18 
AVES. 
Length of bill from gape, from 5 to 6 lines. 
„ of bill from front, 5 lines. . , 
„ of wings, 1 inch 11 lines. 
„ of tail, 1 inch. 
^ „ of tarsus, 5\ lines. 
5 , of middle toe, 5\ lines. 
„ of hallux, 4 lines. 
These little birds are not uncommon in liabuan, and 
have something the habits of the English Beguliis ; they 
haunt low brushwood, and continually utter a low shrill 
chirp ; they are very fearless, allowing themselves to he 
almost touched before they take to flight ; the Malay name, 
which sighifles spark-bird, is very appropriate, as wdien darting 
about among the hushes the cock-bird really looks as bright as 
a flash of fire. The nest of this species is about the shape and 
size of a goose's egg, and is suspended by the small end from 
some slender twig of a tall tree ; it is built of fine green moss 
and a sort of brown byssus, and lined with some white fibre 
and a few small feathers ; one of these nests was found on a 
tree which was felled in the jungle ; all the young birds, 
however, except one, had been killed by the fall; the sur- 
vivor was brought to Mrs. Motley, who succeeded, by great 
care, in bringing it up, feeding it at first upon rice and 
banana pulp ; as soon as it was strong enough it was placed 
in a small cage ; though very restless, never being for one 
moment still, it was perfectly tame and fearless, and would 
sit upon the finger without attempting to fly away, and 
though its wdiole body, feathers and all, might have been 
shut up in a walnut, it would peck at a finger held towards it 
wdth great fierceness : for a long time it would only take 
food from the hand, but afterwards, when food w'as given it, 
it dropped and shook its wings rapidly, as w'e see a hen 
Partridge occasionally do. At first, its beak was short, 
straight, and sharp ; but as it grew, its form gi-adually changed 
to tliat of the adult Diewums ; it also changed its diet 
altogether, refusing rice, and only occasionally taking plan- 
tain ; for some weeks it fed exclusively upon sugar and 
w^ater, w^hich it sucked up like a Hamming-bird ; it w as 
very fond of bathing in a large shell full of water placed in 
its cage. 
