130 Indian Sunhlrds. 



" are yellow. But see it at close quarters, with the sun shining 

 "on it as its admiring mate sees it! The top of its head glitters 

 *' with a hue which Jerdon defines as " bright metallic glossy 

 " gi'een," while Mr. Oates calls it ' metallic lilac' Perhaps one 

 " looked at it from the front and the other from behind. Its 

 " throat and the whole of its back glow with the tint of an 

 " amethyst, the shoulders and wings ai^e of the richest maroon- 

 " red (Mr. Oates says ' dull crimson ') and the tail is black."' 



The cocks of the Purple and Loten's species are very 

 much alike Init niuy ])e readily distinguished by the fact that the 

 slender curved bill of Loten's is considerably larger than that 

 of its cousin. How shall I describe these beautiful birds? In 

 my volume Indmi Birds I classed them among black birds 

 because they look black when seen at a distance; but 

 I stated that they are in reality dark purple; and have been 

 taken to task for not classing them among the blue birds. The 

 fact of the matter is that these birds cannot be said to be 

 of any colour. Like shot silk their hue depends upon the angle 

 at which the sun's rays fall upon them. In the sunlight their 

 plumage glistens like a new silk hat, and sometimes the sheen 

 looks lilac, and others green. 



The habits of all three species are exactly alike, so what 

 is said of one applies equally well to the others. I will take 

 A asiatica as my tb.oine, as it is the most widely distributed. 

 It is the only Hunbird that occurs at Allahabad, where I am now 

 stationed, and as our invaluable Editor informs me that he is 

 having a coloured plate of this species made for the magazine. 



The cock Sunbird is a beautiful singer; its song is very 

 like that of a canary, but a little less soft. As I write a 

 cock is pouring forth his lay vigorously from the summit of a 

 tree in the compound. The cock Sunbird does everything 

 vigorously. He is always literally bubbling over witli energy. 

 Although he eats tiny insects, he lives mainly on the nectar 

 of flowers, which appears to be a most stimulating diet. 'He 

 is also very quarrelsome, and he always puts me in mind of the 

 gaily dressed young buck of the seventeenth century, who was 

 ready to draw his sword at the slightest provocation. 



Sunbirds have long, slender curved bills and tubular 

 tongues, hence they are admirably equipped to secure the honey 

 hidden away in the calices of flowers. As the little birds insert 

 their heads into the blossoms, they get well dusted with pollen. 



