164 THE FOOD OF BIRDS IN INDIA. 



Dewar (Birds of the Plains) remark that " the large species " 

 (of Meropidse) ' ' prey upon bees hence the popular name, but 

 I doubt whether the little Merops viridis tackles an irsect so 

 large as a bee. It feeds on smaller flying things, which it captures 

 on the wing/' In addition to such insects as Apis indica ard 

 Apis florea, our two common bees, M. viridis takes Polistes heb- 

 rceus, Sphex lobatus and Chrotogonus, all larger than these bees, 

 and I have also seen Melanitis ismene captured and large dragor- 

 flies (Crocothemis servillia). From the post-mortem records, bees 

 apparently form the greatest percentage of its food. On several 

 occasions I observed one of these birds capturing Bees as they 

 were entering the Bee-hives at Pusa, and on shooting this bird 

 I found it contained eight workers. I have never seen it takirg 

 bees from wild nests. Jerdon (B. I., I, 204) gives an excellert 

 account of this bird's habits and states that it " captures insects 

 with an audible snap while on the wing and frequently takes two 

 or three insects before it re-seats itself on its perch" and adds, 

 " I have seen one occasionally pick an ins e ct off a branch, or a 

 stalk of grain or grass, and Mr. Blyth informs me that he had seen 

 a number of them assembled round a small tank, seizing objects 

 from the water in the manner of a Kingfisher." 



1027. Merops philippinus. Blue-tailed Bee-eater. Now and 

 then pick an insect off the surface of the water. They feed on 

 wasps, bees, dragon-flies, bugs, and even on butterflies which 1 

 have seen this species frequently capture. -Jerd., B. I., I, 208. 



Bees form a portion of its diet. F. I., III. . I 



Stomachs examined. 



f 4-4-09. g Platygomphua dolobratus. 



1 Dipteron. 



4_4_09. 1 Trithemis pallidernervis. 

 1 A pis indica. 

 1 Xylocopa dissimilis. 



1 Megachile carbonaria. 

 4_4_09. 3 Trithemis sp. 



2 Megachile carbonaria. 

 4-4-09. 1 Megachile carbonaria. 



1 Dragon fly sp. 

 .12-4-09.^59 Apis florea, 



