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Nectarinia Zeylonica, LINN^US. 

 PLATE XX. 



THE Certhia Zeylonica of Linnaeus, sent by Gover- 

 nor Loten from Ceylon, refers to the bird we have 

 now represented ; but the synonym of that illustri- 

 ous naturalist is erroneous, and, though printed by 

 him with a ?, it has been continued to many of the 

 descriptions which have since been given of the bird, 

 and has kept up the confusion; in our Synopsis 

 will be found what we consider as belonging to it. 



We have received the males from various parts 

 of Continental India, where it seems pretty gene- 

 rally distributed and far from uncommon ; but we 

 have never seen specimens from any of the East 

 Indian islands, nor been able to compare those of the 

 continent with a Ceylonese bird. Dr. Latham, on 

 the authority of Dr. Buchanan, states that " it is 

 found in all the gardens near Calcutta, lives by 

 sucking honey out of flowers, and will readily sip 

 sugar and water." u The nest, suspended from the 

 extreme branch of a tree, is almost of a globular 

 shape, with a neck above somewhat like an alembic, 

 and composed of fine fibres, with a round hole of 

 entrance on one side, nearer the bottom than the 

 middle." Mr. Jerdon, who described it under the 



