THE ROOSTING OF THE BEE-EATERS 55 



as some birds do, but are content to allow it to drop into 

 their downy shoulders. 



The little company did not all roost at the same 

 elevation, but none slept on the lowest branches, nor 

 could I distinguish any on the highest boughs. I should 

 say that all the birds roost in the middle zone of the 

 tree. The branches selected were not necessarily those 

 where the foliage was thickest, nor, so far as I could 

 make out, where the sleeping birds would be best 

 protected from dew and rain. As it rained very 

 heavily in the night in question, some of those bee- 

 eaters must have had a nocturnal shower-bath. 



