BEE-EATERS. 



487 



the opening of their hives, and snatch up all that enter or depart. 

 They are skilful in avoiding their sting. Living together in 

 numerous flocks, they rapidly clear a district of wasps and wild 

 bees. 



They build their nests in the banks of rivers or rivulets, in 

 holes which they excavate to the depth of six or seven feet. 

 Some species are highly esteemed as table delicacies by the 

 French. 



The Bee-eaters inhabit the warmer regions of the Old World, 

 such as Bengal, the west coast of Africa, the Cape of Good Hope, 

 Morocco, and Malta. One species alone is found in Europe, the 



Fig. 2U2. Common Bee-eater (Alerojjs apiaster^ S\v.). 



Common Bee-eater (Merops apiaster), Fig. 202. From the coast 

 of Africa it migrates in small flocks into the countries skirting the 

 northern shores of the Mediterranean. Some individuals proceed 

 into France, Switzerland, and Germany ; others spread themselves 

 over Turkey and the southern parts of Russia. In England it is 

 occasionally met with in Cornwall, Devonshire, and along the 

 Hampshire coast. It has been shot in the Mull of Galloway. In 

 France it arrives in the month of May, and remains but a short 

 time. As a rule it rarely ventures further north than the South 

 of France. 



The MOMOTS (Priorities, Illiger) are birds still very imperfectly 



