•^30 Passeres. BIRDS. Ampelid^b. 
thei-s, and hairs, with fragments of cast snake’s skin ; 
the latter, according to Wilson, being always present. 
THE PIED ALECTRURUS {Alectrurus tricolor). This 
bird is remarkable among the Flycatchers for having 
the tail feathers elongated and vertical, forming a tail 
like that of a cock, from which the generic name is 
derived. The present species, which is a native of 
tropical South America, is nearly six inches in length, 
and is pied with black and wliite, but with the back 
ash-colour. It generally inhabits the vicinity of water, 
flies lightly, and perches upon rushes and other aquatic 
plants, and not upon the branches of trees. The male 
sometimes rises nearly perpendicular to a height of 
thirty or forty feet by rapid beats of his wings ; when 
thus engaged, he looks more like a large black and 
white butterfly than a bird. 
Family IV.— AMPELIDAtl. 
In the birds of this family, which are often called 
Chatterers, the notches characteristic of the dentirostral 
birds, although small, are always distinctly to be seen 
on each side of the tip of the bill, which is rather short, 
and broad and depressed at the base, so that when 
viewed from above it is clearly triangular. The ridge 
of the upper mandible is more curved than in the pre- 
ceding families. The wings in these birds are gene- 
rally long, and the tail short ; the feet are slender, and 
the toes are terminated by curved, acute claws, grooved 
along their lower surface. 
Most of these birds are met with in the warmer 
regions, where they feed both upon insects and fruits. 
Their plumage is often very beautiful, and brilliant in 
its colouring. 
THE BOHEMIAN CHATTERER {Bomhycilla gar- 
rula). Although as already stated, the majority of 
the birds of the present family are found in hot coun- 
tries, there are some, forming the genus Bombycilla, 
which dwell in the cold regions of the north ; amongst 
these the Bohemian-chatterer is the best known. 
During the summer this bird inhabits the northern 
parts of both continents, but migrates southwards at 
the approach of winter, at which season it is not 
unfrequently seen in this country. 
It is a gay and handsome bird, of a light brown 
colour above, paler beneath ; the face and chin are 
deep black, and the top of the head is adorned with a 
crest of elongated light brown feathers, which the bird 
can erect at pleasure ; the feathers of the short tail are 
grey with bright yellow tips, and the quills of the wings 
black spotted with yellow. Four of the secondary 
quills, and a portion of the tertials, are terminated by 
small flat palettes of a bright red colour, exactly re- 
sembling portions of red sealing-wax attached to the 
extremity of the shaft of each feather; from these the 
bird has received the appropriate name of the Waxwing. 
The Bohemian Chatterer, or Wax wing, is an active 
and lively bird, generally haunting the hedges in this 
country, and feeding on the berries of the hawthorn, 
mountain ash, and ivy. In North America, according 
to Sir John Richardson, it makes its appearance, coming 
from the south, at the Great Bear Lake about the end 
of ]\Iay, when it feeds upon the berries of the arbutus, 
cranberries, and other fruits, then just exposed by the 
spring thaw. Its breeding places appear to be the rugged 
mountain districts of high latitudes, where its food con- 
sists principally of the berries of the juniper. In default 
of fruits, it is said sometimes to feed on insects, which 
it captures dexterously in the air in the manner of a 
Flycatcher. Its note is a frequently repeated chirp. 
THE CEDAR BIRD {Bomhycilla carolinensis), a 
species nearly allied to the preceding, is peculiar to the 
North American continent, in all parts of which, from 
Mexico to Canada, it is to be met with. It appears to 
migrate only from one part of the country to another 
in search of an abundance of its favourite food, the 
berries of the red cedar. It also feeds upon other 
berries, and is said to evince a decided partiality for 
cherries when in season. The nest of this species is 
built in a tree, usually in an orchard. It is composed 
of grass, and generally contains three or four eggs of a 
bluish-white colour spotted with black. 
THE BLUE-RIBAND COTINGA {Ampelis Cotinga). 
The Cotingas, forming the typical genus of this family, 
are all inhabitants of the tropical parts of South 
America, of which they are amongst the most brilliant 
birds. They live in the forests, generally on the shores 
of the small rivers and in marshy places, and feed 
principally upon insects. The Blue Riband is of a 
fine azure-blue colour, with the throat, breast, and 
upper part of the belly of a beautiful purple ; an azure 
band separates the purple of the breast from that of 
the belly, and from this the name of the bird is derived. 
The female of this, as of the other species, is far more 
sober in her colouring. 
THE POMPADOUR COTINGA {Ampelis Pompadora), 
so called from its having been introduced into France 
for the celebrated mistress of Louis XV., is one of the 
most beautiful of American birds, its whole plumage 
being of a bright carmine colour, with the exception of 
the wing-quills, which are white ; the wing-coverts are 
elongated, stiff, and slender, and so placed as to cross 
the quills. 
THE CAPPED MANAKIN {Piprra pileata). The 
Manakins, which are, like the preceding, inhabitants 
of the forests of tropical South America, are also 
beautiful little birds of great liveliness and activity, so 
that they have been regarded by one writer as personi- 
fications of perpetual motion. Most of them are very 
small, and as they are in incessant action upon the 
branches of trees and shrubs, searching for the insects 
which constitute their food, they present no distant 
resemblance to the little blue Tits of our own country. 
Small fruits also constitute a portion of their diet. 
The Capped Manakin is of a fine cinnamon-brown 
colour above, yellow beneath ; the crown of the head 
is covered with black feathers, which are capable of 
being raised so as to form a sort of crest, and over 
each eye is a j^ellow streak. The quill feathers of the 
wings are black. 
‘ THE RED-HEADED MANAKIN {Pipra ruhro-capillata) 
is of a deep lustrous blaek colour, with' the head orange 
red ; and the Wiiite-headkd Manakin is also black, 
with the head pure white. The Blue-headed 
Manakin is olive-green above, with the head blue and 
the rump yellow ; the lower surface is yellow, and the 
