the vine, in botany. See VITIS.

Amphilis, the Chatterer, in zoology, a genus of birds belonging to the order of paffers; the distinguishing characters of which are, that the tongue is furnished with a rim or margin all round, and the bill is conical and strait. There are seven species, all natives of foreign countries, except the garulus, which is a native both of Europe and the West Indies. In the former, the native country of these birds is Bohemia; from whence they wander over the rest of Europe, and were once superstitiously considered as presages of a pestilence. They appear annually about Edinburgh in February; and feed on the berries of the mountain-ash. They also appear as far south as Northumberland; and, like the field-fare, make the berries of the white-thorn their food. It is but by accident that they ever appear farther south. They are gregarious; feed on grapes, where vineyards are cultivated; are easily tamed; and are esteemed delicious food. This species is about the size of the black-bird; the bill is short, thick, and black; on the head is a sharp pointed crest reclining backwards: the lower part of the tail is black; the end of a rich yellow: the quill-feathers are black, the three first tipped with white; the six next Ampelites have half an inch of their exterior margin edged with fine yellow, the interior with white. But what distinguishes this from all other birds, are the horny appendages from the tips of seven of the secondary feathers, of the colour and gloss of the best red wax.