144 



Young Male. Differs from the adult male in having the upper half of the head and neck olive, and the 

 entire nnderparts very pale yellow. 



Hab. South-west India and Ceylon. 



This beautiful little Sun-bird, the smallest of the family, is distinguished from the other members 

 of the " Nectarophila " group by the upper back, lesser wing-coverts, and front of the breast being 

 of a uniform deep red, while the lower breast and abdomen are yellowish white. 



It is found in India, only inhabiting here the western side, from the Ghauts, above Bombay, 

 to the extreme south of the peninsula, and the island of Ceylon. 



Owing to the very slight information I could find in published works respecting this little 

 Sun-bird, I was led to consider it a rare species ; and therefore the following notes sent to me by 

 Messrs. Hume and Davison have proved to be of special value : — " Common as this lovely little 

 species is in all the hilly tracts of the Indian peninsula, in the Ghauts, as at Matheran (above 

 Bombay), and Mahableshwar, all over the Neilgherries, in the Wynaad, and the hills of South 

 Travancore, from all of which localities we have obtained specimens, its changes of plumage, nay, 

 even the distinctive characters of the sexes, seem to be but imperfectly understood. 



"At all seasons and at all times the female is characterized by a dull red rump. The males, 

 on the other hand, in the non-breeding plumage, in which they in all other respects assume the 

 garb of the female, retain invariably the amethystine-glossed rump, and usually a little red about 

 the shoulder of the wing. 



"About April some of the males begin to doff the brilliant nuptial plumage ; early in May 

 some may be obtained in full non-breeding plumage ; but during May some may still be obtained 

 in the nuptial garb. In June most of the birds have assumed the complete non-breeding dress ; 

 but a few will still be found that have only partially moulted. After the first of July not a bird 

 is to be seen in the nuptial dress. 



" During September they begin to resume their wedding garb ; by the end of that month a 

 good many males are in perfect plumage ; and by the middle of October every bird is in the gay 

 nuptial attire. 



" Though not strictly migratory, this species moves about a great deal ; and though there are 

 places in the Neilgherries at elevations of 5000 or 6000 feet, where some may be seen at all 

 seasons of the year, the mass of them move higher in summer, and descend a great deal lower 

 in the winter. Thus in the Chinchona plantations at Neddivuttum, at an elevation of about 

 6000 feet, some specimens may be seen at all seasons ; but it is not till the first burst of the 

 south-west monsoon, between the 10th and 15th of June, that a single bird is to be seen higher 

 up at Ootacamund. After this they swarm in every garden where there are flowers, and 

 especially about the apple-blossoms of the orchards. By the end of October they have all left 

 Ootacamund, and have descended to a lower level, while, again, in January and February they 

 abound at the base of the hills, as in the Moyar valley, in the Wynaad. 



" They are very restless, active little birds, hopping about ceaselessly from twig to twig and 

 flower to flower, and using their legs probably more than their wings, keeping up all the time a 

 soft uninterrupted chip, chip, chip ; very rarely, if ever, are they seen poised Humming-bird-like 

 in front of any flower. So far as our observations go they always perch to feed, and probably 



