NATURE AND SPORT IN BRITAIN 



known in Central and Southern Europe than in Eng- 

 land. Yet as stragglers occasionally make their way 

 to this country it has come to be regarded as a British 

 bird. Rollers are birds of handsome plumage, usually 

 exhibiting brilliant blendings of blue, purple, lilac, 

 green, and rufous, and are about the size of our well- 

 known jays. They have some affinity to the crow 

 family, especially in the shape of the bill and feet, 

 and have received their name "roller" from a trick 

 of rolling or tumbling in the air while in flight. Like 

 crows and jays, these birds are garrulous, restless, and 

 pugnacious ; they are fond of wooded country, and 

 among the pleasant acacia forests north of the Orange 

 River may be seen flashing hither and thither with 

 brilliant plumage. The European roller is well known 

 in certain parts of the interior of South Africa, usually 

 during the rainy season. During January, 1891, while 

 travelling between Taungs, British Bechuanaland, and 

 Kimberley, I saw large numbers, many of them resting 

 upon the telegraph wires. The summer rains were 

 unusually abundant that season, and these birds seemed 

 to have been attracted further south and in greater 

 numbers than usual. 



Among birds of brilliant colouring none are more 

 beautiful or more interesting than the lovely bee-eaters, 

 of which one species {Merops apiaster) is an occasional 

 visitor to this country. It is characterised by its buff- 

 and-green forehead, black ear tufts, green wings and 

 tail, orange back, rufous neck and shoulders, blue- 

 green under parts, and golden-orange chin and throat, 

 below which is a dark band. It is well known in South 

 Africa, where it arrives towards August, usually about 

 the time of the quail migration. The Boers know this 

 bird as the berg schawler (mountain swallow). In South 

 Africa its food consists largely of a red wasp, which 



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