Birds of Gazaland. 33 



and; in tlie portions of the district which these birds most 

 frequent, it is rare to find a really good clump of this 

 plant unattended by at least one pair of Necfarinia arturi. 

 In the neighbourhood of Melsetter itself, where I found 

 them particularly numerous in the scrub-grown glens 

 during luy visit in September last, they appeared to be 

 specially attracted to the flowers of Faurea speciosa, then 

 nearly out of bloom; but this was doubtless not the only 

 attraction, the whole kloofs being ablaze with flowers of 

 various kinds at that time of year. In spite, however, of 

 the fact that its wants are already so liberally supplied 

 by nature, there is no Sun-bird, with the possible ex- 

 ception of C. niass(B, which so constantly frequents the 

 homesteads of the settlers as does the present species in 

 the more favoured portions of the district. I may take 

 Wolverhampton, Mr. Giftbrd^s farm near Mafasi, where I 

 spent some days in April, as a good example. Here Necfa- 

 rinia orturi, if not actually the commonest, is at least the 

 most conspicuous and frequently seen bird that haunts the 

 orchards and plantations, and its loud oft-repeated '^ pea- 

 view" note may be heard all day long in every direction ; 

 the banana-walks are never without one or more pairs 

 probing the great flowers for honey and insects, and 

 Mr. Giff"ord informed me that when a small patch of French 

 beans was in flower it was seldom attended by less than 

 half a dozen of these Sun-birds at a time. Grevillea Banksii, 

 an introduced tree, is also a favourite, and I have found the 

 birds frequenting peach-blossom in September. They usually 

 remain in pairs throughout the year, though occasionally I 

 have noticed two males going about together^ and sometimes 

 one solitary male. I have frequently seen them holding on by 

 the feet to a vertical twig, preferably when dry or more or less 

 bare, on the top of some prominent object, such as a large 

 orange-tree, a gum-tree, or sometimes the topmost leaf of a 

 banana ; thence they will dart off' at intervals with a rapid 

 circling flight in pursuit of a passing fly or other insect. They 

 have several notes, of which two, a loud piping repeated call 

 and a short warbling song of no great power, appear to be 



SEU. IX. VOL. II. D 



