152 THE SMALLER BRITISH BIRDS, 



The resorts of this bird on the continent are the banks of rivers, 

 vineyards, olive-yards, and sheltered valleys. It is entirely insectivorous, 

 capturing its food principally on the wing in the manner of the 

 Swallow. Although, as may be inferred from its name, it is especially 

 partial to bees, - it also eats beetles, grasshoppers, gnats, flies, or 

 indeed any insect that comes in its way. In the island of Crete, the 

 boys have a simple method of capturing the Bee-eater, by means of 

 a fly fastened to a bent pin or fish-hook, and tied to a long slender 

 line. The insect, when released from the hand, mounts into the air, 

 and the Merops, ever on the watch, springs at it, and swallowing the 

 bait, is drawn down and taken. 



The nest is placed in a hole scooped out in a clayey bank, generally 

 by the side of a river. It is formed of moss, and contains from five 

 to seven glossy white eggs of about an inch in length. 



The note of this bird, which is usually uttered on the wing, is des- 

 cribed as a "rich warbling chirp." Meyer likens it to the syllables 

 grillgririririll. 



In plumage the Bee-eater is particularly brilliant and conspicuous; 

 indeed he seems better fitted to take his place with the gorgeously- 

 attired feathered inhabitants of the tropics than with the somewhat 

 sombre dwellers in our own woods and fields. The adult male is from 

 ten to eleven inches in length. The bill is nearly black; the irides 

 red; the forehead is light greenish blue, fading into white in front; 

 the crown, neck, back, and wing coverts are reddish brown, passing 

 into saffron yellow towards the tail, which is greenish blue. The chin 

 and throat are bright saffron yellow, the latter bounded below by a 

 line of bluish black. The quills are greenish blue, with the shafts 

 black. The legs and feet are reddish brown. The females are not so 

 bright in colour as the males, and have the green parts tinged with 

 red. 



IN CONFINEMENT. 



ALTHOUGH the Swallow has been kept alive for as long as two years 

 in confinement, it is not a suitable occupant of an aviary, and the 

 same may be said of the other species included in our present group. 



