134 THE LIVING ANIMALS OF THE WORLD 
coast of gold-crests from the Continent. “In autumn,” writes Mr. Howard Saunders, ‘‘ immense 
flocks sometimes arrive on our east coast, extending quite across England and the Irish 
Channel, and into Ireland. In 1882 the migration wave of this description, commencing on 
August 6 and lasting for ninety-two days, reached from the Channel to the Faroes; in 1883 
the migration lasted eighty-two days; and again in 1884 for a period of eighty-seven days. . . . 
On such occasions bushes in gardens on the coast are covered with birds as with a swarm of 
bees; crowds flutter round the lanterns of lighthouses, and the rigging of fishing-smacks in 
the North Sea is thronged with weary travellers. In April a return migration occurs.” 
We pass now to the consideration of a few families of birds unknown in Britain, but 
interesting on account of the fact that they afford us another set of instances of adaptation to 
attain particular ends, so frequently to be met with in Nature. All the birds in question, 
though probably not related, have peculiarly modified tongues, apparently specially designed 
to aid in sucking up honey from flowers. 
The first group for consideration are the HONEY-EATERS of New Zealand and Australia. 
So great is the transformation which the tongue in 
these birds has undergone, that it forms one of 
the most elaborate organs of its kind, sur- 
passing even that of the Humming-birds. 
A description of this organ without 
the aid of anatomical terms and 
diagrams would be useless. 
Suffice it to say it is long, 
capable of being thrust 
out of the mouth, 
and brush-like. 
It is used to 
thrust up 
the tubes 
of honey- 
bearing flowers, 
as well for the sake 
of the juice as for the 
insects gathered in such 
situations to feed on it. 
The best known of the 
Honey-eaters is the POE, or PARSON- 
BIRD, of New Zealand. Glossy black in 
colour, with vivid green and blue reflec- 
tions, it is rendered still more attractive by a 
COAL-TITS - _ pair of white tufts of feathers hanging from 
Disie LRG alias the Bente Patek a whe Pape ey aint. TE ge Geant upper part of the neck, whilst on the 
a common British bird, staying the whole year round , 
back of the neck in the same region the feathers 
are of a loose structure, long, and curled forwards. Other honey-eaters are the WHITE-EYES, 
SUN-BIRDS, and FLOWER-PECKERS. 
The WHITE-EYES, so called from a ring of white feathers around the eye, have a wide 
distribution, being found in Australia, India, Africa, Madagascar, and Japan. Besides honey 
they are very partial to fruit, particularly figs and grapes, and also capture insects on the wing, 
after the fashion of fly-catchers. 
The SUN-BIRDS correspond in the Old World to the Humming-birds in the New, having, 
like the latter, a metallic plumage, varied in its hues and wondrous in its beauty; but 
they are not entirely dependent upon this lustre for their charm, for much of their 
splendour is gained from the non-metallic portion of the plumage, which is often vividly 
A ; 
Photo by C, Reid) 
(Wishaw, N, B. 
