SUN-BIRDS. 135 



goblet of honey ; but the bird pecks out the insects 

 found therein, and banquets on them as well as on 

 the juices of the flower. Sometimes, indeed, the 

 Sun-Bird is seen clambering about the leaves and 

 branches of the dwarf trees and the brushwood. 

 There no honey can be found, and the sole object 

 of the search is for insects. 



As the bird passes from flower to flower, it 

 utters a shrill, impatient cry. But when it is 

 warbling to its mate, its note will be sweet and 

 pleasant. But it is so low, that unless you stood 

 under the tree where the bird was perching, you 

 could not hear its song. 



The Sun-Bird makes her nest of the down of 

 plants mixed with a few dead leaves, and the 

 outside wall is all of moss. It looks, when it is 

 finished, like a little ball, rather pointed at the 

 bottom ; and the bird makes a cover for it, like a 

 hood, that hides the hole where she enters, and 

 prevents it being seen. 



Sometimes she will build her nest in the hollow 

 of a tree, or else suspend it to a twig, and let it 

 hang in the air, as the Tailor-Bird does. 



