MEROPID^. 279 



FAMILY II. 

 Meropid.e. The Bee-eaters. 



Gex. Charac. — Bill longer than the head, \yith both mandibles curved and 

 acutely pointed, the sides compressed and sloping from the culmen ; nostrils 

 basal, lateral, rounded, and partly hidden by short bristles ; wings more or 

 less long and pointed; tail long, broad, and the middle feathers sometimes 

 prolonged beyond the lateral ones ; tarsi very short ; toes long, with the 

 lateral ones more or less united to the middle toe, the hind toe long and 

 broadly padded beneath. 



These birds^ remarkable from the brilhancy of 

 then- plumage, are found m most parts of the Old 

 Continent. They seek the warmer climates during 

 the winter, and in summer visit temperate localities 

 in pursuit of their food, which consists almost ex- 

 clusively of insects. They usually perch singly, or 

 in small parties, on some prominent branch, or on 

 any objects from which they can see to a distance 

 around them. When an insect is observed, they fly 

 off, capture it on the wing, and then generally 

 return to the perch just quitted, where they again 

 station themselves to await the approach of another 

 victim. During the morning and evening they 

 sometimes congregate in companies, flying about 

 with much activity, and catching insects after the 

 manner of Swallows. Their flight is graceful and 

 capable of being sustained during a lengthened 

 migration. Their cry is loud, and consists of harsh 

 whistling notes, continually repeated during their 

 morning and . evening excursions. The young are 

 reared in holes, excavated horizontally in the sandy 

 banks of rivers, or in cliffs which are sufficiently 

 soft to be easily penetrated : these excavations are 

 prolonged interiorly to the depth of a yard and 

 more. The entrance is small, and the further end 

 expanded into a chamber of such dimensions that 

 the bird can turn in it with facility. Here the eggs, 

 usually four or five in number, are deposited on the 

 bare sand, or on a bed of moss or other soft material. 

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