396 



NATUUAL IIISTOIIY UF BIRDS. 



ilar insects, wliioli arc seized on the ■\vintr. In ilistriets witli a flourishini; lioe-eulfure 

 they heconie exceedingly iiijuriuus, and are tlieivfore eagerly |ierseeuted, tlie more so 

 since tlieir flesh is pahitablc, and tlieir gaudy j)hiniage in liigh demand by both civ- 

 ilized and savage belles for ornament. The bees are mostly swallowetl whole, and it 

 is very remarkable that the birds do not seem to be hurt by the sting, the more so 

 since we know instances of many small birds having been killed by swallowing such 

 jwisonous insects; and Naumann states that exj>eriments with ducks had a similar 

 fatal end. 



The breeding habits of the bee-eaters are peculiar. They nest usually in colonies. 



Fig. I9iJ. — Merops apiasler, bee-cater. 



digging deep tmiiiels in steep, sandy river-banks. The tunnel, which is often nine to 

 ten feet long, opens into a breeding-chamber, wIktc tln> liird deposits four or five white 

 eggs on the bare soil. According to Colonel Irliy the lie:ik is used for diir"ing the 

 holes, and he asserts that the bills, after the boring, are Sdiiietimes worn away to less 

 than h.alf their ordinary length. Of the common Eunipcan bee-eater {Meraps npiii.ifer) 

 it is saiil that when, in winter, it goes to South Africa, it rears there another brood of 

 young ones; but Jlr. Seel)ohm suggests that there exists a South African colony, the 

 breeding range of which is overlapped by tlie winter range of the northern colony. 



Referring to the wood-cut for the form of a typical .l/oviyw. a fuller im])ression of 

 the beauty of these birds may be had by comp.iriiig it w ith the fcillowing description 



