164 AMPELID^E. 



gether in a mountain-ash tree, seemingly looking about for 

 food, and taking no notice of our vicinity. This winter one 

 was seen by a working man, who came running to tell us 

 that, while standing in conversation with a neighbour, he saw 

 a jay fly about, in size no bigger than a redwing ; he farther 

 described it as having yellow tips to its tail, and a bunch of 

 loose feathers on its head. 



An individual of the same species has more recently come 

 under our own observation, and being near the same place 

 where the one just spoken of was seen, was very probably the 

 same bird. Being on one of the extensive meadows on the 

 borders of the Thames near Chertsey, in Surrey, on the 17th 

 of January, we observed a bird of singular flight and appear- 

 ance, which we at once detected to be a Bohemian Chatterer. 

 At first it sat upon the ground, erecting its crest, and looking 

 around from time to time ; it soon flew up with a hurried and 

 peculiar flight, and alighted at a little distance upon a solitary 

 thorn-bush, at that time very scantily furnished with berries. 

 We had hardly lost sight of it before we heard a shrill 

 whistle, like the noise produced by blowing into a key, 

 followed by a trilling note or shake, both entirely distinct 

 from the notes of any other bird, and perfectly agreeing with 

 those assigned to this species. Several persons about the 

 same place have mentioned to us, and exactly described, the 

 same remarkable note, and have seen the same bird with its 

 crest erect. 



This Chatterer measures about eight and a half inches in 

 length ; the beak from the tip to the base is nearly six lines, 

 and about five lines broad at the base, forming consequently 

 a large or wide gape, well adapted to swallow berries of most 

 kinds ; the upper mandible of the beak is much notched 

 about one fourth from the tip, and the under mandible has a 

 corresponding groove on its edge, therein resembling the 

 shrikes ; the colour of the beak is black at the tip, and pale 



