28 FROM THE NIGER TO THE NILE 



found far away from water. Early in the morning and 

 again towards evening, as regular as clockwork, they may 

 be observed journeying from one favourite feeding-ground to 

 another, flying high overhead, sometimes almost invisible, 

 betraying their line of flight only by their cries. During 

 the heat of the day they will remain for hours inert, perched 

 on the stooping backs of bright green reeds. They have 

 indeed a decorative appearance and remind one of those 

 types of birds that the Indian loves to depict upon his choicest 

 silks. When the sun lowers and the heat begins to 

 abate, they come to the river-side and skim over the water 

 after insects, often striking the surface so as to send up a 

 cloud of spray. 



It will only be necessary to describe here one of their 

 nesting colonies to give an idea of their breeding habits. 

 Not far above Loko, we came across a remarkable colony 

 for the first time of the carmine-breasted bee-eater, which is» 

 perhaps, the most common of the three species on the river. 

 It was in a high part of the bank. The nest-holes, about 

 3 in. in diameter and close to one another, were in 

 several rows and ran into the sandy stratum; there must 

 have been at least sixty of them, which gave to the bank 

 the appearance of having been pitted with bullets. On the 

 approach of our boats, a head poked out from every hole and 

 the next moment a flare of glorious red birds burst out 

 across the water, screeching defiance in our faces. Dazed 

 by their sudden coming into the glare, they circled and 

 hung in the air so close to us that it would have been easy 

 enough to knock them over with sticks or, as they clung 

 to the sandy banks, pelt them with stones. 



