SUN-BIRDS. 287 
take their appearance in June. It is worthy of notice that the beak of the 
young Hoopoe is short and quite straight, not attaining its long curved form 
until the bird has attained its full growth. The nest of the Hoopoe has a 
very pungent and disgusting odour. 
The general colours of the Hoopoe are white, buff, and black, distributed 
in the following manner :—The plumes of the crest, which is composed of a 
double row of feathers, are of a reddish buff, each feather being tipped with 
black. The remainder of the head, neck, and breast is purplish buff, and 
the upper part of the beak purple-grey. Three semicircular black bands are 
drawn across the back, and the quill feathers of the wings are marked with 
broad bands of black and white. The tail is also black, with the exception 
of a sharply-defined white semicircular band that runs across the centre. 
The under portions of the body are pale yellowish buff, and the under tail- 
coverts are white. In their colours the two sexes are rather different from 
each other, the male being of a more ruddy hue than his mate, and having 
a cag crest. The total length of the adult Hoopoe is not quite thirteen 
inches. 
SUN-BIRDS., 
THE beautiful and glittering SUN-BIRDS evidently represent in the Old 
World the humming birds of the New. In their dimensions, colour, general 
form, and habits, they are very similar to their brilliant representatives in 
the western hemisphere, although not quite so gorgeous in plumage, nor so 
powerful and enduring of wing. They are termed Sun-birds because the 
hues with which their feathers are so lavishly embellished gleam out with 
peculiar brilliancy in the sunlight. 
These exquisite little birds feed on the juice of flowers and the minute 
insects that are found in their interior, but are not in the habit of feeding 
while on the wing, hovering over a flower and sweeping upits nectar with the 
tongue, as is the case among the humming-birds. 
The COLLARED SUN-BIRD is an inhabitant of many parts of Africa, 
stretching from the northern portions of that continent as far as the western 
coasts. It is extremely plentiful in the larger forests of the Cape and the 
interior, but there is very little information concerning its habits, saving that 
they resemble those of its relations. The nidification of this species differs 
according to the locality, for it places its nest in the interior of hollow trees 
wherein it resides in the forests, and is content with the shelter of a thick 
bough when there are no decaying trees within reach. 
The male Collared Sun-bird is a most beautiful little creature, bedecked 
with glowing tints of wonderful intensity. The general colour of the upper 
parts of the body and breast is a rich golden green, the upper surface of the 
wings and tail being blackish brown with green reflections. Across the 
breast are drawn several coloured bands, which have earned for the bird its 
popular and expressive name, as all names should be. A narrow band of 
bright steel-blue runs across the upper part of the breast, being rather wide 
in the centre and narrowing rapidly towards the sides of the neck. Below 
this blue band runs a broad belt of rich carmine, and immediately below the 
carmine is a third narrow band of bright golden yellow. From the sides of 
the breast proceed several small feathery plumes of the same golden hue. The 
remainder of the abdomen is greyish brown, and the upper tail-coverts are 
violet-purple. 
The female is rather less in dimensions than her mate, and is very sober 
in her attire, wearing a suit of uniform olive-brown, darker upon the wings 
