172 BIRDS 



I noticed particularly that Dragon-flies are a very favourite 

 food of both species, as well as the bees and other 

 Hymenoptera on which they are well known to feed, 

 which were constantly found in the stomachs when I 

 was searching for evidence that the Tse-tse fly was eaten 

 by birds. (See vol. xiv of Sleeping Sickness Reports of 

 the Royal Society, 1913, pp. 15-16.) 



Stomach Contents of Bee-eatees. 

 Merops superciliosus. Mclittophagus meridionalis. 



1. Mainly dragon flies. 1. Mainly dragon flies. 



2. Dragon flies and honey bees. 2. Dragon flies and honey bees. 



3. Dragon flies and honey bees. 3. Dragon flies. 



4. Dragon flies and honey bees. 4. Dragon flies. 



5. Dragon flies and honey bees. 5. Dragon flies and small beetle 



(Lamellicorn). 



6. Dragon flies and honey bees. 6. Winged ants and one small 



dragon fly. 



7. Dragon flies and honey bees. 7. Dragon flies and bees. 



8. Dragon flies and honej^ bees. *8. Winged ants only. 



9. Dragon flies and honey bees. *9. Winged ants' and one Agrionid 



dragon fly. 



10. Dragon flies and honey bees. *]0. Winged ants and a small species 



of Chrysididae. 



11. Dragon flies and honey bees. *11. Winged ants. 



12. Dragon flies, bees, and a 



Beloyiogaster wasp. 



27. Dragon flies. * These were all shot on the same 



28. Dragon flies. day (11-12-11). 



29. Dragon flies and bees. 



30. Dragon flies and bees. 



31. Dragon flies and bees. 



32. Dragon flies. 



33. Dragon flies and bees. 



34. Caterpillars and young Mantidae. 



35. Eleven bees. 



36. Twelve bees, one wasp, one 



dragon fly. 



37. Twelve bees, one male Stink 



ant (Paltothyreus). 



Frequently one would hear a loud tapping noise, and 

 looking up would see a bee-eater with a large dragon fly 

 in its beak banging it against the perch on which it sat, 

 finding the long body and wings rather unmanageable, 

 for they swallow the dragon flies wings and all. 



