4S4 A M P 
9. The cuprea, or coppery; being of a fine bronze co¬ 
lour, and found in Surinam. 
10. 'lhe phoenicea, or red-winged, which migrates in¬ 
to Africa. 
j t. The chriftata, or eroded ampelis of America. 
Ariftotle, lib. ix, 16. has named this bird yvooCpah o?, 
which fignifi.es a fort of matrafs or pillow, alluding to its 
filky feathers. Aldrovar.dus calls it ampelis , or vine-bird, 
becaufe it generally feeds upon grapes;' «,</.7 teAo; denoting 
a vine. Some have reckoned it improperly the vicrops of 
Ariftotle, which is the bee-eater: others have taken it for 
the avis incendiaria of the ancients, or the bird of the 
Hercynian foreft, mentioned by Pliny; though its feathers 
do not caft fire at night, as alleged of that bird, unlefs 
this was a metaphorical allulion to. the colour of the chat¬ 
terer’s eyes, and the red pallets or tears on its wings. 
We cannot well aftign the caufe that determines thefe 
birds to leave their ordinary residence, to roam into diftant 
climes ; particularly, as their migration is only occafional, 
happening once in three or four years; when, as Gefner 
informs 11s, their numerous hoft often darkens the Iky. 
But whatever be the countries in which thefe birds choofe 
to enjoy the fweets of exiftence, and tranfmit them to 
new generations, it is certain that they are not fedentary, 
but make their excurlions far and wide, tenacious of the 
utmoft /cope of liberty. They fornetimes appear in the 
north of England, in Scotland, France, Italy, and Spain; 
and were once /uperftitioufiy coniidered as the prefages of 
plague, pcftilence, and war. It is even recorded, that in 
the year 1551, when thefe birds made their cuftomary 
tour of Italy, they fpread in vaft flocks through Modena, 
Placentia, and every other part, except Ferrara, as if they 
had a prefentiment of the tremendous earthquake which 
was then about to happen, and which clifperfed or de- 
fh'oyed ever, the feathered race of that ill-fated country. 
It is faid they penetrate far into the arftic regions, which 
is confirmed by count Strahjenberg, who law them in 
Tartary. They are gregarious, and feed on the berries of 
the mountain aih, of privet, bramble, juniper, and lau¬ 
rel; alfo upon almonds, apples, and figs; but the fruit 
of the vine appears to be their choiceft food. They are 
killed for table throughout all the regions where they mi¬ 
grate, and are efteemed a delicious bird. 
The reprefentafion given in the annexed plate, was 
drawn from the real crefted chatterer of America, which 
is a very elegant fpecies of the ampelis. The bill is fliort, 
a little arched on the top of the upper mandible, and of 
a dufley colour. Round the bafe of the upper mandible 
are fmall black feathers, which form a bar reaching be¬ 
yond the eyes, which are of a beautiful red, and lhine with 
uncommon luftre. It hath long feathers on the crown of 
the head, which it can raife into a creft, or let fall at plea- 
fure. The head and neck are of a reddifh brown or bay 
colour, the breaft inclines to white ; the belly and thighs 
are of a pale yellow ; the covert feathers beneath the tail 
are whitifh; the back is of a rich brown colour; the rump 
and covert feathers on the upper fide of the tail, and 
wings, are of a light afti-colour ; the three innermoft quills 
on each wing next the back, have their inner webs white 
to the tips; feven of the middle quills in each wing have 
fmall oblong flat pallets or horny fubftances hanging to 
their tips, of the colour and glofs of the fineft red feal- 
ing-wax ; the tips of the tail feathers are of a fine golden 
yellow ; and the legs, feet, and claws, are black. In 
fliort, the plumage of the ampelis is perfe6lly elegant when 
the bird is at reft; but when it expands its wings, and 
fpreads its tail, and erefts its creft, in the adl of flying, 
its appearance is charming. The hens of this fpecies are 
not fo bright-coloured as the cocks, and they want the 
red pallets or drops near the tips of their wing feathers. 
Amp'E-Lis, f. in botany. See Vitis. 
