XI. THE HONEYSUCKER. 



" For he on honey-dew hath fed." Coleridge. 



A DIET of sweets appears to have a marked effect on 



the bird constitution, marvellously invigorating the same 



instead of enervating it as one might expect. It would be 



difficult to find a livelier little bird than our common 



yellow-bellied or Amethyst-rumped Honeysucker (Arach- 



nechthra zeylonica), or one more fearless and energetic. With 



his yellow waistcoat set off by a red velvet coat and green 



satin cap, he is the gayest of all our birds in dress, and as 



he is very tame you can get near enough to appreciate his 



beauty. His little olive-green mate, who keeps only the 



yellow vest of all her husband's brilliant attire, is usually 



with him, and together they merrily take their meals, of 



insects with sweet sauce, from the flowers, flirting their 



wings up and down as they hop about. For, unlike the 



true humming-birds of the New World, with which they 



are so often confounded, the Honey suckers or Sun -birds do 



not feed on the wing, unless quite exceptionally, but skip 



from twig to twig like other little birds. At the same time 



they are strong and bold flyers for such tiny creatures, and 



although they have the bounding flight common to most 



small fry in feathers, will fearlessly mount high in the air 



and go off for a distant point as readily as a mynah or a 



crow. Like other honey-feeding birds, they are remark- 



