AMPELIN^. 
75 
naked wattles ; while, from the forehead of a second, 
rises a fleshy caruncle, which, when elevated, reminds 
us of the horn of a unicorn, hut which is probably 
carried like that of the turkey ; a third is perfectly 
white, with the face and throat bare of feathers, and of 
a beautiful green colour. Could we but know the 
habits and economy of these singular birds, which, had 
tliey not been seen, might be thought fabulous, what an 
interesting page of nature’s volume would be unfolded ! 
Yet, at present, we only know that they live in the 
deepest and most secluded forests of Tropical America, 
where they subsist upon an infinite variety of fruits 
unknown to Europeans. They are much oftener heard 
than seen, since their notes are i)articularly loud, and 
are uttered morning and evening from the deepest re- 
cesses of the forests : we have sometimes caught a dis- 
tant view of them, perched upon the topmost branches 
of the loftiest trees. All the species above alluded to 
are comprised in the genus Caxmorhynchus of M. 
Temminck, while the beautiful genus Calyptomina of 
India forms the passage from this genus to the 
swallow chatterers just described. We quit Casnw- 
rhynchiis for the genus Ampelis, or the true chatterers, 
called by the French Cotinya, and constituting a group 
of surpassing beauty : they are 
rather smaller in stature, and, but 
for their shorter and broader bills, 
might be taken for thrushes. 
There is a peculiar soft, silky, 
and glossy texture on the feathers, 
which increases tlie splendour of 
the changeable blue, purple, and 
dark red, which generally spreads 
entirely over their plumage. They 
differ from the last also, which are 
H3 
plain coloured birds, in the head and neck being alw'ays 
clothed with feathers in the usual manner. Le Vaillant, 
in one of his costly ornithological works*, has figured nearly 
* Hist. Nat. d’une I’artie d’Oiseaux de L’Amurique et des Indes. 
