THE FLOWER- PACKERS. 117 



other. It is more sociable than this, and commonly 

 goes about in pairs. It is also a livelier bird, continually 

 flicking up its wings, and uttering a pretty little note 

 like "chi-chit, chit-te-wee ;" but the male does not seem 

 to be so good a songster. This species has been success- 

 fully kept in captivity. Mr. E. W. Harper sent a pair to 

 the London Zoological Gardens, and Mr. F. Groser had 

 two lovely full-plumaged cock birds as perfect as wild 

 ones, which he had successfully reared from the nest, 

 feeding them at first on small grasshoppers. But, as I 

 said above, I do not recommend these birds as pets, and 

 should rather advise my readers to try and improve 

 acquaintance with them by growing such plants as bear 

 flowers of which they especially approve, or even hang- 

 ing out little vessels of syrup for them. One of the 

 grudges I bear against Philip Sparrow is that I have 

 seen him drive away these harmless little things when 

 a pair actually came to my verandah, the hen picking 

 up bits of fluff for nesting material ; in the absence of 

 this feathered hooligan I have no doubt we should see 

 far more of the numerous more attractive small birds. 



THE FLOWER-PECKERS. 



These tiny creatures, the smallest birds of the Old 

 World, to the warm parts of which they are confined, are 

 little known, though not rare. As they are so very tiny, 

 smaller even than Waxbills or White-eyes, and keep to 

 the tops of high trees, where they feed on berries, insects, 

 etc., it is not easy to make their acquaintance. For- 

 tunately, however, it is sometimes possible to obtain 



