XXXIV 

 SUNBIRDS 



SUNBIRDS, or honey-suckers as they are 

 sometimes called, are to the tropics of the 

 Old World what humming birds are to 

 the warmer portions of the New World. 



Sunbirds are tiny feathered exquisites which vary 

 in length from 3 J to 5 inches, including a bill of con- 

 siderable length for the size of the bird. 



They are numbered among the most familiar 

 birds of India, owing to their abundance and their 

 partiality to gardens. They occur all the year round 

 in the warmer parts of the peninsula, but leave the 

 coldest regions for a short time during the winter. 



Twenty-nine species of sunbirds are described 

 as belonging to the Indian Empire, but most of them 

 are only local in their distribution. Three species, 

 however, have a considerable range. These are 

 Arachnechthra asiatica, the purple sunbird, which 

 occurs throughout India and Burma, ascending the 

 hills to 5000 feet ; A, zeylonica — the purple-rumped 

 sunbird — which is the commonest sunbird in all 

 parts of Southern India except Madras, where the 

 third species. A, lotenia — Loten's sunbird — is perhaps 



more abundant. 



218 



