SLENDER-BILLED BIRDS. 335 



other useful tasks. It does not, however, confine itself to the hymen- 

 opterous insects, but is fond of beetles, cicadse, grasshoppers, and similar 

 creatures. 



The nest of the Bee-eater is not unlike that of the kingfisher, being 

 placed at the extremity of a burrow made in some convenient bank. 

 The burrow is excavated by the bird itself, and it often happens that 

 the Bee-eaters are as gregarious in their nesting as in their flight, 

 honeycombing the clay banks in a manner very similar to that of the 

 sand martin. The burrows do not run to any great depth, seldom 

 exceeding six or eight inches in length. The nest is composed of moss, 

 and contains about five or six beautifully white and pearly eggs. 



The colors of the adult male bird are extremely varied and very 

 beautiful. The top of the head is rich chestnut-brown, extending to 

 the neck, back, and wing-coverts. Over the rump the chestnut changes 

 to light reddish yellow. The primaries and secondaries of the wing 

 are bright blue-green, tipped with black, and their shafts painted with 

 the same color, and the tertiaries are green tliroughout their entire 

 length. The upper tail-coverts are of the same hue as the wings, and 

 the tail is likewise green, tinted with a darker hue, graphically called 

 by Mr. Yarrell " duck-green." The chin and throat are a reddish 

 yellow, and round the throat runs a band of deep blue-black. The 

 under part of the body is green with a blue tinge, and the under surface 

 of the wings and tail is grayish brown. The ear-coverts are black and 

 the eye is light scarlet, which contrasts beautifully with the chestnut, 

 black, and yellow of the head and neck. 



The female may be distinguished from the male by the paler hue of 

 the reddish yellow on the throat, and the reddish tinge that runs 

 throughout the green of the body and wings. In size the Bee-eater 

 is nearly equal to the English starling. 



SLENDER-BILLED BIRDS. 

 UPUPID^ OR HOOPOES. 



The large group of birds which are termed Tenuirostral, or 

 "slender-billed,"-always possess a long and slender beak, sometimes 

 curved, as in the creepers, hoopoes, and many humming-birds, and some- 

 times straight, as in the nuthatch and other humming-birds. The feet 

 are furnished with lengthened toes, and the outer toe is generally 

 connected at the base with the middle toe. 



The first family of the Tenuirostres is called after the hoopoe, and 

 termed Upupidse. In all these birds the bill is curved throughout its 

 entire length, long, slender, and sharply pointed. The wings are 

 rounded, showing that the birds are not intended for aerial feats, and 



