Besemldance of Soidh African Birds. 5 



also closely resemble those of T, cinerea, already referred to, 

 so that when it is crouching down, even amongst the more 

 stubbly portions of the veld, it becomes all but invisible. 

 This applies to xi. pi/rrhonotns and several other species as 



well. 



Family Nectatiiniid^. 



The Sunbirds, or Zuiker-bekkies {lit. Sugar-bills) as they 

 are willed by the Boers, may be ranked amongst the most 

 brilliantly plumaged members of the locil avifauna, yet their 

 gay colours are often of a decidedly protective nature. They 

 spend such a large portion of their existence feeding on 

 various flowers that their coloration lends itself to assimi- 

 Lition. Mrs M. E. Barber, a most observant naturalist, 

 drew attention to this fact as far back as 1878, when she 

 published a jiaper in part 2, vol. i. of the '^Transactions of the 

 South African Philosophical Society,' titled " Peculiar Colours 

 of Animals in Relation to Habits of Life." She noted how 

 the colours of certain S^uth African Sanbirds accorded with 

 those of the flowers of the Aloes and Erythrina trees on which 

 they feed. She says : — " The most unguarded moments of 

 the lives of these birds are those that are spent amongst the 

 flowers ; it is then they are less wary than at any other 

 time. . . . Even the keen eye of the Hawk will fail to detect 

 them, so closely do they resemble the flowers they frequent." 

 She particularly draws attention to Ciiun/ris afer in con- 

 nection with the latter paragraph. With regard to the 

 Scarlet-chested Sunbird {Cinnyris gutturalis), according to 

 the late Dr. Stark these birds feed largely on the scarlet 

 blossoms of the Kaffir-boom (^Erythrina caffra), hence it 

 naturally follows that their scarlet feathering is conducive 

 toyvards protective resemblance. The Malachite Sunbird 

 {Nedarinia famosa) is of a bright green colour, with yellow 

 pectoral tufts. Yet when sitting amongst the almost equally 

 bright foliage of the mimosa, with its fluffy yellow blossoms 

 (a favourite haunt of theirs), it is not easy to locate, always 

 provided, of course, that the bird does not move. This 

 species, moreover, loses its bright plumage about the same 



