PROMEROPTM. 



nectar and the minute insects that feed on it. The nest is placed in thickets, of a hemispherical form, and is composed 

 of moss and lichen, lined with wool. 



P. cafer (Linn.) Strickl. PI. enl. 637-, Levaill. Ois. d'Afr. t. 287. 288 Upupa promerops Linn. Vieill. Ois. dor. t. 4. 



Nectarinia ///.* 



Bill more or less long, curved, and acute ; the base broad and rather depressed, with the culmen 

 rounded and keeled between the nostrils; the gonys lengthened and curved, and the lateral margins 

 finely serrated : the nostrils basal, lateral, and placed in a short broad groove, with the opening 

 concealed by a membranous scale. Wings moderate and rounded, with the third and fourth quills, 

 or the fourth only, the longest. Tail moderate, broad, and slightly rounded, with the two middle 

 feathers lengthened and narrowed. Tarsi as long as the middle toe, and covered in front with very broad 

 scales. Toes moderate; the outer toe rather longer than the inner; the hind toe long and strong; 

 the claws moderate, compressed, and curved. 



These showy birds are found throughout the continent of Africa as well as in India and its archipelago. It is on 

 the upper smaller branches of trees and bushes, that they are seen in pairs or in small parties hopping about with a 

 quick motion and at the same time continually moving their wings in a tremulous manner, while searchino- the 

 flowers to obtain the nectar and the minute insects which are found in them. They are occasionally observed hovering 

 on the wing before flowers, while engaged in the same occupation. Spiders also form a portion of their subsistence ; 

 these the bird drags from their hiding-places and from their webs, while fluttering in the air, and it will also 

 occasionally snap at an insect while it is flying. The notes seem to vary with the species ; but they are usually weak, 

 though pleasing. The nest is usually suspended, and of a hemispherical form, having generally an opening on one side 

 nearer the bottom than the top, with a small roof over it. It is composed of dry fibres mixed with moss and down 

 within. The exterior portion of the nest is sometimes kept together by means of a thick spider's web, which the 

 bird uses in the first instance as a framework to attach the various materials on. The eggs are generally two in 

 number. 



1. N. afra (Linn.) Edw. Birds, pi. 347. — Cinnyris smaragdinis 

 Vieill. Levaill. Ois. d'Afr. t. 300. ; Certhia erythrogastra Shaw, 

 Nat. Misc. pi. 837., Vieill. Ois. dor. t. 10. ; Cinnyris pectoralis Vieill. 

 Jard. Sun-Birds, pi. 2. (Nat. Libr.). 



2. N. chalybea (Linn.) PI. enl. 246. f. 2., Swains. 111. Zool. pi. 

 95., Shaw, Nat. Misc. pi. 381., Vieill. Ois. dor. t. 80., Jard. Sun- 

 Birds, pi. 1. — Certhia capensis Linn. ? Vieill. Ois. dor. t. 14. ? 



3. N. chloropygia Jard. Ann. of Nat. Hist. x. p. 188., 111. of Orn. 

 n. s. pi. 50., Sun-Birds, pi. 3. 



4. N. bifasciata (Shaw), Gen. Zool. viii. p. 198., Vieill. Ois. dor. 

 t. 24. — ■ Cinnyris nitens Vieill. Jard. Sun-Birds, pi. 4. 



5. N. superba (Vieill.) Ois. dor. t. 22. 



6. N. splendida (Shaw), Gen. Zool. viii. p. 1J)1. pi. 26., Levaill. 

 Ois. d'Afr. t. 295. f. 1 . — Cinnyris lucidus Less. Vieill. Ois. dor. 

 t. 82. ; Cinnyris bombycinus Vieill. Jard. Sun-Birds, pi. 5. 



7. N. collaris (Vieill.) N. Diet. d'Hist. Nat. xxxi. p. 502., Le- 

 vaill. Ois. d'Afr. t. 299., Jard. Sun-Birds, pi. 6. 



8. N. ptisilla (Vieill.) Levaill. Ois. d'Afr. t. 298. 



9- N. venusta (Shaw), Nat. Misc. pi. 369., Vieill. Ois. dor. t. 79- 

 — Cinnyris pusilla Swains. Jard. Sun-Birds, pi. 7. ; Nectarinia par- 

 vula Jard. 



10. N.fusca (Vieill.) Levaill. Ois. d'Afr. t. 296. 



11. N. Verroxii (Smith) S. Afr. Quart. Journ. v. p. 13., 111. 

 Zool. S. Afr. Birds, pi. 57., Jard. Sun-Birds, pi. 9. 



12. N. obscura Jard. 111. Orn. n. s. pi. 51. 



13. N. olivacea (Smith), 111. Zool. S. Afr. p. 



14. N. cuprea (Shaw), Gen. Zool. viii. p. 201., Vieill. Ois. dor. 

 t. 23. — Cinnyris tricolor Vieill. ; C. erythronotus Swains. B. ofW. 

 Afr. ii. pi. 15. ; Certhia rubrofusca Shaiv ? Vieill. Ois. dor. t. 27. ? ; 

 Cinnyris nibarus Vieill. ? 



15. N. cyanoeephala (Shaw), Gen. Zool. viii. p. 203. ; Vieill. Ois. 

 dor. t. 7- 25. — Cinnyris ehloronotus Swains. B. of W. Afr. pi. 1 6., 

 Jard. Sun-Birds, pi. 10. 



16. N. senegalensis (Linn.) Briss. Orn. iii. t. 34. f. 2. — Cinny- 

 ris discolor Vieill. Vieill. Ois. dor. t. 8, Q., Levaill. Ois. d'Afr. t. 295. 

 f. 2., Kittl. Kupf. t. 28. f. 2. 



Illiger established this genus in 1811. It embraces Anihreptes of Mr. Swainson (1831). 



