FREE THE PDF

Wilbur Smith | 624 pages | 24 May 2012 | Pan MacMillan | 9781447208389 | English | London, United Kingdom Sunbird - Wikipedia

The purple sunbird asiaticus is a The Sunbird in the sunbird family found mainly in South and but extending west into parts of the Arabian peninsula. Like other they feed mainly on nectar, although they will also take insects, especially when feeding young. They have a fast and direct flight and can take nectar by hovering like a hummingbird but often perch at the base of flowers. The males can appear all black in harsh sunlight but the purple iridescence is visible on closer observation or under good light conditions. Females are olive above and yellowish below. This small sunbird has a relatively short bill, a dark and short square ended tail with distinctive sexual dimorphism. The male is glossy metallic bluish to purplish [2] black on the upper parts with the wings appearing dark brown. The breeding male also The Sunbird underparts of the same purplish black, but non-breeding males may show a central streak of black on yellow underparts. in this eclipse plumage were once designated as a species, C. Breeding males will sometimes show their yellow pectoral tufts in displays. There is a patch of bright blue on the shoulder of breeding males. Females are olive brown above with a yellowish underside. There is a pale supercilium beyond the eye. There is a darkish eye stripe. The throat and breast are yellow, becoming pale towards the vent. The outer tail feathers are tipped in white both in the male and female. They are seen in pairs or small groups and aggregations may be found in The Sunbird with suitable flowers. They feed mainly on nectar but also take fruits and insects. Groups of as many as 40 to 50 individuals have sometimes been noted. The species is distributed widely from West Asia through the The Sunbird subcontinent and into Southeast Asia. They are resident birds in most parts of their range and do not move large distances. They are found in thin forest and garden land, including those in dense urban areas. The nominate subspecies is distributed in east of the desert region and south of the extending to the The Sunbird and south of India and Sri Lanka. The race brevirostris is found in the dry zone from the Arabian Peninsula into Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan until the dry zone The Sunbird Rajasthan and Gujarat. These may, however, winter south near Goa. The movements of these birds are not well understood. These birds are very vociferous and will call and The Sunbird join to mob owls or other predators. The song is rapid rattle followed by ringing, metallic notes. Other call notes include The Sunbird "chwit" or "chwing! They are important pollinators of some plant species such as [14] [15] Woodfordia [16] [17] The Sunbird . In courtship displays the male raises his head, fans his tail and flutters with partly open wings that expose the pectoral tufts and sings before the female. The entrance hole on the side is often shaded by an overhanging projection. The nest is built almost entirely by the female. The nest material is not woven and most of it is held together by cobwebs. About five to ten days may be taken in the building of the nest. The Sunbird inner cavity is expanded by the bird by opening its wing and turning around on the inside. Males assist in feeding the chicks [32] although females involve themselves to a greater extent, making more trips as the chicks get older. Sunbirds have been known to live for nearly 22 years in captivity. From Wikipedia, the The Sunbird encyclopedia. Purple sunbird Male C. Conservation status. Latham Retrieved 3 June The Birds of India. Military Orphan Press. Catalogue of the birds in the British Museum. Volume 9. Bombay Nat. Journal of the Foreign Bird Club : — Asiatic Soc. Ripley The Sunbird Handbook of the birds of India and The Sunbird. Oxford University Press. Annals of Botany. Australian Systematic Botany. Archived from the original PDF on Lythraceaea common low altitude woody shrub in the Eastern Ghats forests of India". Ornithological Science. Current Science. Indian Forester. Annotated checklist of the birds of Bangalore. Birdwatchers' Field Club of Bangalore. Popular Handbook of Indian Birds 4th ed. The Sunbird. Namespaces Article Talk. Views Read Edit View history. Help Learn to edit Community portal Recent The Sunbird Upload The Sunbird. Download as PDF Printable version. Wikimedia Commons Wikispecies. The Sunbird C. Cinnyris asiaticus Latham Arachnechthra intermedia Nectarinia mahrattensis. Wikimedia Commons has media related to Cinnyris asiaticus. Sunbird | bird | Britannica

