4 6 4 BOHEMIAN ('Il ATTKRKIi.
thicket, vvh,-ro one immediately disappeared, while the other took ils
station on the top; | | a spruq|, |rói}i which its simple tze toe tue was uttered
with the greatest -Vehemence, as if calling, on its'èompanions^to
hasten from the danger which it had recently, escaped. Seeing the bird
S,o wry watchful, wâ marie a small circuit with the view of diverting
its attenti,,.,, and at the same time of J„„kir,g for the ,me by which
it «a.- accompanied;- .as I conceived it tósbe severely wounded, fréni
the apparent difficulty of.its-flight/ -After a careful examination: of
the bush we: at length observed it upon a tow tipf« and from its inattention
to4he calls of its. nuSte/ap.« the cohering. positi*» in which it
„ sat, I concluded that it «vas: unable to make another attempt,foVseâfié.
Giving it an occasional glance, we turned towards the oiher, which
still retained its former station on the top ol' the spruce, though: its uneasmess
seemed tojmcrease at (evtìy s t e j ^ While the man was cautiously
working way through the thick alder, h, order-to get within
shot, I carefully examined the bird, which certainly presented a very interesting
object. It stead: almost as! upright as the. top on which it was
perched, its height being much ineieased! by its long and graceful crest
being quit,'"erect, while at the same time it* wit,gsw,,re kept in a constant
jerking motion, as if m readiness to remove at a momFenVs ¿otfce Independent
of the mere beatify of the bird, there something deeply interesting
in the anxiety for the safety of its,mate, so touchingly displayed
by the force and rapidity „fits simple but affectionate warning. The tiiêtton
of the, alders frightened the bird, andThad the mortification of seeing
it rise in the air, as if ¡^tratto commence a lofty and long-'eontinued
flights,: Unwilling to give, it up, I watched its progress with longing ey'fe,
but at last, when about turning away in despair,-it suddenly wheeled
about, dashed by with great Telocity,'gently brushed its companion,
and thus by dispelling its stupor induced it to malic -another effort to
•escape the danger which threatened its destruction. Though surprised
and delighted with this .singular display of fidelity and allection, I frit
not a little disappointed to see them both: -about" fe. elude our grasp.
The weakness of the wounded bird, however, goon induced it t& Seek
concealment in another thicket, whito .the othër, still faithful to a
friend in distress, alighted as formerly on a spruce top, whenfeeMt could
both see and wart,it of approaching danger. As. we again drew near, '
its anxiety seemed to he redoubled, while its notes were .'uttered with
corresponding quickness and energy • but before we («raid gel within
BOHEMIAN CHATTERER. 4 6 5
reach, it again launched into the air, and made off, calling on the other
to follow with all possible speed. After flying for some: time, and
finding itself unattended, it again returned and alighted on a top near
the one.it had just left. The opportunity was too good to he lost, and
notwithstanding our admiration of ithis additional instance of its fidelity,
we shot it down,, affection for its species being* the occasion of its ruin.
These, my dear Sir, are ¡all the (observations I was enabled to make
upon these interesting birds., during the short and only time they ever
came under my notice. From the man I learned that before the first
shot they were quite mute, and unsuspicious: of danger. Some days
after these wire obtained, a single one was observed by my father repeatedly
to iconie and sit for a considerable time on some willows at
the bottom of our garden, hutnot being accustomed to the use of a gun,
he did not procure it. Whether this was the wounded one or not, we
could notitiU,. but from the affection of the bird for its kind, we thought
that possibly it might be that one in search of its lost companions."
AMPELIS GARRULUS, IAim. Syst. Nat. vol. I, p. 297.—Lath. Ind. Ornith. vol. i. p. 363.
BOMBVCLLA GARRULA, Ch. Jiowtp. Amer. Ornith. vol. iii. pi. 16,fig. 2.—Synopsis of
Birds of United States, p. 438.
BOMBTCILLA GARRULA, Richards. and Swams. F auna Bor.-Americana, vol. ii. p. 237.
EUROPEAN WAXEN-CHATTERER, jVuttall, Manual, vol. ii. p. 579.
Adult Male, Plate CCCLXIII. Fig. 1.
Bill short, rather stout, straightish, broader than high at the base,
compressed towards the end; upper mandible with its dorsal line convex
and decimate towards the tip, which rife deflected, narrow, and
rather acute, its sides cony ex, its edges sharp and overlapping, with a
distinct notch; lower mandible with the angle short and wide, the dorsal
line convex and ascending, the edges sharp and inflected, the tip
very small, acute, ascending, with a small sinus behind. Gape-line
nearly straight, the upper mandible having a wide festoon near the
base. Nasal membrane large, feathered; nostrils oval, partially concealed.
Head ovate, of ordinary size; neck short; body full. Feet rather
short; tarsus short, rather stout, compressed, with six anterior scutella,
and two plates behind, meeting so as to form an edge, except at
the lower part; toes of moderate size, first stout, third and fourth
VOL. iv. G g