THE BIRDS OF THE ANDAMAN AND NICOBAR ISLANDS. 561 



1027. Merops phiuppinus, Linn. Blanf., Ill, p. Ill ; " Str. Feath.," II, 

 p. 162. 



The blue-tailed bee-eater is common in the Nicobars, where it maj- be seen 

 hawking over the grassy track almost everywhere. It is replaced in the 

 Andamans by the next species, 



1030. Melittopuagus swinhoii, Hume. Blanf., Ill, p. 114 ; " Str. 

 Feath.," II, p. 163. 



Fairly common in the Andamans, where it is a permanent resident breed- 

 ing in May. In the hot weather they keep nearly always to the vicinity 

 of streams, over which they capture an insect or two with gliding easy 

 flight and then return to rest often with their bills agape on some con- 

 venient bamboo or plaintain leaf. 



I shot one bird in December feeding on the ground on a sandy bank to 

 which it was clinging. Seeing it in this position I naturally thought it was 

 choosing a site for a nest hole, but as I noticed it kept picking something 

 from the bank. I promptly shot it, and found to my surprise that it was 

 feeding on some small blackish beetles which were running about sunning 

 themselves on the sand. This must have been an individual eccentricity as 

 numerous others of the species were around it, all capturing their prey in 

 the usual bee-eater fashion. 



1035. Alcedo ispida, Linn. Blanf., Ill, p. 122 ; " Str. Feath.," II. 

 p. 173. 



Occurs in both groups. I generally saw it on salt or brackish creeks 

 fringed with mangroves. Mr. Davison said it was not so common in the 

 Andamans as the next species, on which Mr. Hume remarks "m?/ experience 

 is that at the Andamans it is decidedly more common than Asiatica." My 

 experience, again, was the same as Davison's ; for every ispida I saw I must 

 have seen at least three of heavani. 



1036. Alcedo beavani, Wald. Blanf., III., p. 124 ; " Str. Feath.," II, 

 p. 174. 



Fairly common in the Andamans. I generally came across it on small 

 fresh water streams, but Mr. Davison notes " keeps exclusively (as far as 

 I have observed) to the -salt water creeks," 



To get a series of this bird in the Andamans entails a good deal of wading 

 as most of the streams it frequents are so thickly edged with jungle that 

 walking along the banks is quite impossible. While wading thus up these 

 narrow streams I have several times seen one of these king-fishers flitting 

 down stream towards me ; in such cases they generally held on their course 

 darting past me within a few feet in preference to turning, 



1040. Ueyx tridactyla, Pall. Blanf., Ill, p. 127 j "Str. Feath.," II, 

 p. 173. 



Scarce in the Andamans. I got one beautiful little specimen which had 

 flown into a tea factory near Port Blair, but though I searched the most 



