BEE-EATERS 31 



The Carmine-throated Bee-eater (M. nubicoides) may 

 be considered one of the loveliest of South African birds. 

 The top of the head is green, the centre of the back and 

 upper wing crimson, and the rump region bright cobalt- 

 blue. Below it is cherry-pink, except the abdomen and 

 under tail-coverts, which are cobalt-blue. 



This beautiful bird is an inhabitant of the "low" 

 countries, and is never found elsewhere than in the 

 neighbourhood of rivers. It ranges from Bustenburg in 

 in the Transvaal northwards to Mashonaland and the 

 Congo. 



The following account is taken from Captain Alex- 

 ander's article in the 1900 volume of the Ibis. He met 

 with a large flock of these Bee-eaters roosting amongst 

 the reeds bordering the Zambesi Kiver : ". . .. . Soon 

 a great sight met our eyes. Shaking themselves free of 

 the reeds these birds, some three hundred in number, 

 and glorious in their feathered coats of scarfet, mounted 

 into the air and were soon bathed in the last glows of a 

 setting sun." 



The Little Bee-eater (Melittophagus meridionalis) is 

 the smallest member of the family. It is green above 

 and orange-fawn below, with a yellow chin and throat 

 succeeded by a narrow strip of blue, followed by a broad 

 black band on the chest. 



It ranges from Natal and the Transvaal northwards to 

 beyond the limits of South Africa. It is fairly common 

 at Irene, south of Pretoria, where it frequents the 

 mimosa scrub along the Hennops Kiver. They may be 

 seen sitting on a bush or wire fence, making occasional 

 short darts into the air after insects. 



The White-fronted Bee-eater (M. bullockoides) can 

 be easily recognised from the preceding species by its 



