S. Porter—Wanderings in the Far East



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only be described as the colour of a glowing fire seen through amethyst-

coloured glass. The lower breast and under parts are intense blood red.

After a few months in captivity the bird is almost unrecognizable.

The female is a very drab little creature, dull olive above and yellowish

olive below.


This species is not common except in certain restricted localities,

and its habitat is the mangrove swamps bordering the coastal regions.

One day I purchased in Singapore a cage containing eight of these

lovely creatures, and when I first had them I used to spend hours

watching them and admiring their unsurpassable beauty. I rather think

that the Van Hasselt’s Sunbirds which I had in captivity used to

attract others, for sometimes a flock passing high up over the clearing

looking like tiny black bees, but distinguishable by their call note,

would be answered by the captive birds, and then the small flock would

come down and search about the flowers, carrying on meanwhile a

spirited conversation with the birds in the cage.


Altogether I had over a hundred Sunbirds of one species or another ;

what did I want with a hundred ? the reader will perhaps ask. Well,

first of all there were the eight Van Hasselt’s—-who could have resisted

buying such radiant little gems, and what would have happened to them

if I had not purchased them ? They would perhaps have lasted a few

days more on their sugar-and-water diet, and then . . . the garbage bin.

Then there was another bird of the same species, a poor sticky derelict

at a dollar and a half, but what was that if it meant saving his life ?

He slowly got worse, an abscess formed over his eye, which temporarily

went blind, the swelling was the size of a pea, which was huge for a mite

only a few inches long ; it seemed a hopeless case, but I did my best

with him, and lo ! and behold a miracle happened. He recovered and

grew so tame that he would let me pick him up. He was intelligent

as well, and I became very fond of him and I had him until quite recently,

but his colours were very much faded and he was a poor little ghost of

his former self. Well that only accounts for nine birds. I asked a dealer

in Singapore to get me a few others, and left strict instructions how they

were to be fed, and even bought the food, but when I called later I

found that there were over ninety birds . . . what could I do ? If I left

them they would all die on their sugar-and-water diet, for my



