126 DlRl) (iALLKKV. 



Family XXV. Dii.eid.e. Flower-peckers. 



[Case 77. Tliese small birds are allied to the Sun-birds, but distinguished Ijy 

 having a miicli shorter bill which is serrated along the edges of Ijotli 

 mandibles. 



They range from India and the Indo-Malayau eountrics, through New 

 Guinea to Australia, and a few representatives arc found ou the West 

 Coast of Africa. The plumage is generally brilliant in the males, plainer 

 in the females. In their habits and choice of food they resemble the 

 Sun-birds. The species of Dictcum build beautiful purse-shaped nests 

 suspended from a slender branch. They are either made entirely 

 from the cotton-like substance which fills the seed vessels of many 

 plants (2288), or have an outer coating of moss and lichen (2289 90). 

 The more 'i'lt-like Australian species of Pardalotus (2292), which have 

 a stouter bill, breed in holes in trees, walls, or banks, and construct a 

 round nest of roots, grass aiul feathers. 



Family XXVI. Nectariniid/E. Sun-birds. 



[Ca.si 77. In their brilliant metallic plumage and outward appearance the 

 Sun- birds bear a strong superficial resemblance to the TrochUidce, and 

 arc often mistaken for them. A notable case is that of Cinui/ns osen 

 (2305), a species inhabiting Palestine, and known to the English 

 residents as the " Jericho Humming-Bird." The numerous species are 

 confined to the Old World and range from Africa and Southern Asia to 

 New Guinea and Australia. The bill is long, curved and slender, finely 

 serrated at the extremity ; the tongue, extensile and tubular like that 

 of the Woodpeckers and Humming-Birds, and the sexes are generally 

 verv different from one another in coloration, except in Arachiothera 

 (2307). Sun-birds resemble the Tits and White-eyes in their habits, 

 generally hunting for insects among the trees and bushes in pairs or 

 small bands. With their long tongue they extract the nectar from 

 fiowcrs while clinging to the stems, for they are unable to poise them- 

 selves in the air after the manner of Humming-Birds. The elaborate 

 nest is either hung from the end of a branch, as in the case of Jitlio- 

 pyga magnifica (2309), or attached to the underside of a leaf, as in 

 Eudrepanis pulcherrima (2310). The eggs are two in number and 

 invariably spotted. 



The nest of the Spider-hunter [Arachnothera rohusta) (2307) seivn to 

 the under side of a broad leaf displays a different type of structure. 



Family XXVII. Drepanidid.*:. Hawaiian Honey-Suckers. 



[Case 77.1 This small but interesting family includes a number of curious forms 

 peculiar to the hill forests of the Sandwich Islands. Some, such as the 



