THE WORLD'S BIRDS. I07 



of the Old World, are exceedingly tiny birds with 

 short beaks. They build hanging nests as a rule. 



Some of these birds have quite short thick beaks, but 

 their very small size— as a group they are the smallest 

 birds in the Old World— distinguishes them easily as a 



rule. 



Few are well known, but two species, the plain drab 

 Dicaeum erythrorhynchus, the smallest bird in the 

 Old World, and the almost equally small Crimson- 

 backed Flower-pecker (D. cmentatum), have been 

 exhibited at the London Zoological Gardens. The 

 Austrahan Diamond-Bird [Pardalotus punctatus), beauti- 

 fully spotted with white, is assigned to this group. 



Flycatchers (Mtiscicapince) are small birds with, 

 usually, small feet, and bills of moderate length, pro- 

 vided with bristles at the root ; they usually sit 

 quietly on some favourite perch, making short sallies 

 after insects at intervals. Some have longer legs 

 and move about more on their feet, and the group 

 merges imperceptibly into the Robins. They usually 

 build open nests, and the first plumage of the young is 

 buff-spotted as a rule. Our familiar Spotted Fly- 

 catcher (Muscicapa grisola) is a good example. The 

 group is most numerous in warm climates, and is 

 confined to the Old World, the "Flycatchers" of 

 America belonging to the Tyrant group. Some Fly- 

 catchers are richly and conspicuously coloured ; for 

 instance, the Verdi ter Flycatcher (Stoparola melanops) of 

 India, which is pale blue; and the Niltava (Niltava 

 sundara), dark rich blue above and orange below, the 

 female being brown. This bird has been kept alive 

 in Europe, but, speaking generally. Flycatchers are 

 seldom seen in captivity. The Paradise Flycatchers 

 (Terpsiphone), in which the males are usually white, 

 with very long tails, and the females brown, both with 

 black heads, are conspicuous birds in the East. The 

 Fantail Flycatchers {Rhipidura), which hop about 



