The Flame- breas led Flower-peckers. 
241 
^'eating Tatiagers: good insectivorous mixture; sponge-cake 
■" scalded with milk; fruit — banana, guava, papaw — ad. libihan ; 
"and small insects." 
The Flame - breasted Flower - pecker (Dic(zuvi ignicolle), 
is the third species of this genus to reach English shores alive 
and was imported by Mr. W. Frost, among the birds he col- 
lected in tlie Aru Islands for Sir W. Ingrain, and has been for 
some months on deposit at the Zoo. There on many occasions I 
have been fascinated with this wee mite; his fearless demeanour, 
■quaint Tit-like deportment, never-satisfied appetite, and the 
appearance of being most comfortable when wrong side up is 
most engaging. He frequently jerks up his tail perpendicularly in 
Wren-like fashion. He is now fast coming into full plumage and 
gives promi.se of great beauty, though not yet in all the glor\' of 
full adult plumage. It is quite a feature of his movements, the 
frequency with which he flies to the top of his cage to take brief 
rests, hanging head downwards, but his voracious appetite only 
permits of sliort rests — the keeper tells me he thinks going a very 
brief time without his banana would kill it. His diet at the Zoo 
■consists of one mealworm per day ; ox l)iscuit meal, sugar, con- 
-densed milk and a little water ; he also told me that it visited the 
banana practically every five minutes. He is apparently very fit 
and doing well, and lie is most certainly a beautiful, engaging, 
and interesting little fellow — all visitors to the Zoo should 
certainly pay him a visit — he is located in the "Small Bird 
House." With Mr. Goodchild's fine painting before us, description 
seems almost superfluous, nevertheless, as some few associates do 
tiot get coloured plates, it will be best to give a detailed description. 
Adult male : Upper .surface dark purplish blue, this is also the colour 
of the wing coverts; quills l)lack with the exterukl webs purplish-blue; 
tail feathers blackish-bhie ; lores, .sides of face, ear coverts and cheeks 
purplish-blue; throat, fore neck and chest bright scarlet; reniaincier of 
lUKler surface pale buff, washed with yellowish on the flanks and down the 
centre of the breast a broad purplish-blue streak ; under tail coverts scarlet. 
Total length 3^ inches, tail \\. 
Adult female: Differs froni the male in lacking the scarlet thioat, 
purplish-blue breast patch and upper surface; the upper surface is dusky 
olive, with purplish reflections on the back and mantle ; the purplish 
featliers of the rump iiiid upper tail coverts edged with red ; breast and 
abdomen light olive, darker on the sides and Hank s ; under tail coverts i)ale 
scarlet. Total length 3^ inciies, tail barel) one inch, ilabitat .-\ru Island. 
