TOE FLOWER-PECKERS. aia 
ether. It is more sociable than this, and commonly 
goes about in pairs. It is also a livelier bird, continually 
flicking up its wings, and uttering a pretty little note 
hke ‘‘chi-chit, chit-te-wee ;’?’ but the male does not seem 
to be so good a songster. This species has been success- 
fully kept in captivity. Mr. E. W. Harper sent a pair to 
the London Zoological Gardens, and Mr. F. Groser had 
two lovely full-plumaged cock birds as perfect as wild 
ones, which he had successfully reared from the nest, 
feeding them at first on small grasshoppers. But, as I 
said above, I do not recommend these birds as pets, and 
should rather advise my readers to try and improve 
acquaintance with them by growing such plants as bear 
flowers of which they especially approve, or even hang- 
ing out little vessels of syrup for them. One of the 
‘grudges I bear against Philip Sparrow is that I have 
seen him drive away these harmless little things when 
a pair actually came to my verandah, the hen picking 
up bits of fluff for nesting material ; in the absence of 
this feathered hooligan I have no doubt we should see 
far more of the numerous more attractive small birds. 
THE FLOWER-PECKERS. 
These tiny creatures, the smallest birds of the Old 
World, to the warm parts of which they are confined, are 
little known, though not rare. As they are so very tiny, 
smaller even than Waxbills or White-eyes, and keep to 
the tops of high trees, where they feed on berries, insects, 
etc., it is not easy to make their acquaintance. For- 
tunately, hewever, it is sometimes possible to obtain 
