PURPLE INDIAN CREEPER. 
bable, such minute insects, also, as may be 
found to lurk concealed among the bloom. 
By the name Soui-Manga, which is the na- 
tive appellation at Madagascar, Buffon de- 
scribes all the foreign birds of the Old Conti- 
nent, which are related to the Creepers: as 
he does those of the New Continent, which 
bear some analogy to the Creepers, but whose 
habits and ceconomy are very different, by the 
Indian appellation Guit-Guir. " In general," 
says he, the Creepers, and Soui-Mangas, 
have- their bill proportionably longer than the 
Guit-Guits, and their plumage at least as beau- 
tiful, and even equal to that of the most bril- 
liant of the Humming-Birds. The colours are 
the softest, the richest, the most dazzling : ail 
the tints of green, of blue, of orange, of red, 
of purple; heightened by the contrast of va- 
rious shades of brown and glossy black. We 
cannot enough admire the glow of these co- 
lours, their sparkling lustre, their endless va- 
riety, even in the dried specimens which deco- 
rate our cabinets. Nature would seem to have 
formed the feathers of precious stones; of the 
ruby, of the emerald, the amethyst, and the 
topaz. 
