Indian Birds 



7 he Bee-eaters, ii6 and 117 



Bee-eaters are brightly coloured birds o£ 

 elegant form. They are characterised by 

 having the median pair of tail feathers pro- 

 longed a couple of inches beyond the others 

 as bristles. The feeding habits of these birds 

 are like those of flycatchers. They make from 

 some perch little sallies in the air after insects. 

 The wings when spread are triangular in shape. 

 They excavate their nests in sandbanks. 



116. Merofs viriclis : The Common Indian 

 Bee-eater. (F. 1026), (J. 117), (I, but with 

 rather a long tail.) 



An emerald-green bird with a turquoise 

 throat, black necklace, and a black band through 

 the eye. The wings are shot with bronze, so 

 that, as the bird sails along on outstretched 

 pinions, it looks now green, now bronze, as 

 the rays of the sun are reflected at different 

 angles. There is some black in the tail, and 

 the two median tail feathers project as bristles 

 a couple of inches beyond the other tail 

 feathers. The eye is bright red. 



Found all over India, but undergoes a con- 

 siderable amount of local migration. It is a 

 summer visitor to the Punjab and N.W. F. P., 

 1 60 



