TKNUIROSTRES. 357 



Tribe Tenuiiiostres. 



Bill, in most, slendei' and long, often curved ; in a few, short and 

 thick ; wings moderate or long. 



Food the nectar and pollen of flowers, with insects ; in a few, soft 

 fruit. 



The birds composing this tribe vary much in their structure, like 

 those of the two last ; but there are certain points of similarity, both 

 of features and habits that pervade the whole ; and, as a general 

 rule, they differ in their external characters so much from the other 

 tribes of the Lispssores, that one can have but little hesitation in 

 referrino; them here. 



The most marked character is the long and slender bill of nearly 

 all of them ; though some have remarkably short beaks, and others 

 have the bill of considerable strength, moderately long, and very 

 slightly curved. In the most typical groups, the plumage is rich 

 and beautiful ; in many, with shining metallic hues of gold, pur- 

 ple, or green, and in one of the groups the axillary feathers, and 

 others, are developed to their maximum. Many live much on the 

 nectar and pollen of flowers, which they sip on the wino-, or 

 clinsino: to the flower-stalks, throu2;h a tubular tono-ue in some 

 instances, or by means of a soft tuft or pencil in others. Most of 

 these partake also freely of the minute insects that infest flowers ; 

 many hunt for spiders, or seek their insect-food on the trunk 

 and branches of trees ; a very few on the ground. Some build 

 their nests within holes of trees ; others fix them neatly to, or 

 suspend them on, branches ; some lay white, others coloured, 

 eggs. 



The Tenuirostral birds comprise the following groups, which may, 

 for convenience, be divided into those with rich and frorireous 



^ DO 



colours, and those with plain or mottled plumage. 



A. Richly coloured : — 



1st. Troidce. — Hummingbirds. 2nd. Nectarinidcs — Honey Suck- 

 ers. 3rd. ParadiseidcB — Birds of Paradise. 



B. half plain plumage. 4th. Mell/j/tar/idce — Ploney-eaters. 5th. 

 Certhiadoi — Creepers. Gth. Upupidce — Hoopoes. 



