BEE-EATERS. 



55 



birds themselves, either in a retired bank of a river or in the sides of a road, 



and the tunnels varying in length from one foot to seven feet, with the chamber 



at the end larger than the rest of the excavation. The direction of the passage 



is not always straight, Davison stating that he has found some of them, after a 



depth of twelve or eighteen inches turning off almost at a right angle, while 



others took an almost circular direction. There is no nest in the chamber, and 



the eggs are laid on the bare floor of the chamber, wliich is about six inches 



in diameter. 



Of somewhat larger size than the last, the true bee-eaters 

 True Bee-Eaters. , , ^ \ i i 



{Merops) are represented by seventeen species, all distinguished by 



the central tail-feathers being elongated beyond the others. Of these, eight are 



peculiar to Africa, while two (M. j^ersicws and M. viridis) inhabit both Africa and 



India ; Arabia owning two species, namely, M. cyanophrys from Aden, and 



M. muscatensis from Muscat. In Europe M. apiaster is common in summer, 



M. philip)piniis abounds from the Indian Peninsula to Southern China and even 



extends over the greater part of Malaysia, while M. ornatus is Australian. 



Two (M. bicolor and 3L sumatranus) are confined to the Indian region, and 



one of the handsomest species is 21. hreveri from the Gabun and the Congo 



in West Africa. The common bee-eater (if. apiaster) is a rather large species, 



measuring 10 inches in length, with the wings 5"9, and the tail 4'5 inches. The 



head and mantle are chestnut, the back and scapulars creamy buff, the lower back 



washed with blue like the upper tail-coverts ; the lesser wing-coverts are green, 



but the rest are chestnut like the secondaries, which are tipped with black ; the 



quills are blue with blackish tips ; the tail green with blue edges, the central 



feathers almost entirely blue ; the cheeks are blue in front, white behind, the 



crown chestnut, with a white band on the forehead, followed by a blue line 



joining a narrow blue eyebrow ; the throat is yellow, with a black band across the 



lower part ; the rest of the under surface greenish blue ; the bill black ; the feet 



greyish brown ; and the iris yellow. The sexes are alike in colour, but the young 



are paler, having a green eyebrow, with the black bar on the lower throat, and 



show a general wash of green over the head, mantle, and back. This bee-eater 



visits Southern Europe regularly every summer, and is found as far east as 



Turkestan, Kashmir, and Sind ; breeding in Afghanistan and plentifully in Kaslniiir. 



Its habits are like those of other bee-eaters, the bird taking its food on tlie wing, and 



being very destructive to bees in certain parts of Southern Europe, visiting the hives 



and capturing the insects as they fl}' out and in. In winter it visits all parts of 



Africa, and is even said to rear a second brood in its winter home. Several species 



of European birds are, indeed, reported to nest in the southern countries where they 



winter, but although these records must be received with caution, in the case of the 



common bee-eater the evidence is certainly remarkable, for Mr. Layard says that not 



only did he receive information of the breeding of the species, but he himself found 



it nesting in large numbers on the Berg River in September and October. He 



observes that "it does not always select a bank into which to bore the hole 



destined for its nest, for we found one flat piece of sandy ground perforated with 



numberless holes, into which the birds were diving and scrambling like so many 



rats." 



