Birds of Gazaland. 397 



reached Chirinda by October loth, a female recently received 

 from Odendaal bearing that date. It measured ITS inches 

 in the flesh. 



166. Merops apiaster. European Bee-eater. 

 Chindao : '^ Igwiru-gwiru " or " Ikweru-kweru " (applied 



to all Bee-eaters in imitation of the note of the present 

 species). 



Bh., P. The first flock of European Bee-eaters to arrive in 

 1906, consisting of fifteen individuals, reached Chirinda on 

 the afternoon of November 15th, passing on southwards with 

 their usual ringing chorus. After that date small parties of 

 about twenty birds occurred almost daily for a short period. 

 In that year they had left the neighbourhood of Chirinda 

 at the end of March, the last which I saw being a flock 

 flying rapidly over at a considerable height and in a north- 

 westerly direction on April 2nd. In 1907 they remained 

 longer. Parties of fifty had been frequenting my plantations 

 of Ceara rubber {Manihot ylaziovi) near Chirinda daily for 

 some weeks, and feeding on the bees which had been attracted 

 in great numbers by the Manihot flowers ; they were still 

 present on the 20th of April when I left for England. In 

 1898 they had already reached Salisbury in Mashonaland 

 on October 16th, two immature specimens in my collection 

 bearing that date. 



Two stomachs examined contained respectively eighteen 

 bees and three other hyraenoptera, nineteen bees and a 

 Cetoniid ; in two other cases beetles only were found ; 

 in two, bees and a skipper butterfly. The irides in my 

 specimens were carmine and the feet grey. Two males 

 measured in the flesh 11 inches each, and two females 10'9 

 and 10*5 inches. 



167. Merops persicus. Blue-cheeked Bee-eater. 



P. I found great numbers of these birds in the neigh- 

 bourhood of some large pools near Chibabava, which I visited 

 on the 2nd and 12th of December, 1906. They were perched 

 conspicuously on the topmost and outer branches of the trees 

 and bushes on the banks, or hawking over the swamp for 



