S. Porter—Wanderings in the Far East



323



orange ; the brightly coloured back is hardly ever seen owing to the

birds keeping to the top of the trees.


In amongst the lot of Sunbirds I purchased was a pair of the lovely

Scarlet-backed Flower-peckers (Dicaeum. cruentatum ignitum), a midget

amongst birds with a body measurement of only 1J inches, the beak

and tail adding another 2 inches. The chief feature of this bird is a

broad stripe of sealing-wax red which runs from the beak over the head

to the tail; this is set off by the rest of the body, which is glossy black.

These birds were nearly dying when I purchased them, the hen having

fits. The dealer had had a lot, but through improper feeding all had

succumbed except the two I purchased, and these, as mentioned

previously, were killed by a pair of Orange-bellied.


Two species of Bee-Eaters are common in Malaya, at least in the

part I stayed in, the Chestnut-backed ( Merops viridis) and the Blue¬

tailed (Merops superciliosus javanicus). The former bird appears to

be very common in the south of the Peninsula, while the latter is found

towards the north. The habits of both of these beautiful swallow-like

birds are the same ; all the food, which consists of flying insects, is

taken in the air. They take up a point of vantage often on the telegraph

wires or perhaps on a garden fence, and from there make periodical

excursions into the air to capture their prey. Owing to the tiny feet

(two of the toes on each foot are joined together almost to the claw)

the bird leads an entirely arboreal existence, never descending to the

ground.


How these fragile-looking birds are able to tunnel many feet into

solid earth either in a cliff or into the walls of a quarry, has always

been a mystery to me.


Sometimes flocks will hawk for insects in the evenings, high in the

sky like Swifts ; during this period they are frequently very loquacious.

A pair of the Blue-tailed were sent to me, but all efforts to keep them

failed. I used to hand-feed them, but they immediately cast up the

food, and as they seemed to be fading I released them before it was too

late. Later on tw^enty-five of these birds were sent to me as “ Fly¬

catchers ”. They arrived late at night with their wings and tails terribly

messed up with the rubber solution with which they had been caught.

I had to leave the wretched birds until morning when, after I had fed



