446 
PERCHING BIRDS. 
plumage a shining malachite-green with the tufts of the breast brilliant yellow; 
the two central tail-feathers are prolonged three inches beyond the rest; and the 
wings and tail are blackish. The female is dull brown above, tinged with green, 
and beneath is greenish yellow. 
Metallic Sun- The sun-bird (N. metallica), represented in our illustration on 
Bird - p. 445, inhabits Equatorial Africa, living in pairs wherever the 
mimosa is abundant. During the heat of the day its actions become most animated; 
and at noon, when all the other birds seek rest and shelter from the parching heat, 
this sun-bird flies from blossom to blossom, accompanied by its faithful little mate. 
Standing beneath a mimosa tree in full flower, an observer may hear its quick 
whirring flight as it alights upon the branches of the thorn-bushes, and begins to 
probe the blossoms in search of honey and the insects which enter the interior of 
the flowers in search of sweets. It feeds also upon flies and other winged insects 
which it takes in flight; and as soon as a male has exhausted the contents of 
the blossoms of one tree, he darts off to another, always followed by his mate. 
The male bird is much devoted to his companion, whom he frequently entertains 
with a lively song; and he is jealous of any intruder, darting angrily against any 
stray male that may happen to invade his territory, and promptly expelling him 
from the neighbourhood. The nest is suspended in the centre of some mimosa- 
tree, and is built of the down of plants and cobwebs; the eggs being reddish white 
in. ground-colour, variegated with dark grey and violet. The adult male is 
brilliant green above, with the addition of a violet gorget; the wings and tail 
being bluish black, and the under-parts bright yellow. The female is olive-brown 
above, and sulphur-yellow beneath. 
The Indian genera of the family are five in number, four of which are included 
in one subfamily and the fifth in another. 
The Honey-Peckers. 
Family DiC/EiniE. 
If we exclude from this family the white-eyes, the birds to which the above 
name is applied comprise a group of small and mostly gaily-coloured species, 
distributed over the whole of the Oriental and a part of the Australian region, and 
nearly allied to the sun-birds, from which they may be distinguished by the beak 
being short and triangular, instead of long, slender, and cylindrical. Moreover, 
while all the sun-birds have ten primary quills to the wing, in the honey-peckers 
the number of these feathers may be either ten or nine; in all cases the tail is 
short, and the metatarsus is never elongated. In the majority of the species the 
two sexes differ markedly in plumage, although in a few they are alike; and in 
all instances the young resemble the females. None of them migrate, not even 
locally; while all are remarkable for the beauty of their nests, which are frequently 
suspended from branches, and pear-like in form. In India the family is repre¬ 
sented by four genera, of which three, and among them the typical Dicceum, have 
nine primaries, while in the other three a small tenth primary is retained. A 
well-known representative of the typical genus is the scarlet-backed flower-pecker 
