THE NIGHTJARS, BEE-EATERS & KINGFISHERS. 45 



are certainly fond of bees, they do not confine them- 

 selves to that diet. The little Bee-eater has always 

 been a favourite of mine. Wherever and whenever you 

 meet it, it looks bright, happy, sociable and good- 

 humoured. No one ever saw Bee-eaters quarrel- 

 ling. Indeed, they appear to be so pleased with each 

 other's society that they always sleep together, hun- 

 dreds sometimes in one tree. They are very particu- 

 lar about their personal appearance, taking a dust bath 

 frequently in the middle of the road, and trimming 

 their feathers with care. And they have a personal 

 appearance worth paying attention to. The general 

 colour is a vivid green, but the effect is heightened by 

 the most tasteful little touches of other hues. The 

 back of the head and neck are reddish golden, and 

 there is an expressive black stripe across the eye. 

 The chin and throat are of a fine verdigris green, 

 bordered by a demi-collar of black. The quill feathers 

 are reddish, and each one is tipped with black : the 

 effect of this is very fine when the wing is stretched 

 out in the sunlight. 



Another species, which Jerdon calls The Blue-tailed 

 Bee-eater ( Merops phillipensis ), is pretty common at 

 some places on the coast, and I have seen it in Bom- 

 bay. It is a larger bird than the common kind and 

 darker in colour. 



The last family of the gape-mouthed birds with 

 which we have to do comprises the Kingfishers, of 

 which we -have two species, perhaps I should say 

 three. The White-breasted Kingfisher (Halcyon 

 smyrnensis), most gorgeous of all Bombay birds, is, 

 I hope, familiar to everybody. No habit of observa- 

 tion is required for noticing it : it compels notice. 



