The Sun-birds 



225 



thorns, etc., are all pressed into the service. The body of 

 the nest is oval, as a rule with all sorts of little pendent 

 pieces of wood, etc., hanging below, apparently as ornaments, 

 while the apex of the oval is prolonged into a cone meeting 

 the point of support. A little above the centre of the oval 

 a small circular aperture is masked, and just above it a 

 projecting cornice, one or one-and-a-half-inches wide, is 

 extended; then, on the opposite side of the oval, the wall 

 of the nest, which is ready some days before the eggs are 

 laid, is pushed out or bulged out a little, so as to give room 

 for the sitting bird's tail. The bulging out of the back of 

 the nest is one of the last portions of the work, and the 

 female may be seen going in and out, trying the fit, over 

 and over again. When the bird is sitting, its little head 

 may be seen peeping out of the whole under the awning." 



The Sun-birds lay but two eggs, as a rule, though in some 

 instances three are found. This is in great contrast to the 

 numerous eggs which the Tits lay, but it has been pointed 

 out by Mr. Whitehead and other field-naturalists that birds 

 in the tropics lay fewer eggs than their representatives in 

 northern climates. The beautiful little nest of the Purple 

 Sun-bird appears to be constructed entirely by the female, 

 the male taking no share in the building of the nest or in 

 the reartng of the young. Mr. R. M. Adam states that a 

 nest built in the verandah of his house at Agra was finished 

 by the hen-bird, and the latter was actually sitting on the 

 eggs before the male bird put in an appearance. When he 

 did do so, the nest apparently met with his approval. 

 " Now he seemed exceedingly happy," says Mr. Adam, 

 " for he fluttered every now and then about the nest, and 

 after each careful inspection, he was seemingly so pleased 

 with the handiwork of his mate, that he perched on an 

 adjoining branch and poured forth a joyous strain, flapping 

 his wings and making his yellow axillary plumes rotate in 

 the most extraordinary manner. It does seem strange that 



Q 



