THE SUNBIBDS. 113 



THE SUNBIRDS. 



The Sunbirds, commonly called Honey-suckers by 

 Europeans, and ShaJcar khora by natives, are. most 

 charming littls creatures, only found in the warm parts 

 of the Old World. They are often mistaken for the true 

 Humming-birds, which they resemble in feeding on nectar 

 and small insects, and rival in the beauty of their plumage. 

 But the Humming-birds are confined to the New World, 

 and so none of them are ever to be seen in India. 

 Moreover, they have quite distinct habits from any other 

 birds, being constantly on the wing with a buzzing 

 flight like that of the hawk-moths, which insects 

 they resemble, rather than birds, to an inexperienced 

 eye. The Honey-suckers, on the other hand, hop about 

 the twigs like other little birds, perching on the 

 flower-stems to extract the honey, etc., from the blossoms, 

 and only hovering a little occasionally. They have long 

 slender bills, usually curved, and fairly long legs. Their 

 wings are moderate in size, but although usually very small 

 birds, they fly high and strongly, and do not mind exposing 

 themselves in the open at any rate this is the case with 

 the two commonest Indian species. They build hanging 

 nests, and lay spotted eggs. The cocks are very brilliantly 

 coloured, but the hens are plain, though dainty and 

 graceful in appearance ; the young are like their mothers. 



These lovely little birds are very tame and familiar, 

 coming freely into gardens, and allowing themselves to 

 be easily watched ; and their nests are often quite acces- 

 sible. Of course, I do not recommend them to be caged 

 in India, but it is worth mentioning that they can be 

 F, GAB 8 



