162 



THE USEFUL BIRDS 



suffer a little, the cultivators of the soil benefit much. Go to 

 their nests when the callow young are in them, and in the 

 majority of cases you will find an exceedingly large numbei 

 of insects (not bees) awaiting home consumption. Previous 



Bee-eater. 



to this they are either on trees perched in anticipation of a 

 beetle or fly passing that way, or are in pursuit of it. It 

 makes short incursions from a branch, returning to the same 



