SUN-BIRDS. 141 



cipally those gems of creation — regular living jewels 

 — different species of sun-birds. The hummingbirds 

 of America are the only rivals they have in beauty 

 of plumage, in my opinion. The double-collared 

 sun-bird (Nectarina afra) was most numerously re- 

 presented, but, as it is common in Natal, it does not 

 require a description. There is one thing about 

 it that may not generally be known, viz., that it 

 can be partially domesticated. A young lady, resi- 

 dent in Petermaritzburg, had several pairs of these 

 interesting pets. For their accommodation a small 

 attic-room was set apart, the window of which was 

 always left open. Here they nested. If at any 

 time during the day their mistress entered their 

 apartment with such flowers in her arms as they 

 were partial to, the little pets would fearlessly fly 

 around her, even presuming to insert their bills into 

 the flowers in search of nectar before the stems and 

 twigs were deposited on the floor. At Pynetown I 

 knew a similar instance. This species does not, I 

 think, occur in the Old Colony. 



The other sun-bird I noticed is comparatively 

 new to ornithologists. Its habitat does not extend 

 much south of the Tropic of Capricorn, although it 

 is migratory. The vicinity of rivers and mountain 

 streams seems to have a peculiar attraction for it. 



The late and much-to-be-lamented Charles John 

 Andersson, the chief of South African naturalists and 

 most intrepid of explorers, was the first to call the 



