THE PHILIPPINE SUN-BIRD. 



( Cinnyris jugularis. ) 



Darlings of children and of bard, 

 Perfect kinds by vice unmarred, 

 All of worth and beauty set 

 Gems in Nature's cabinet : 

 These the fables she esteems 

 Reality most like to dreams. 



— Ralph Waldo Emerson, "Nature." 



The sun-birds bear a similar relation 

 to the oriental tropics that the humming 

 birds do to the warmer regions of the 

 Western hemisphere. Both have a re- 

 markably brilliant plumage which is in 

 harmony with the gorgeous flowers that 

 grow in the tropical fields. It is prob- 

 able that natives of Asia first gave the 

 name sun-birds to these bright creatures 

 because of their splendid and shining 

 plumage. By the Anglo-Indians they 

 have been called hummingbirds, but 

 they are perching birds while the hum- 

 mingbirds are not. There are over one 

 hundred species of these birds. They are 

 graceful in all their motions and very 

 active in their habits. Like the hum- 

 mingbirds, they flit from flower to 

 flower, feeding on the minute insects 

 which are attracted by the nectar, and 

 probably to some extent on the honey, 

 for their tongues are fitted for gathering- 

 it. However, their habit while gathering 

 food is unlike that of the hummingbird, 

 for they do not hover over the flower, 

 but perch upon it while feeding. The 

 plumage of. the males nearly always dif- 



fers very strongly from that of the fe- 

 males. The brilliantly colored patches 

 are unlike those oi the hummingbirds 

 for they blend gradually and are not 

 sharply contrasted, though the irides- 

 cent character is just as marked. The 

 bills are long and slender, finely pointed 

 and curved. The edges of the mandibles 

 are finely serrated. 



The nests are beautiful structures sus- 

 pended from the end of a bough or even 

 from the underside of a leaf. The en- 

 trance is near the top and usually on the 

 side. Over the entrance a projecting 

 portico is often constructed. The outside 

 of the nest is usually covered with coarse 

 materials, apparently to give the effect 

 of a pile of rubbish. Two eggs are 

 usually laid in these cozy homes, but in 

 rare instances three have been found. 

 The Philippine Sun-bird of our illustra- 

 tion is a native of the Philippines and is 

 found on nearly all the islands from 

 Luzon to Mindanao. The throat of the 

 male has a beautiful iridescence shaded 

 with green, while that of the female,, 

 shown on the nest, is yellow. 



Fly, white butterflies, out to sea, 

 Frail pale wings for the winds to try; 

 Small white wings that we scarce can see 

 Here and there m.av a chance-caught eye 



Fly. 

 Note, in a score of you, twain or three 

 Brighter or darker of tinge or dye; 

 Some fly light as a laugh of glee, 

 Some fly soft as a long, low sigh : 

 All to the haven where each would be — 



Fly. 



— Swinburne. 



