23G The Amcihyst Smihirfl in Its oiim Country. 
times he will hover in front of the flower like a Humming 
Bird, and sometimes lie will perch on the calix, and delib- 
erately bore a hole at the base of the corolla to get at some 
insect or some sweet nectar, which he could not reach the 
other way. 
In the ordinary course of events the eggs would hatch 
in nine or ten days^ and the young birds would leave the 
nest in about a fortnight, but other eyes, besides mine have 
been watching our busy little workers. In the topmost fork 
of a tall mango tree, not 50 yards from the nest of our little 
friends is the nesting place of the Common Indian Magpie* 
{Bendrocitta rufa). He is the sworn foe of all small birds 
in India, and he is very fond of eggs, and never loses a 
chance of eating any he can get hold of. As soon as he 
is satisfied that the Sunbirds' nest contains eggs he pays it 
a visit, and making his way cautiously to the end of the twig 
to which it is fastened, he tears out the front of the beau- 
tiful little structure, sticks his bill into an Ggg, places one 
foot upon it and eats the contents and then swallows the shell. 
The same fate follows the second egg, and the robber goes 
on his way to find other nests and other eggs. 
The little Sunbirds did not waste any time in repining, 
but built another nest close to the main road, which was. 
destroyed by a pair of Bulbuls who had selected the same 
tree to build their own nest in. Still undaunted, and real- 
ising that the nearer they got to human habitations, the safer 
they were from feathered foes, they built a third nest in the 
idlentical thorn tree near my bedroom window, where I first 
made tlieir acquaintance, and there laid two more eggs, rather 
smaller than the first two, and successfully introduced two 
pretty little sober coloured Sunbirds to the other inhabitants 
of the garden. AVhether these fell victims to the riative bird 
catchers and their limed twigs I cannot say, but dozens of 
these sweet little birds are caught in this way and find their 
way to the Calcutta market. As far as I could ascertain, 
the only nutriment these poor little captives get is sugar 
and water and a little milk, and the native bird fanciers think 
themselves very clever if they can get one to live even for 
a few weeks in captivity. I am afraid my little yarn, which 
* Wandering Tree-Pie. — Ed, 
