AMPBLID^. 
71 
cates weakness, and when the sides of this important 
member are not defended by bristles, we may feel as- 
sured that insects, or at least those which are capable 
of much resistance, form no part of the food. This 
is truly the case with the chatterers, whose nourish- 
ment is derived almost exclusively from the vegetable 
kingdom. They are perpetually hopping among fruit- 
bearing trees, and seem to know, by a wonderful in- 
stinct, the period when each species yields its berries : 
they never perch upon the ground ; the feet are conse- 
quently either very short or very feeble, and as their 
structure is adapted for grasping boughs, the soles are 
broad, and this breadth is increased by two of the toes 
being more or less united. The naturalist will discern 
in aU these peculiarities, many points of analogy to the 
orioles, the plantain eaters, and the tribe of TmuiroHres, 
all of which are represented by tlie family before us. 
(82.) That the chatterers follow the warblers, there 
can be no reasonable doubt ; seeing that their aberrant 
genera have many strong points of resemblance to those 
birds, while the typical examples are perfectly analogous 
to the caterj)illar-catchers {Ceblepyrinte), the orioles, the 
Paradise-birds, and all the other fruit-eaters. Without, 
therefore, seeking to determine the precise point of union, 
we shall at once proceed to notice the subfamilies under 
which the different genera appear to be arranged ; these 
we designate as follows : — 1 . Leiotrichanee, or long-legged 
chatterers; 2. ravhycephalirue, or great-headed chatterers ; 
S. Homhiiuillinm, or swallow chatterers ; 4. Ampelina, 
or true chatterers ; 5. Piprinm, or manakin chatterers. 
The three first are aberrant, but the species are so few 
that we have no indication of a circular union ; the two 
latter are the typical groups. 
(83.) In the first division we have only two genera, 
Leiothrix and Pterutiuus, both belonging to Tropical 
India, and each represented by a single species. The 
bills of these birds are short and moderately strong, with 
the lip notched ; that of Ptenittnm is strong and 
abruptly bent, giving it very much the character of the 
F 4 
