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The Hon . Anthony Chaplin—Sunbirds and Others



Of the two dozen species of Nectariniidse that I have possessed,

I think the Shining Sunbird ( C . habessinicus) has proved the hardiest.

This is interesting because the species inhabits the torrid Red Sea

littoral, and is represented by a subspecies on the Arabian side.

I let this bird out on a warm, sunny morning in February ; it was

alarmed by a Pigeon flying over low, and darted off into a wood.

I subsequently heard it calling in an orchard over a quarter of a mile

distant. This product of the tropics was away all the afternoon without

food, and the thermometer must have fallen to round freezing point.

When my wife and I had given up all hope of ever seeing our little

friend again, he suddenly appeared and hovered about the lattice

window of the drawing-room, whence he had originally set out. I may

add that he was none the worse for his adventure, but I am afraid

I have since lost him, as I tried the experiment again and this time

he may have got lost for he has not been seen since.


The tiny Cinnyrus bifasciatus microrhynchus from the Zambezi

Valley is also quite indifferent to cold. I had one in Scotland in the

late autumn and early winter of 1929, which I was obliged to keep

in a room facing north and east. The little bird used to sing happily

with the thermometer at 40° F. But if Sunbirds are to be acclimatized

in this way it stands to reason that their food must be made as

nourishing as possible, so that once again I am compelled to disagree

with Mr. Martin. Moreover, I have never seen any signs of over fatness

in Sunbirds : they seem, on the contrary, to use up all their heat in

constant activity, so that no superfluous energy is left over for fat

production. Again, I have never found a Sunbird to suffer from foot

trouble of any kind (except perhaps the rather harmless, if unsightly,

thickening of the scales on the tarsi, produced by age), and as far as

I can see there is no reason on earth why a Sunbird should ever lose

a claw, unless it is kept in such a way that its perches become encrusted

with its droppings.


Three perches of different girth are ideal: one half-way up the

cage at each end to allow room for the bird to hover above them,

and the third near the ground in the middle, with the food and water

within reach at each end on the ground. With this arrangement the

perches never get dirty ; nor, may I add, do the birds. Horlick’s,