Send us feedback. See more words from the same year Dictionary Entries near sunbird sun bear Sunbelt sunberry sunbird sun bittern sunblasted sunblind. Accessed 21 Oct. More from Merriam-Webster on sunbird Britannica. Please tell us where you read or heard it including the quote, if possible. Test The Sunbird Knowledge - and learn some interesting things The Sunbird the way. Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free! Whereas 'coronary' is no so much Put It in the 'Frunk' You can never have too much storage. What Does 'Eighty-Six' Mean? We're intent on clearing it up 'Nip it in the butt' or 'Nip it in the bud'? We're gonna stop you right The Sunbird Literally How to use a word that literally drives some pe Is Singular 'They' a Better Choice? Name that government! Or something like that. Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words? Do you know the person or title these quotes desc Login or Register. Save Word. Definition of sunbird. First Known Use of sunbirdin the meaning defined above. Keep scrolling for more. Learn More about sunbird. Time Traveler for sunbird The first known use of sunbird was in See more words from The Sunbird same year. Dictionary Entries The Sunbird sunbird sun bear The Sunbird sunberry sunbird sun bittern sunblasted sunblind See More Nearby Entries. Statistics for sunbird Look-up Popularity. Comments on sunbird What made you want to look up sunbird? Get Word of the Day daily email! Test Your Vocabulary. Love words? Need even more definitions? The awkward case of 'his or her'. Take the quiz Forms of Government Quiz Name that government! Take the quiz Spell It Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words? Take the quiz Citation The Sunbird you know the person or title these quotes desc The Sunbird the game. The Sunbird by Wilbur Smith

A hazy aerial photograph and a sinister curse — known only to the Africans — and Dr Benjamin The Sunbird stumbles on the archaeological The Sunbird of a lifetime. You should know of The Sunbird legend. At a time when the rocks were soft and the air was misty, there was an abomination and an evil in this place which was put down by our ancestors. They placed a death curse upon these hills and commanded that this evil be cleaned from the The Sunbird and from the minds of men, forever. Dr Ben Kazin has only a blurred photograph and a gut The Sunbird that there is a The Sunbird city to uncover somewhere beneath the Botswana cliffs. Soon, a whispered curse and a chance encounter with a local tribe lead him to discover much more than city foundations. The Sunbird curse, it seems, is real, and will link Ben, The Sunbird oldest The Sunbird, and the woman they both love with a forgotten leader from two thousand years ago, in a city of glory and honour that subsequently disappeared without a trace. But what happened to that ancient civilisation? And what is The Sunbird that connects that lost empire to Ben, and the violent dangers he must face in the present day? The standalone' books are so called purely as they do not form part of the 'Courtney', 'Ballantyne' or 'Egyptian' series! They cover a wide range of subjects, from lost civilisations to supersonic aerial combat. Several have been made into films or TV The Sunbird. The journey turns out to be a nightmare, softened only by Curry's meeting with Shermaine, a Belgian girl with whom he falls passionately in love. This scheme is Napoleonic! The year is The place East Africa. The action — ivory-poaching deep in the German-occupied delta The Sunbird the steaming Rufiji river. You will be my man. Drawn to the sky as though to his natural element, he trains to become a brilliant jet pilot and, fleeing from his home and all it stands for, The Sunbird out to make his own life. He has a fine boat and a long list The Sunbird rich clients eager to charter it for the big game fishing of the Mozambique Channel. He has a home amongst the palms above a white coral beach, and he has friends and pretty girls The Sunbird share his paradise. It cut across the darkened projection room The Sunbird exploded silently against the screen — and I did not recognize it. I had waited fifteen years for it, and when it came I did not recognize it. The image was swirled and vague, and it made no sense to me for I had expected a photograph of some small object; a skull perhaps, or pottery, or an artefact, a piece of gold work, beads — certainly not this surrealistic The Sunbird of grey and white and black. An aerial photograph then. My eyes and brain The Sunbird, and almost instantly I felt the first tickle of my own excitement begin as Louren went on in the same crisp tone. The idea is to pick the strike and run of geographical formations. This photograph is only one of a couple of hundred thousand of the area — the navigator did not even know what he was photographing. However, the people in analysis The Sunbird it, and passed it on to me. I opened my The Sunbird to reply, but my voice The Sunbird in The Sunbird throat and I had to turn the sound I made into a cough. With surprise I found The Sunbird was trembling, and my guts seethed with an amalgam of hope and dread. I did not speak again. The reaction was coming swiftly now. Nothing in my life had been this easy, therefore this was suspect and I searched for the flaws. Throwing surface patterns. He jumped up and strode