Fig. 209.—Furnarius (Furnarius, Lesson).
The Furnarius (Furnarius figulus, Spix.) live singly or in pairs in the plains of Chili, Brazil, and Guiana. They feed principally on seeds, but also on insects. They take up their residence with much confidence in the neighbourhood of man. Their nests ([Fig. 209]) are remarkable for their construction, being in the form of an oven, whence their name. This structure it builds upon trees, on palisades, or on the window of a house. It is remarkable for its size as compared with its inhabitant, measuring not less than from twelve to fourteen inches in diameter; it is entirely formed of clay, and the interior is divided by a partition into two compartments, the outer and inner, the latter being that in which the female lays her eggs. The male and female alternately bring small balls of earth, out of which the edifice is constructed, and they labour so industriously that it is sometimes finished in two days. Some species construct their nests on trees, interlacing them with spiny branches, and providing one or many openings; that of the Annumbi is fifteen inches in diameter by twenty inches in height.
The Sucriers (Cinnyridæ) are American birds, so called from their attachment to saccharine substances. They feed on honey they extract from flowers, and the sap from the sugar-cane, the juice of which they suck through crevices in the stem. Like the Humming-birds, they have the tongue divided into two parts, by which they are enabled to seize insects, which form a part of their food. They are small in size, and their plumage is brilliantly coloured. Among the Cinnyridæ we find the Guits-guits, ingenious little creatures which construct a nest in the form of a horn, which is suspended from the flexible branches of a shrub: in order to protect their young from the attacks of earwigs, the opening is below.
Fig. 210.—Sun-birds (Certhia chalybeia, Linn.).
The Soui-mangas ([Fig. 210]) have the same partiality for sugar exhibited by the last, justifying their name, which signifies "sugar-eater" in the Malagash tongue. They are natives of Southern Africa and India, and represent in the Old World the Humming-birds of the New. They are gay and sprightly, and decked in the most brilliant colours. Like the other Cinnyridæ, they love to plunge their tongue into the corolla of flowers and extract its sweets. Their most brilliant colours are displayed in the breeding season.
Fig. 211.—Common Nuthatch (Sitta europæa, Gould).
The Nuthatches (Sitta), [Fig. 211], have the beak straight, pyramidal, and pointed, covered at the base with small feathers directed forward; the long toes are furnished with claws strong and crooked; their habitat resembles that of the Creepers. The Nuthatch is found in Oceania.