74



Dr. A. G. Butler,



reason probably Horsfield called the Indian species the white-eyed

tit, though he placed it in the Leiotrichince.


Considering the number of species (Dr. Sharpe indicated 88

in his Museum Catalogue in 1883) it is remarkable that so few have

been imported into Europe: excepting during the breeding season

they are sociable in their habits, moving from place to place in small

companies,* perhaps family parties, and therefore should not be

difficult to secure in fair numbers, yet the four better known white-

eyes of Australia, India, China and the Cape are those generally

offered for sale by the British and Continental dealers.


In their flight the white-eyes are quick and darting according

to Gould ; I kept my pair of Chinese birds in a flight-cage where it

was impossible to form a just estimate of their speed when on the

wing. When flitting from twig to twig examining the under surface

of leaves or the tubes of various blossoms in search of insects they

assume similar attitudes to those of the titmice. In addition to

tiny insects and their larvae these birds feed largely upon soft fruits

and berries : Messrs. Stark and Sclater state that the Cape white-

eye visits various flowers for the sake of the honey, hut it seems

more probable that it seeks for the small insects attracted to the

honey.


The nest of Zosterops is always a beautiful object, though

like most cup-shaped nests it varies considerably both in depth and

in the materials of which it is formed ; more often than not it is

formed largely of moss, wool, and fine grass, ornamented outside

with lichen and lined with horsehair, or with fibrous roots and

grasses, but at other times it is more flimsy in construction and

consists chiefly of dry grasses and attached to the supporting twigs

by spiders’ web. In some cases it is placed in a fork, in others it

is suspended like a hammock between a forked twig and occasionally

it appears to be firmly bound to a single twig.


The eggs are pale blue, greenish blue, or bluish green and

unspotted, their number appears to vary from two to five in a clutch,

although most accounts lead one to the conclusion that two or three

is the more usual number. The situation of the nest is usually in a



* ADparently when they migrate these birds collect into large flocks,

sometimes associating with tits.