AM'PELITES, f. a folid, dry, hard, opake, black, 
foflil, coal, not fufible, but eafily inflammable, and burn¬ 
ing with a bright vivid white flame, with much frnoke, 
and a bituminous or pitchy fmell. In the north of Eng- 
A M P 
land it is called cannel coal, perhaps by corruption, in- 
ftead of candle coal, as it is tifed to fupply the place of 
candles in poor families. An alum ore found in Burgun¬ 
dy, and confiding of clay, pirites, and bitumen, is alfo 
diftinguidled by this name. There is a large-quarry of it 
near Alencon, in France. It is dug in many parts of 
England, but thTaneft is in Lancafliire and Chefhire. It 
is capable of a very high and elegant polifli; and, in tire 
countries where it is produced, is turned into a vaft num¬ 
ber of toys, as fnuff-boxeS, and the like, which bear all 
the nicety of turning, and are made to pafs for jet. Hul- 
kandmen fmear their vines with it, as it kills the vermin 
which infefts them. It is likewife ufed for 'dying of hair 
black. In medicine, it is reputed good in-colics, again!! 
worms, and of being in general ah emollient and dilcuti- 
ent; but the prefent practice takes no notice of it. 
AMPELOPRA'SUM, /. in botany. See Allium. 
A MPEEU'S I A, a promontory of Mauritania Tingitana, 
called Cottes by the natives, which is of the fame lignifi- 
cation with a town of the fame name not far" from the ri¬ 
ver Lixus, near the Straits of Gibraltar ; now Cape Spar- 
tel. Lat. 36. o. Ion. 6. 30. W. 
AM'PER,/ [ ampre , Sax.] A tumour, with inflam¬ 
mation ; bile : a word faid, by Skinner, to be much in ufe 
in Eflex ; but, perhaps, not found in books. 
AMPHARIS'TEROS, adj. it is the reverfe of ambi¬ 
dexter ; that is, not having a proper life of either hand. 
Figuratively, it fignifies unlucky, unfortunate. 
AMPI-IEME'RINOS, f. it is the continued fever of 
Linnaeus and Vogel, from apepi, a Greek prepofition, fig- 
nifying a revolution, and e [Atpa., a day; a quotidian inter¬ 
mittent. It is by fome confidered a remittent fever, and 
properly put in contradiftiniftion to the febris quotidiana, 
which is an intermittent, and is defined a kind of remit¬ 
tent fever, whofe paroxyfms return every day of a fimilar 
nature, though it is rarely obferved to be regular. Sau- 
vages enumerates no lefs than twenty-four fpecies. See 
Sauvages’ Nofolog. Moth. q-to. vol. ii. p. 322. 
AMPHE'RES./i in antiquity, a kind of velfels, where¬ 
in the rowers plied two oars at the fame time, one with 
the right hand and another with the left. 
AMPHIARA'US, in pagan mythology, a celebrated 
prophet, who poffefled part of the kingdom of Argos. He 
was believed to excel in divining by dreams, and is faid 
to be the firft who divined by fire. Amphiaraus know¬ 
ing, by the fpirit of prophecy, that he Ihould lofe his life 
in the war againft Thebes, hid himfelf, in order to avoid 
engaging in that expedition: but his wife Eriphyle, being 
prevailed upon by a prefent, difeovered the place in which 
he had concealed himfelf; fo that he was obliged to ac¬ 
company the other princes who marched againft Thebes. 
This proved fatal to him; for, the earth being rent afun- 
der by an earthquake, both he and his chariot were fwal- 
lowed up in the opening. Amphiaraus, after his death, 
was ranked among the gods; temples were dedicated to 
him ; and his oracle, as well as the fports inftituted to his 
honour, were, very famous. 
AMPFIIARTHRO'SIS, f. in anatomy, a mixed fort 
of articulation, partaking of the diarthrofis and the fynar- 
throfis; it refembles the firft in being moveable, and the 
latter in its connection. The fpecies which compofe it 
have not a particular cartilage belonging to each of them, 
as in the diarthrofis, but they are both united to a com¬ 
mon cartilage, which being more or lefs pliable, allows 
them certain degrees of flexibility, though they cannot 
Aide upon each other ; fiich is the conneftion of the firft 
rib with the fternum, and of the bodies of the vertebrae 
with each other. 
AMPHPBIA, f, in zoology, the name of Linnaeus’s 
third clafs of animals ; including all thofe which live 
partly in water and partly on land. This clafs he fubdi- 
vides into four orders, viz. The amphibia reptiles; the 
amphibia ferpentes; the amphibia nantes; and the am¬ 
phibia meantes. It has been a queftion, whether the ani¬ 
mals commonly called amphibious live moft in the water 
or 
