THE BEE-EATERS 1819 



found in the Indian Peninsula and Ceylon, extending through the Burmese coun- 

 tries to Siam and Cochin China, and southward to the Malay Peninsula. The eggs, 

 like those of the rest of the family, are pure white, and four or six in number; the 

 holes in which they are laid being tunneled in sandy soil by the birds themselves, 

 either in a retired bank of a river or in the sides of a road, and the tunnels vary- 

 ing in length from one foot to seven feet, with the chamber at the end larger than 

 the rest of the excavation. The direction of the passage is not always straight, 

 Davison stating that he has found some of them, after a depth of twelve or eighteen 

 inches, turning off almost at a right angle, while others took an almost circular 

 direction. There is no nest in the chamber, and the eggs are laid on the bare floor 

 of the chamber, which is about six inches in diameter. 



Of somewhat larger size than the last, the true bee-eaters (^Meropi) 

 rU p ' are represented by seventeen species, all distinguished by the central 



tail feathers being elongated beyond the others. Of these, eight are 

 peculiar to Africa, while two (M. persicus and M: viridis) inhabit both Africa and 

 India; Arabia owning two species, namely, M. cyanophrys from Aden, and M. mus- 

 catensis from Muscat. In Europe M. apiaster is common in summer, M. philippinus 

 abounds from the Indian Peninsula to Southern China and even extends over the 

 greater part of Malaysia, while M, Ornatus is Australian. Two {M. bicolor and M. 

 sumatranus) are confined to the Indian region, and one of the handsomest species is 

 M. breveri from the Gabun and the Congo in West Africa. The common bee-eater 

 (M. apiaster) is a rather large species, measuring ten inches in length, with the 

 wings five and nine-tenths, and the tail four and five-tenths inches. The head and 

 mantle are chestnut; the back and scapulars creamy buff, the lower back washed 

 with blue like the upper tail coverts; the lesser wing coverts are green, but the rest 

 are chestnut like the secondaries, which are tipped with black; the quills are blue 

 with blackish tips; the tail green with blue edges, the central feathers almost 

 entirely blue; the cheeks are blue in front, white behind; the crown chestnut, with 

 a white band on the forehead, followed by a blue line joining a narrow blue eye- 

 brow; the throat is yellow, with a black band across the lower part; the rest 

 of the under surface greenish blue; the bill black; the feet grayish brown, and the 

 iris yellow. The sexes are alike in color, but the young are paler, having a green 

 eyebrow, with the black bar on the lower throat, and show a general wash of green 

 over the head, mantle, and back. This bee-eater visits Southern Europe regularly 

 every summer, and is found as far east as Turkestan, Kashmir, and Sind; breeding 

 in Afghanistan and plentifully in Kashmir. Its habits are like those of other bee- 

 eaters, the bird taking its food on the wing, and being very destructive to bees in 

 certain parts of Southern Europe, visiting the hives and capturing the insects as 

 they fly out and in. In winter it visits all parts of Africa, and is even said to rear 

 a second brood in its winter home. Several species of European birds are, indeed, 

 reported to nest in the southern countries where they winter, but although these 

 records must be received with caution, in the case of the common bee-eater the evi- 

 dence is certainly remarkable, for Mr. Layard says that not only did he receive 

 information of the breeding of the species, but he himself found it nesting in large 

 numbers on the Berg river in September and October. He observes that ' ' it does 



