30G Passeuus. BIRDS. Nectakiniuaj. 
completed by adding other fragments of the same 
materials. The hole is at one side, near the top, and 
has a slight projecting roof or awning over it.” Mr. 
Layatd describes the entrance to the nest in the same 
way as above; but Captain Tickell states that the open- 
ing is at the bottom ; so that if he is correct in his 
determination of the bird, it would seem that there 
is a remarkable diversity in the practice of difi'erent 
individuals of the same species. The female lays two 
or three eggs, of a pale greenish-grey colour, with 
minute dusky spots. 
lOTEN’S SUN-BIRD {Nectarinia Lotenia) has pre- 
cisel}'' the same habits, and builds its nest in the same 
way, as the preceding species, from which it differs in 
its larger size — the length being about five inches and 
a half — and in its much longer and more curved bill, 
which measures an inch in length. Its plumage is 
glossed with green, and the lower parts, from the breast 
backwards, are brown. 
THE BLUE-THROATED SUN-BIRD {Nectarinia zey- 
lonica) is an abundant species in Bengal, and occurs 
also in other parts of India, in Ceylon, and the Indian 
islands. It measures about four inches in length, and 
has the ])lumage of the upper parts olive, and that of 
the lower surface yellow ; the throat, the front of the 
neck, and the breast are of a brilliant violet-blue colour. 
It has a weak, shrill song, compared, by Mr. Blyth, to 
that of the British hedge-sparrow. The nest is sus- 
pended, and has the entrance at the top. Mr. Blyth 
describes a specimen in his possession as a beautiful 
fabric. It was attached, nearly throughout its length, 
to a small thorny twig, and was of an elongated pear 
shape, composed of soft vegetable fibres, very neatly 
interwoven with coarser strips of grass, leaves, and 
fragments of bark on the outside. The inner lining was 
composed of the softest fibres, which were carried over 
the lower part of the entrance so as to fasten down its 
rim, and over the entrance was a roof or canopy. The 
Hindoos of the vicinity of Calcutta take these birds 
with bird-lime, and after plucking out the wing pri- 
maries to prevent their fluttering, tie them to a stick 
and carry them about for sale. They will live for a 
short time upon sugar and water, but Mr. Blyth found 
that jam was a better food for them. 
THE ORANGE-BACKED SUN-BIRD {Dicceum trigono- 
stigrna). The preceding species, which we have referred 
to the genus Nectarinia, have been divided by many 
modern writers into several genera, of which, however, 
the soundness seems rather doubtful. The genus 
Dicceum, of which about twenty-four species are known, 
inhabiting the countries from India to Australia, is dis- 
tinguished by having the edges of the mandibles very 
slightly denticulated, small basal nostrils, and a short, 
square, or slightly-notched tail. 
The Orange-backed Suubird is a small species, mea- 
suring only about three inches in length. It is of a 
bluish-grey colour, with the belly and a triangular 
spot on the back orange-yellow. It is an inhabitant of 
Tciiasserim, Malacca, and Sumatra, and also extends 
into Boi iieo, where it is not uncommon about Labuan. 
Its habits are described as resembling those of the 
English golden-crested wren ; it haunts low brush- 
wood, continually emitting a low, shrill chirp, and is so 
fearless that it may be almost touched before it takes 
to its wings. The Malays call it the “ Spark bird,” 
and this name is said to be very appropriate, as, when 
darting about the bushes, the cock-bird looks as bright 
as a flash of fire. The nest is about the size of the egg 
of a goose, which it also resembles in shape ; it is sus- 
pended by the smaller end from the slender twig of a 
tree, and is composed of moss, lined with some white - 
fibres and a few feathers. A young bird, taken from the 
nest, was brought up by Mrs. Motley upon rice and 
banana pulp. It became perfectly tame and fearless, 
and would sit upon the finger without attempting to 
flyaway; “and though its whole body, feathers and 
all, might have been shut up in a walnut, it would peck 
at a finger held towards it with great fierceness.” 
THE CRIMSON-THROATED SUN-BIRD {Dicceum 
hirunclinaceum) is an abundant bird in Australia, 
although from its minuteness it generally escapes the 
notice of the colonists. The male has the whole upper 
surface, including the wings and tail, black, glossed 
with steel blue ; the throat and breast, and the under 
tail-coverts, are scarlet, and the abdomen is white, with 
a large black patch in the centre. The female is dull 
black above, with the throat and abdomen pale buff, 
and the under tail-coverts pale scarlet. The length of 
the bird is about four inches. This bird is found 
principally upon the she-oaks(C'«SMfl7'f7i(E), amongst the 
upper branches of which it plays about, uttering its 
pleasing song. It is especially partial to those trees 
which bear upon their branches a misseltoe-like para- 
site, of the genus Loranthus, upon the sweet and juicy 
berries of which it delights to feed, as was discovered 
by M. Jules Verreaux. It also feeds upon insects, and 
according to Mr. Gould, these constitute its principal 
nourishment. M. Verreaux indicates that it is by the 
agency of this bird that the parasite above referred to 
is transferred from one tree to another. The nest is a 
beautiful little purse-like structure, with an opening on 
one side ; it is suspended from the twig of a tree, and 
composed of cotton-like fibres, obtained from the seed 
vessels of plants. The eggs are three or four in num- 
ber and dull white, with numerous brown spots scat- 
tered over their surfaee, 
THE SCARLET CLOAK-BIRD {Drepanis coccinea) 
belongs to a small genus with a greatly curved bill, 
of which five species have been discovered in the 
islands of the South Sea Archipelago. The present 
species is about six inches long, and has the Avhole 
plumage of a brilliant scarlet colour, with the exception 
of the quills of the wings and tail, which are black. 
This bird is abundant in the Sandwich Islands, where 
its splendid scarlet feathers are employed in the fabrica- 
tion of cloaks and other articles of dress, intended 
especially for the use of the chiefs. Many specimens 
of this manufacture are exhibited in the ethnological 
collection of the British Museum. 
THE BRILLIANT HALF-BILL {Hemignatlms lucidus) 
is another species very nearly allied to the preceding, 
and, like it, an inhabitant of the Sandwich Islands. It 
is remarkable for the singular structure of its bill, which 
is very long and much arched. In fact the bill does 
not project in the ordinary manner from the forehead, 
but rises from its base, so that the summit of the arch 
