53 2 The Living Animals of the World 



coast of gold-crests from the Continent. " In autumn," writes Mr. Howard Saunders, " immense 

 flocks sometimes arrive on our east coast, extending quite across England and the Irish 

 Channel, and into Ireland. In 1882 the migration wave of this description, commencing on 

 August 6 and lasting for ninety-two days, reached from the Channel to the Faeroes; in 1883 

 the migration lasted eighty-two days; and again in 1884 for a period of eighty-seven days. . . . 

 On such occasions bushes in gardens on the coast are covered with birds as with a swarm of 

 bees; crowds flutter round the lanterns of lighthouses, and the rigging of fishing-smacks in 

 the North Sea is thronged with weary travellers. In April a return migration occurs." 



We pass now to the consideration of a few families of birds unknown in Britain, but 

 interesting on account of the fact that they afford us another set of instances of adaptation to 

 attain particular ends, so frequently to be met with in Nature. All the birds in question, 

 though probably not related, have peculiarly modified tongues, apparently specially designed 

 to aid in sucking up honey from flowers. 



The first group for consideration are the HONEY-EATERS of New Zealand and Australia. 

 So great is the transformation which the tongue in 

 these birds has undergone, that it forms one of 

 the most elaborate organs of its kind, sur- 

 passing even that of the Humming-birds. 

 A description of this organ without 

 the aid of anatomical terms and 

 diagrams would be useless. 

 Suffice it to say it is long, 

 capable of being thrust 

 out of the mouth, 

 and brush-like. 

 It is used to 



thrust up _ 



the tubes 

 of honey- 

 bearing flowers, 

 as well for the sake 

 of the juice as for the 

 insects gathered in such 

 situations to feed on it. 



The best known of the 

 Honey-eaters is the POE, or PARSON- 

 BIRD, of New Zealand. Glossy black in 

 colour, with vived green and blue reflec- 



riwto by c. Reid] [Wisiiaw, N.B. tions, it is rendered still more attractive by a 



pair of white tufts of feathers hanging from 



These birds show the white patch on the nape veiy distinctly. It is , _ -, - - , , 



a common British bird, staying with us the whole year round. tn 6 tront Upper part Ot the neck, Whilst On the 



back of the neck in the same region the feathers 



are of a loose structure, long, and curled forwards. Other honey-eaters are the WHITE-EYES, 

 SUN-BIRDS, and FLOWER-PECKERS. 



The WHITE-EYES, so called from a ring of white feathers around the eye, have a wide 

 distribution, being found in Australia, India, Africa, Madagascar, and Japan. Besides honey 

 they are very partial to fruit, particularly figs and grapes, and also capture insects on the wing, 

 after the fashion of fly-catchers. 



The SUN-BIRDS correspond in the Old World to the Humming-birds in the New, having, 

 like the latter, a metallic plumage, varied in its hues and wondrous in its beauty ; but 

 they are not entirely dependent upon this lustre for their charm, for much of their 

 splendour is gained from the non-metallic portion of the plumage, which is often vividly 



