368 Mr, G, A. K. Marshall cm Birds as a Factor in the 



23. Merops 'philippinus, L. (Pliilippine Bee-Eater), (a) "Mr. 

 F. Lewis, of the Ceylon Forest Service, . . . lias seen 

 M. ^;/(i/t2i2'^^^"-5 occasionally take small ^Yllite and 

 yellow butterflies {Tcrias spp.) " : R. Trimen, Proc. 

 Ent. Soc. Lond., 1897, p. xci. — {h) " Frequently cap- 

 ture CatopsUiae, especially when these butterHies are 

 travelling in thousands along the river-valleys" (F. 

 Lewis) : R. Trimen, I. c. (Ceylon). — (c) " They feed 

 even on butterflies, which I have seen this species 

 frequently capture" : Jerdon, "Birds of India," I, p. 208 

 (2nd ed. 1877).— (f/) " Nov. 14, 1891. On the Kandy 

 Road between Trinkomali and Kanthalai ; butterflies 

 in great numbers sitting on the wet mud by the road- 

 side ; chiefly Pierinae {Catop)haga), but a few F\cipilio\ 

 nomius with them. These butterflies rose in clouds 

 as one drove past. A Bee-Eater, Mcrops p)hilip2nnus, 

 kept flying in front of my carriage and taking speci- 

 mens of these butterflies as tliey rose. The bird 

 seemed to select the yellow females, which are rare, 

 the white females being to them piobnbly in the pro- 

 portion of 100 to 1. . . . These Bee-Eaters were 

 often seen catching Pierinae ; in fact, it seems to have 

 occurred so often that I censed to record the fact " : 

 Col. J. W. Yerbury, Trans. Ent. Soc, Lond,, 1902, p. 

 360. — {c) " I noticed clouds of butterflies, chiefly 

 Catopsilia, migrating, crossing the Sal ween from east 

 to west in a continuous stream. These were being 

 persistently hawked by the Mcrops, mixed with which 

 were some kmg-crows " : Lt.-Col. C. T. Bingham, 

 Trans. Ent. Soc. Lond., 1902, p. 363 (Burma). 



24. Mcrops viriclis, L., M. j^hilippinvs, L., and 3IeJittophaf/2cs 



sU'inhoei, Hume, (a) Some Bee-Eaters (" which of 

 the three species mentioned in my book was not 

 sufficiently determined") were seen to capture Papilio 

 erithonius, P. hector and Precis iphita, at Anarad- 

 hapura, Ceylon, in Jan. 1905: Dr. F. Doflein (letter 

 dated 12, iv, 1907). — {h) At Vavuniya Vilankulam, 

 North Ceylon, in Jan. 1905, all these three Bee- 

 Eaters were observed to capture some of the following 

 butterflies, Papilio erithonius, P. hector , Hypolimnas 

 holina, H. misippus, Ercmict spiculifcra, and Ilcho- 

 moict gkmcip)pc : Dr. Doflein, I. c. 



25. Mcrops apiastcr, L. (European Bee-Eater). Seen to 



capture a Lycaenid, probably Poli/omviatus (^Lampndes) 