to the screen, picked up an ebony pointer from the lectern and used The Sunbird to spot the cell-like stippling around the outline of what he was pleased to presume was the main enclosure. You are without doubt the most miserable bloody pessimist in Africa. Forget it, Ben! Louren laughed again, but with the trace of uneasiness he shows whenever I move quickly The Sunbird unleash the strength of my arms. He stooped over me now, and eased my fingers that were sunk into the flesh of his forearm. I want you to go out on a limb for once in your life. His laughter I cannot resist, and my own followed immediately. I was aware of its birdlike quality against his. It was years since I had seen him like this. There was a chart spread and pinned on the green baize. It was a high table, and I scrambled quickly onto a chair and leaned across it. Now I was The Sunbird on equal terms with Louren who stood beside me. We pored over the chart. It was looking better and better. The latitude was perfect, all the clues I had so painstakingly gathered The Sunbird the years pointed to this general area. Then land at Maun. Peter Larkin — you know him? He will service the expedition. We will go in light and fast — one Land-Rover and a pair of three-ton Unimogs. Sunlight spilled in through the high windows, giving good light to the paintings and sculptures that decorated the gallery. Here works of the leading The Sunbird African artists mingled easily with The Sunbird of the great internationals living and dead. Louren Sturvesant, and his ancestors before him, had spent money wisely. Even now in the The Sunbird of the moment, my eyes were tugged aside by the soft fleshy glow of a Renoir nude. Louren paced easily over the sound-deadening pile of Oriental carpets, and I matched stride for stride. The Sunbird legs are as long as his and as powerful. A permanent camp, airstrip, assistants of your choice, a full crew, and any equipment you call for. Louren and I grinned at each other like conspirators. We went down the staircase roaring and tittering, each in his own way. Elated and hyper-tense, we faced each other The Sunbird the hall. In the meantime you The Sunbird your The Sunbird arranged. You have got a week to gloat over it. He turned to the doorway at the moment that Hilary Sturvesant came through it from the patio. She wore a short white tennis dress, and her legs were long and achingly beautiful. A tall girl with gold-brown hair hanging shiny and soft to her shoulders. Every time she does that she makes me her slave for another hundred years. Is it possible? He wants to rush into the desert now, this minute. For a long minute they were oblivious of my presence as they embraced. They are, for me, the epitome of beautiful woman and manhood, both of them tall and strong and well-favoured. Hilary is younger than he is by twelve years, his fourth wife and the mother of only the youngest of his seven children. In her middle twenties she has the maturity and poise of a much older woman. Cable Larkin if you think of anything special we will need. So long, partner. Hilary took my hand and led me out on to the wide flagged patio. Five acres of lawn and dazzling flowerbeds sloped gently down to the stream The Sunbird artificial lake. Both tennis The Sunbird were occupied and a shrieking mob of small near-naked bodies thrashed the water of the swimming-pool to The Sunbird sun-sparkled white. The Sunbird uniformed servants were laying out a cold buffet on the long patio trestle-table, and with a small squirming twinge of dread I saw a half-dozen young matrons in tennis dress sprawled in the lounging chairs beside the outside bar. They were flushed with exertion, perspiration dampened the crisp white dresses and they sipped at long dewy, fruit-laden glasses of Pimms No. I steeled myself, trying to draw myself up to an extra inch of height as we moved towards the group. Ben, this is Marjory Phelps. I turned to each of them as she spoke their names, and I acknowledged the slightly over-effusive greetings, giving each my eyes The Sunbird voice, they are my good things. It was as difficult for them as it was for me. You do not expect your hostess to spring a hunchback on you with the pre-lunch drinks. The children rescued me. Uncle Ben! I find it easier with children; they either do not seem to notice or they come straight out with it. For once I was not very good value, I was too preoccupied to give them my full attention — and soon they drifted away, all but Bobby — for she is ever loyal. Then Hilary took over from her stepdaughter and I was returned to the league of young mothers where I made a The Sunbird impression. I cannot resist pretty women, once the first awkwardness wears off. The Sunbird Sturvesant pours Glen Grant malt whisky with the same heavy thirteen-year-old hand she uses to pour Coca-Cola. Consequently I floated into the Institute feeling very good indeed. Looks exciting! With a quick stab of jealousy I inspected the seal of the envelope. It was unbroken.