14 FKIENDS OF THE AGRICULTURIST 



and downy seed-heads. It is generally placed in a protea 

 bush or bunch of heath, and usually contains two eggs, 

 which vary from a very pale to reddish-brown ground 

 colour, and are sometimes marked with pencillings and 

 blotches of blackish, and sometimes of brown. 



The Cape Sugar-bird (Promerops capensis) is of a sombre 

 brown colour, with the vent and under tail-coverts bright 

 yellow. The males sport long curved tail-feathers. This 

 species is confined to the Cape Colony. The nest a rare 

 one in the Eastern Cape districts during recent years 

 can be seen low down on the left of the picture (p. 13), 

 and is rather indistinct. 



The second species is a scarcer bird and does not 

 extend to the Cape, being only a winter visitor to Natal. 

 It is called the Natal Sugar-bird (P. gurneyi) and has a 

 shorter tail than the Cape species. The feathers of the 

 forehead and crown are of a deep chestnut-red, with pale 

 shaft markings, whereas these regions in the Cape species 

 are buff-brown. 



SUNBIRDS. 



The Sunbirds are all real friends of the agriculturist, 

 but owing to their architectural skill in nest building we 

 will include them under a more special heading. 



TIT-BABBLERS. 



Of the Tit-babblers (Parisoma), the little Ked-vented 

 species (P. subcceruleum) is perhaps the best known bird, 

 in its grey and white plumage, streaked throat, and chest- 

 nut-red vent and under tail-coverts. It is not uncommon 

 in Albany Division, Cape Colony, and at Irene and Aapies 

 River, Pretoria District, Transvaal. The Red-vented 

 Tit-babbler builds a cup-shaped nest of rootlets and 

 twigs lined with finer material, fibre, hair, &c., and lays 



