The Sun-birds correspond in the Old World to the Humming-birds in the New, having, like the latter, a metallic plumage, varied in its hues and wondrous in its beauty; but they are not entirely dependent upon this lustre for their charm, for much of their splendour is gained from the non-metallic portion of the plumage, which is often vividly coloured. The females are dull-coloured, whilst the males lose their beauty in the winter season. These birds are inhabitants of the tropical regions of Africa, India, and Australia, and seem to revel in the burning rays of the noonday sun.
Nearly allied to the Sun-birds are the Flower-peckers of the Indian and Australian regions. These are all small birds, remarkable as much for the beauty of their nests as for the splendour of their plumage. The nests are purse-like structures, made of white cotton-like material, and suspended from a branch instead of, as usual, resting on it. One of the most beautiful birds of the whole group, which includes numerous species, is the Australian Diamond-bird. Of a general ashy-grey colour, this species is splashed all over with spots of red, yellow, orange, and black, whilst the tail-coverts are rich dark red.
Photo by W. F. Piggott] [Leighton Buzzard
RED-BACKED SHRIKES.
Also called Butcher-birds, from their habit of killing small birds and mammals and hanging them up on thorns.
CHAPTER XVII.
SHRIKES, THRUSHES AND THEIR ALLIES, SWALLOWS, LYRE-BIRDS, CHATTERERS, BROAD-BILLS, ETC.
The Shrike Family are an exceedingly interesting group of birds, of world-wide distribution and of great diversity of appearance, varying in size from a bird as small as a titmouse to one as large as a thrush, and presenting a considerable range of coloration, some being very brightly, others dull coloured. From the hooked beak, and the presence of a notch in the tip of the upper jaw, they were considered by the older naturalists to be allies of the Birds of Prey, a decision still further supported by their hawk-like habit of capturing living prey in the shape of small birds and mice; whilst the remarkable custom of impaling their victims, still living, on thorns has earned for them the popular name of Butcher-birds. The limits of the family, owing to the diversity of the forms involved, have not as yet been finally determined by naturalists, some having included species which others hold have no place there.