398 Mr. C. F. M. Swyimerton on the 



dragon-flies and other insects, which they were particularly 

 dexterous in capturing. They would sometimes suddenly 

 drop or rise vertically six inches or a foot when in full career 

 in order to seize their prey. Yet T saw one strike delibe- 

 rately at a Belenois (of which the rapid erratic flight must 

 be very puzzling to a bird) and miss it. I have noticed the 

 same difficulty on the part of Dicrurus afer. The call of 

 this Bee-eater is frequently uttered, and is much like that 

 of Merops apiaster. 



One stomach examined contained sixteen bees, three large 

 dragon-flies, and an Acrsea butterfly; another a dragon-fly 

 only. Two males measured respectively 10*5 and 10'6 inches 

 in the flesh ; the irides were carmine and the tarsi light golden 

 brown, the toes darker and somewhat blackish. 



168. Merops nubicoides. Carmine-throated Bee-eater. 

 P. I have never noticed this striking species in the 



Gazaland highlands, but on the evening of December 4th 

 (1906) I watched a pair hawking round some drinking-pools 

 at Arucate. 



169. DicROCERCus HiRUNDiNEus. Swallow- tailed Bee- 

 eater. 



P. On August 4th I secured a male of this species. It 

 was perched on the topmost twig of a Rauwolfia in the grass- 

 jungle, whence it had just made a successful flight after an 

 insect, turning a complete somersault in securing it. It 

 measured nine inches in the flesh ; the feet were dull grey, 

 and the irides carmine ; while the stomach contained large 

 diptera and beetles. 



170. Melittophagus meridionalis. Little Bee-eater. 

 Rh., P. I have usually noted this species in pairs, even 



throughout the winter {e.g., near Chirinda in July and 

 August 1906). The two birds usually perch within a few 

 feet of one another on the same bush or stake in the 

 grass-jungle, and thence make graceful flights, short or 

 occasionally sustained, after passing insects. When the 

 bird is at rest the tail is held verticallv downwards and as 



