HONEY-EATERS. 
71 
of the Plata ministers^ with whom he was well acquaint- 
ed^ had a humming-bird so completely trained to obey her^ 
that she carried it about in her bosom when she visited 
her friends; she would then let it fly about the room^ and 
even into the garden. Sir Woodbine has seen this bird 
flying in his own garden^ and disporting itself from flower 
to flower till recalled by the well-known voice of its mis- 
tress^ to be returned to its resting-place and carried home 
againT^^ It would be not over fanciful to hope, that we 
may yet live to see some of these winged gems/^ fluttering 
about the gorgeous flowers which bloom and flourish so freely 
in the conservatories of our gentry, and in those paradisiacal 
botanical gardens at Kew and elsewhere, now^ so open to the 
pubhc and so appreciated by them. 
Australia is the home of a very extensive family of pretty 
birds called Honey-eaters (Meliphagid J5) . They are found 
on the numerous flowering shrubs and trees, to w^hich they 
resort for supplies of food. Although the sweet juices which 
are found in flowers form a part of their sustenance, yet in- 
sects seem to be the chief object of their search. They are 
all birds of great animation and of infinite restlessness, and 
many of them are famed in Australia for the melody of their 
song. The bill is sharp and pointed, and the nostrils, which 
