238 ALCYONES. 



digested in the stomachs of the parent birds ; indeed, so 

 long as the young are fed from the gullet of the old birds 

 their food must not only be partially changed, but also, to a 

 certain degree, mixed with the gastric juice of these, which 

 may assist the digestion of the young ; and that will account 

 for the difficulty of rearing them artificially. 



THE BEE%!ATER (l^Lerops ctpiaster). 



This is another beautiful bank-inhabiting bird, though it 

 preys on bees and other winged insects, and not on fish. 

 The forehead is yellowish white, passing into pale bluish 

 green on the top of the head ; back of the head and neck 

 rich brown, passing through orange into dull yellow on the 

 rump and tail-coverts. The greater wing-coverts of the 

 same orange as the corresponding tints of the back ; but the 

 lesser coverts bright grass-green. Quills bright blue, with a 

 slight trace of green ; feathers of the tail pale olive green ; 

 the two middle feathers about an inch longer than the rest, 

 and pointed. Bill long, and slightly tapering and black, 

 with a black line from the gape across the eye and ear-coverts, 

 to a narrow collar of black round the neck. The throat 

 above the collar very bright yellow, and the rest of the under 

 part greenish blue. Irides red, which, with the contrast of 

 the black, brown, and yellow, gives the eye a very brilliant 

 appearance. The bird is, in fact, quite tropical in the texture 

 of its plumage and the richness of its colours. It is a 

 common summer migrant in the eastern part of the Conti- 

 nent ; but, as the birds fly easily as well as gracefully, a few 

 of them occasionally straggle to Britain. They are about 

 the size of thrushes, that is, ten inches long and seventeen 

 broad. As is the case with most finely-coloured birds, their 

 cry is harsh. They excavate holes for their own nest, and 

 line them with moss. Excepting perhaps the kingfisher 



