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Dr. E. Hopkinson—Sunbirds



nest in April or May, and they are a wonderful pair having hatched and

reared 28 youngsters altogether. I only wish all my other pairs had

been as prolific. It is this old cock that has been such a wonderful

foster-parent too, having reared two or three young ones that had been

prematurely deserted.


In conclusion there is a very true saying I should like to repeat :

“ Diligent observation is more useful than written theories.” So

diligently watch your birds and endeavour to find out what they want.



SUNBIRDS


By Dr. E. Hopkinson, C.M.G., D.S.O.


Sunbirds are now being almost commonly kept as cage-birds, not

only in big collections but by people who want a single pet bird which

is easy to cater for and to keep in perfect health and happiness. For

this reason and for their beauty Sunbirds provide exactly what is

wanted, and this has suggested that some indication of their status

as cage-birds may be helpful to those interested.


This essay in this direction takes the form of a list of those species

of which the writer has records of their having been kept, documented

by references to coloured plates and notes of avicultural interest.

No descriptions of plumage nor accounts of the wild life are included,

for as regards the first, written descriptions to most of us mean but

little, while a plate is the next best thing to a series of skins as an aid

to the identification of a new bird ; as regards the habits, etc., of the

birds, they must be searched for in the works of the authorities, and

the references given will, it is hoped, be a help towards this.


The plates referenced are mostly from Shelley’s Monograph of

the N ectariniidce which appeared in 1876-1880 (abbreviated here

as “ Shelley, Mon.”), and from Jardine’s “ Sunbirds,” Naturalist’s

Library , Edinburgh, 1843, the plates in which, though old-fashioned,

are quite good of their kind (Nat. Libr., xvi).



