126 



BIRD GALLERY. 



Family XXV. Dic^eid^. Flower-peckers. 



[Case 77.] These small birds are allied to the Sun-birds^ but distinguished by 

 having a much shorter bill which is serrated along the edges of both 

 mandibles. 



They range from India and the Indo-Malayan countries, through New 

 Guinea to Australia, and a few representatives are found on the West 

 Coast of Africa. The plumage is generally brilliant in the males, plainer 

 in the females. In their habits and choice of food they resemble the 

 Suh-birds. The species of Diceeum build beautiful purse-shaped nests 

 suspended from a slender branch. They are either made entirely 

 from the cotton-like substance which fills the seed vessels of many 

 '\ plants (2288), or have an outer coating of moss and lichen (2289-90). 

 The more Tit -like Australian species of Pardalotus (2292), which have 

 a stouter bill, breed in holes in trees, walls, or banks, and construct a 

 round nest of roots, grass and feathers. 



Family XXVI. Nectariniidjb. Sun-bieds. 



[Case 77.] In their brilliant metallic plumage and outward appearance the 

 Sun-birds bear a strong superficial resemblance to the TrocMlidm, and 

 are often mistaken for them. A notable case is that of Cinnyris osea 

 (2305), a species inhabiting Palestine, and known to the English 

 residents as the " Jericho Humming-Bird." The numerous species are 

 confined to the Old World and range from Africa and Southern Asia to 

 New Guinea and Australia. The bill is long, curved and slender, finely 

 serrated at the extremity ; the tongue, extensile and tubular like that 

 of the Woodpeckers and Humming-Birds, and the sexes are generally 

 very different from one another in coloration, except in Arachnothera 

 (2307). Sun-birds resemble the Tits and White-eyes in their habits, 

 generally hunting for insects among the trees and bushes in pairs or 

 small bands. With their long tongue they extract the nectar from 

 flowers while clinging to the stems, for they are unable to poise them- 

 selves in the air after the manner of Humming-Birds. The elaborate 

 nest is either hung from the end of a branchj as in the case of JEtho- 

 pyga magnifica (2309), or attached to the underside of a leaf, as in 

 Eudrepanis pulcherrima (2310). The eggs are two in number and 

 invariably spotted. 



The nest of the Spider-hunter {Arachnothera rohusta) (2307) sewn to 

 the under side of a broad leaf displays a different type of structure. 



Family XXVII. Drepanidid.^. Hawaiian Honey-Suckers. 



[Case 77.] This small but interesting family includes a number of curious forms 

 peculiar to the hill forests of the Sandwich Islands. Some, such as the 



