Page:Natural History, Birds.djvu/122

Rh plumage generally, and particularly of that of the tail, they are sometimes called Silk-tails.

We have alluded to the very wide geographical range of the only species known in Europe, which, from its greater frequency and abundance in the south-east of Germany, is commonly known as the Bohemian Chatterer, or Silk-tail (Ampelis garrulus, .). Its occurrence, however, in most of the countries where it has been recognized, is desultory, irregular, and not determined by any known laws. At uncertain intervals they appear in particular districts in immense flocks, and so remarkable have such visitations appeared, that they have been carefully recorded as events of history, and supposed to be in some way ominous of great public calamities. Thus in 1530, 1551, and 1571, vast numbers appeared in northern Italy, and in 1552, along the Rhine, near Mentz, they flew in clouds so dense, as to darken the sun. Of late years, however, in Italy, and Germany, and especially in France, they have been rarely observed, and then only in small flocks that seemed to have strayed from the great body. In 1807 and 1814, they were numerous in western Europe.

In the British islands the Bohemian Chatterer can be considered only as a rare and straggling