts by three velvet-black bands. 

 The primary feathers, as well as the whole under side of the wings, are dusky, approaching to 

 black, with the exception of the oixter margins of some, which are edged with green. The 

 tail is short, rounded, and composed of ten feathers, which are green above and bluish-black 

 below. The whole of the under parts are green ; this color is brightest on the sides of the 

 neck and round the eyes." 



The total length of this species is about six inches, and the bird resembles a thrush in the 

 general contour of its body. 



A small but interesting group of birds has been designated by the name of Ampelina?, 

 or Chatterers, in allusion to the loquacity for which some of the species are remarkable. They 

 all have a wide mouth, opening nearly as far as the eyes, but without the bristly appendages 

 which so often accompany a large extent of gape. Several of the species are celebrated for 

 the singular hairy appendage to the secondary and tertiary quill -feathers of the wings, which 

 closely resemble spots of red sealing-wax, and have given rise to the title of Waxen, which 

 has been almost invariably applied to these birds. 



One well-known species is the Waxen Chatterer [Ampelis garrulus). It is also known 

 by the name of the Bohemian Chatterer, the latter name being singularly inappropriate, as 

 the bird is quite rare in Bohemia. 



It is a very gregarious bird, assembling in very large flocks, and congregating so closely 

 together, that great numbers have been killed at a single discharge of a gun. Of this curious 

 bird, the following interesting particulars are told : " For the last month there have been, and 

 indeed still are, immense flocks of Wax-wing Chatterers quite close to the house. They are 

 not at all shy, allowing a person to approach easily within shot. They come into all the 



Vol. n.— 34. 



