v\ W%-\ 



THE AMFJRICAN BEE-KEEPER 



January. 



ly developed, among the most promi- 

 nent of which are the strong bill, hook- 

 ed at the tip and the bristles at the base. 

 ■ — admirably adapted to catching in- 

 sects. 



It is the largest of the group, be- 

 tween an English sparrow and a rob'" 

 in size. The top of the male's head is 

 quite black, the crown containing a 

 concealed patch of orange-red. The 

 back is dark ash color, breast light ash. 

 the tail conspicuously margined with 

 white. The female lacks the crest. 



It is a native of the entire Utiited 



BESSIE L. PUTNAM. 



States, though found sparingly west of 

 the Rockies. It arrives early in May, 

 leaving middle latitudes the latter part 

 of September, and eventually wintering 

 in Central or South Amei'ica. It is a 

 frequent resident of the orchard during 

 summer. 



Much has been said by bee men con- 

 demning it for eating bees. On the 

 other hand, a member of that excellent 

 service, the \J. S. Biological Survey, as- 



sures us that of 281 stomachs examined 

 but 14 contained the remains of bees; 

 and of the 50 therein discovered, 40 

 Were drOnes, four workers, and six 

 were too badly broken to be identified. 

 The conclusion naturally drawn is that 

 i-ii- kingbird's bee-eating propensities 

 have been grossly exaggerated. 



Yet there are few bee-keepers who 

 have not seen this bird swoop down 

 from the top of some tree near the hive 

 or course of flight, seize a bee on the 

 wing, and return to its lofty perch, ap- 

 parently to feast upon it. Presently 

 the movement is repeated and another 

 \ ictini is added to the list. And thus 

 the aerial foraging may continue for 

 some time. It is hard to reconcile 

 those who have repeatedly witnessed 

 such maneuvering to the conclusions 01 

 the scientists even in the face of the 

 empty stomachs. 



A correspondent of Gleanings, how- 

 ever, offers an explanation which seems 

 worthy of consideration. He sayst 

 ■'This bird seizes a worker, which he 

 much prefers to a drone, by the abdo- 

 men, giving the bee a few sharp raps 

 against the perch. He then passes the 

 body of the bee its entire length trans- 

 versely between his upper and lower 

 mandibles, by a peculiar motion of the 

 latter. This is continued until the juices 

 are thoroughly extracted, when he 

 opens his mouth and drops the useless 

 carcass to the ground. No wonder, 

 then, that we failed to find workers in 

 the stomach. But how about the 

 drones? Well, when a drone is seized 

 he is swallowed at once; and when sev- 

 eral have been taken into the first stom- 

 ach the bird sits on the perch for half 

 an hour, sometimes longer, when, by a 

 few motions of the neck, the casting is 

 brought up. This is about the size and 

 shape of an ordinary pea, and consists 

 of the hard indigestible portions of in- 

 sects. 



"I do not believe that the kingbird 



