Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume IV.djvu/233

 CHAGKES CHAIN SNAKE 225 with the tail paler. The variations from these colors are slight, though the tips of the feath- ers become considerably worn, giving a brighter appearance to the plumage of the head, back, Chaffinch (Fringilla ceelebs). and breast. Length of the male 6 inches; extent of wings 11 inches; bill inch; tarsus f inch ; the female is a trifle smaller. It is a permanent resident in Great Britain, though in corresponding latitudes on the continent it migrates southward. Its notes are monoto- nous, generally twirik, twinJc, repeated three or four times; hence its provincial name of twink ; it is almost constantly heard in the lanes and gardens from May 1 to the middle of June. In summer they live chiefly on insects, with which they feed their young ; in winter they become gregarious and frequent the fields, farm yards, and roads in search of seeds and grain, to aid the digestion of which they swal- low smooth particles of gravel. Their flight is rapid, with frequent undulations ; on the ground they move with short leaps. The nest is neatly constructed of moss, lichens, wool, feathers, and hair, and is generally of such a gray color as to be seen with difficulty in the cleft of the lichen- covered trees. The eggs are four or five in num- ber, about three fourths of an inch long, of a purplish white or pale reddish gray color, with a few spots and lines of reddish brown. The chaffinch is one of the most familiar birds, and, with the sparrows and buntings, in the winter will come in flocks around the doors of the farm houses. They prepare to breed in April, and hatch their first brood by the mid- dle of May, and a second by the end of July. They are much esteemed in Germany as song birds, and are occasionally seen as parlor orna- ments elsewhere. CHAGRES, a river of the United States of Colombia, rising in the mountains about 40 m. N. E. of Panama. It flows first W., then curves abruptly to the N". W., and falls into the Caribbean sea at the town of the same name, which it intersects. Its whole course is about 120 m., through a country of remarka- ble fertility; its principal tributary is the Trinidad, and there are one or two others of inconsiderable magnitude ; and its depth from the junction of the Trinidad gradually increases from 16 to 30 ft., until it reaches the town of Chagres, a distance of less than 10 m. The swiftness of its current and a number of rapids impede navigation. CHAGRES, a seaport town of the United States of Colombia, in the state and on the isthmus of Panama, and at the mouth of the above described river, on the Caribbean sea, 12 m. S. W. of Aspinwall; lat. 9 18' 30" N., Ion. 79 60' W. This place has rapidly fallen into decay since the opening of the Panama rail- way, the northern terminus of which is at As- pinwall. It is divided by the river into two parts. That on the left bank consists of a number of wooden houses irregularly huddled together, and, having formerly been almost exclusively inhabited by citizens of the United States, is generally denominated the American town; that on the right bank is an agglomera- tion of miserable huts, in the centre of which is a dilapidated church. The port is very safe and commodious, and defended by a stone fort upon a rock ; but it has not more than about two fathoms of water, and the entrance is so narrow that it cannot be successfully ap- proached without a fair wind. CHAIN SNARE (coronella getula, Linn. ; genus ophibolus, Bd. and Gd.), an American species, first described by Catesby under this name ; it is also called thunder snake, and king snake. It has been arranged under different genera, but the above is the name given to it by Dr. Holbrook. The head is small, short, and round- ed at the snout ; the nostrils are large, and open laterally ; the eyes small, and the iris dusky ; the neck is very little contracted, and is covered above with small smooth scales ; the body is elongated, stout, with large, smooth, six-sided scales above, and large plates below ; the tail is quite short, thick, and soon tapers to a horny point. The colors of this handsome snake are singularly arranged; the ground- work of the whole upper surface is a rich shining black, all the plates about the head being marked with one or more white spots ; Chain Snake. the chin and throat are white, most of the plates being margined with black ; on the body are about 22 transverse narrow white bars, embracing two or parts of three scales,