WAXWING, or CHATTERER. Any bird of the genus Ampelis, of the passerine family Am pelid(e, characterized by having a short, straight, elevated bill, with a very wide gape, as in the fly-catchers, but without bristles: both mandibles notched at the tip; the wings rather long, broad, and pointed : the legs short. The genus Ampelis is peculiar in having many of the shafts of the wing-quills tipped with a horny material re sembling red sealing-wax. The three species arc widely diffused over northern regions and are much alike. One, the Bohemian waxwing (A m pclis gamin's), inhabits the Arctic regions. breeds to near the limit of timber growth, and makes its ne-t in a tree long before the winter snows have melted. It migrates southward in winter, and in severe seasons reaches the United States, but always irregularly and at long in tervals. It feeds on insects and worms, seeds, berries, and other fruits. It is a handsome bird, nearly as large as a thrush; is reddish gray, with a black patch on the throat, and a black band on the forehead: the tail-coverts brownish orange; the primaries, secondaries, and tail-feathers tipped with yellow, two white bands on the wigs: the lower parts silvery gray. The head
is surmounted by an erectile crest of brownish orange feathers. The song of the waxwing is a weak whistling, bearing a little resemblance to that of the thrush. It is easily tamed.
The more common American waxwing, 'cherry bird,' or 'eedar-bird' (A/ape/is ecdrornm), is a very similar hut smaller species. found from Canada to Central .America, less migratory, and Dever visiting Arctic regions. The general color is purplish einnamon in front and aslt-color be hind: the chin, forehead, and a stripe through the eye black; no white on the wings; the belly yel low, fading into white on the under tail-eoverts. It is erected. Great tloeks of eedar-hirds collect in the end of slimmer. They feed on cherries and garden berries, and are particularly fond of those of the red cedar, but they eat seeds and in sects too. They breed late in the summer, and build a bulky nest of grass, bark, rootlets, :nut the like, in which the female deposits 3 to 5 eggs, pale bluish gray, spotted with black.
The third species of waxwing is a native of Eastern Asia and Japan.