The Philippine Sun -Bird {CinnyHs juguians) 



By Thomas S. Roberts 



Darlings of children and of bard, 

 Perfect kinds by vice immarred, 

 All of worth and beauty set 

 Gems in Nature's cabinet : 

 These the fables she esteems 

 Reality most like to dreams. 



— Ralph Waldo Emerson, "Nature." 



The sun-birds bear a similar relation to the oriental tropics that the huniming 

 birds do to the warmer regions of the Western hemisphere. Both have a 

 remarkably brilliant plumage which is in harmony with the gorgeous flowers 

 that grow in the tropical fields. It is probable that natives of Asia first gave 

 the name sun-birds to these bright creatures because of their splendid and shining 

 plumage. By the Anglo-Indians they have been called humming birds, but 

 they are perching birds while the humming birds are not. There are over one 

 hundred species of these birds. They are graceful in all their motions and very 

 active in their habits. Like the humming birds, they flit from flower to flower, 

 feeding on the minute insects which are attracted by the nectar, and probably 

 to some extent on the honey, for their tongues are fitted for gathering it. How- 

 ever, their habit while gathering food is unlike that of the humming bird, for 

 they do not hover over the flower, but perch upon it while feeding. The plumage 

 of the males nearly always differs very strongly from that of the females. The 

 brilliantly colored patches are unlike those of the humming birds, for they blend 

 gradually and are not sharply contrasted, though the iridescent character is just 

 as marked. The bills are long and slender, finely pointed and curved. The edges 

 of the mandibles are finely serrated. 



The nests are beautiful structures suspended from the end of a bough or 

 even from the underside of a leaf. The entrance is near the top and usually 

 on the side. Over the entrance a projecting portico is often constructed. The 

 outside of the nest is usually covered with coarse materials, apparently to give 

 the effect of a pile of rubbish. Two eggs are usually laid in these cozy homes, 

 but in rare instances three have been found. The Philippine Sun-bird of our 

 illustration is a native of the Philippines and is found on nearly all the islands 

 from Luzon to Mindanao. The throat of the male has a beautiful iridescent 

 shaded with green, while that of the female, shown on the nest, is yellow. 



Fly, white butterflies, out to sea. 

 Frail pale wings for the winds to try; 

 Small white wings that we scarce can see 

 Here and there may a chance-caught eye 



Fly. 

 Note, in a score of you, twain or three 

 Brighter or darker of tinge or dye ; 



822 



