Correspondence , Notes, etc. 209


The account of this bird’s attack 011 a wasps’ nest maybe quoted here

in full. “ I shall never forget the first time we went to attack a wasps’ nest

to which a farm boy' was guiding me. ‘ Where is it ? ’ I said to the boy, but

before he gave the answer the Honey Buzzard suddenly stretched its neck,

and, intently watching a wasp that went by threw itself into the air, and

with great rapidity flew low and straight to the ‘ bike ’ about a hundred

yards distant and situated in a high bank. In a moment the bird was

suddenly transformed from a listless apathetic dullard to a most energetic

and business-like excavator. It used its beak occassioually to pull aside a

root or other obstruction, but most of the work of unearthing the nest was

done with the feet. Meanwhile the wasps in access of fury swarmed all

over the bird, and of these little tormenters it seemed to take not the

smallest notice, a circumstance explained, as I afterwards found out, by the

fact that though the wasps entered the plumage with their heads and could

even reach the skin they nevertheless found it impossible to screw round

their metathorax and sting the bird owing to the way in which it held the

feathers and to the strength and elasticity of the down. During its meal

the bird swallowed grubs, comb, and full grown wasps, and for three days

afterwards wasps still remained in its plumage. This seemed to cause the

buzzard no inconvenience, but rather a pleasant supply, for I constantly

saw it during this time searching its plumage and abstracting wasps, which

it at once nipped and swallowed or allowed to drop to the ground.”


THE LATE CRYSTAL PALACE SHOW.


Sir,—I do not think you are quite just to the Malachite Sun Bird.

I have no wish to dispute the general opinion that Mr. Townsend’s beauti¬

ful Tanager should have been placed first at the Crystal Palace Show, but

when you say that there is no reason why the Malachite Sun Bird should

be rare on the show bench I do not agree with you. A bird may be very

common in its native country, and yet a rarity here. Some birds are very

difficult to adapt to conditions of travel and captivity, and I think the Sun

Birds may be fairly classed with these. Mr. Hanilyu lost about 85 per cent,

of those he attempted to bring over from South Africa on his last return

journey, although he attended to them himself. Of the few that arrived I

received four on January' 15th last. Two were Malachite Sun Birds. The

other two I have reason to believe were the Double-collared Sun Bird

(Cinnyris chloropygius) ; both of these latter died within a fortnight. I

always dissect birds of doubtful sex after death, and so discovered these

to be male and female. They were olive-coloured, but the male had a few

bright red feathers on the breast, and some metallic blue specks on the

throat and back.


All four Sun Birds appeared free from disease, but they were all

miserably' thin and in very poor plumage. Of the two Malachite Sun

Birds, one died on Feb. 7th ; I think I should have saved the other if I had



