AMPELIS, in natural history, the chat terer, a genus of birds of the ortler Passeres, bill straight, convex, subincur ved, each mandible notched : nostrils covered with bristles : tongue sharp, car tihiginems, bifid: middle toe connected at the base to the outside. There are, ac cording to Gmelin, fourteen species : we Audi notice the following : A. garrulus, or waxen chatterer ; a beautiful bird about eight inches long. Its bill is black, and bas a small notch at the end ; its ey-es are placed in a band of black, which passes from the base of the bill to the hinder part of the head. lts throat is black; its feathers on the head are /ong, forming a crest ;• all the upper parts of the body are of a TeddiSh CO1011r; the breast and belly inclining to purple ; the tail feathers are black, tipped with paleyelloyv ; the quills are black, the third and fourth tipped on their outer edges with white : the five following with straiv colour, but in'some bright yellow; the secondaries are tipped with white, each being pointed with a flat horny sub stance of a bright vermilion colour.
These appendages vary in different sub jects. This rare bird visits our island only at uncertain intervals. 'flieir sum mer residence is supposed to be in th.e
northern parts of Europe, within the arc tic circle, whence they spread themselves into other countries, where they remain during the winter, and return in the spring to their usual haiints. The food of this bird is berries of various kinds ; in some countiies it is said to be extreme ly- fond of grapes. Only this species of the chatterer is found in Europe, the others are natives of America. See plate I. Al-es, fig. 5. A. cartinculata,las a black bill, with a pendulous, CX1):111Slie, MO'v'Ca bl c caruncle at the base, inhabits Cayenne and Brazil, and is about twelve inches long. Thu bill is'an inch and a half long, and black ; at the base is a flair)). carbun cle hanging over it, like that of a turkey cock. The female is furnished with one as well as the male. These bird.s are said to have a very- loud voice, to be heard half a league oft; which is composed of merely two syllables in, an, uttered in a drawling tone ; but some have compared it to the sound of a bell. A. Americana, cedar bird : this has been considered by the European naturalists 'as a mere.ya riety of their chatterer ; but Mr. Wilson has shewn it to be a distinct species.