64 MEROPID^. 



it is not a forest bird, keeping well out in the cultivated and open 

 parts." 



Mr. Adam says : " Breeds in March and April. The structure 

 of the nest is similar to that of M. viridis. I found them building 

 on the bank of a small stream near Baraich, and I have also seen 

 their nests a good distance from the stream. Tour is the greatest 

 number of eggs I have found in one nest; on two occasions I 

 found three. On one occasion a bird-catcher brought me an egg 

 of this bird and asked me if I quite believed in its authenticity, 

 because if I did not he would convince me. He then produced a 

 bird, and with a jerk of his thumb forced an egg from the bird 

 exactly like the one he had given me." 



Mr. Brooks tells me that " this bird breeds near Digheea on the 

 Ganges, between Allahabad and Mirzapore, and about 10 miles 

 below the junction of the Ganges and Tonse Rivers. Also in the 

 cliffs below the Government Gardens at Mirzapore close to the 

 Dak Bungalow. I failed to get the eggs, the holes were so 

 deep, 6 and 7 feet I think. These birds breed in company with 

 Acridoilieres yinginianus." 



One year I found a colony of these Bee-eaters established in a 

 small sandy cutting at the Agra Eailway Station, where the 

 engines passed twenty times a day within 2 feet of the mouths of 

 the holes. 



Major C. T. Bingham says : " 1 have found nests of this bird 

 both at Allahabad and at Delhi. At the former place I was too 

 late for the eggs ; every nest-hole I dug out containing full-fledged 

 youngsters, some quite able to fly this was in the end of June. 

 At Delhi I got their eggs in the beginning of May." 



Mr. Oates, writing from Pegu, says : " Breeds in the Irrawaddy 

 and Sittang rivers in large colonies at the end of April. On the 

 25th of April last I proceeded with six men to dig out as many 

 nests as I could in three hours. I soon found that it was not so 

 easy as it looked. The banks of the Sittang at this place were 

 very steep, and the entrances to the nests were situated about a 

 foot below the top of the bank, and some distance above high 

 water. We found that very few of the galleries were less than 

 o feet long, most of them being fully 7. The gallery usually 

 takes a couple of slight turns and is also much inclined to the 

 horizon, so that altogether the entrance may be only one foot 

 below the surface of the ground, the egg-chamber is as much as 

 three or four feet. The gallery itself is 1J inches in diameter, 

 very regular in section up to the egg-chamber, which is a roomy 

 place about five inches wide, eight long, and four high. We 

 worked hard, but dug out only 30 nests. Most of the nests 

 contained five eggs, a few only four, and one or two only three. 

 The majority of them were fresh, but a few, even at this early 

 date, were nearly hatched. In no case did the female bird leave 

 the eggs till the egg-chamber and she were exposed to view. In 

 fact we caught several birds. The eggs are laid on the bare 

 ground, and in no case did I find a vestige of grass or feathers." 



