256



Mr. Reginald Phileipps,



perch and squatted down in a quiet spot where, towards mid¬

night, I found him, and knew he had retired thither to die ; and

there in the morning I found the still squatting but lifeless body.

During the day following, the poor little widow would go to this

spot where last she had seen her squatting mate and wonderingly

examine it, and puzzle her brain as to what could have become

of her fellow from whom she had never before been separated.


For nearly four years these two had nestled and cuddled

together side by side every night, and, if either fell, they knew

they had but to call out and the missing one would be picked up

and restored to its place, when they would instantly sidle up to

one another and utter a few crooning notes of entire content¬

ment and satisfaction. Continuously for some hours during the

night following the death of the male, the female, usually a very

quiet undemonstrative bird, called and called and called again,

and was filled with a strange wonder at my denseness in failing

to see that the male was missing from her side, and intreated me

to pick him up and restore him to his accustomed place and to

her. And for long afterwards she continued to be alert and

watchful and to call out, as if still on the look out for her life¬

long companion.


The eyes of the two Bee-eaters, nearly four years old,

retained the dark brown colour of their youth to the last. In

their first spring the irides of the male (VIII., p. 106) at any

rate, perhaps of both, shewed distinct traces of yellow ; but, pre¬

sumably owing to the want of the brilliant Mediterranean and

African sun, every tinge of red or yellow disappeared and never

was detected again. I have noticed the same phenomenon in

some other species.


At the time of the death of the male, the plumage of the

two birds was much alike save on the forehead and sinciput

generally, the forehead of the male being of a brilliant yellow

merging into green (not a trace of white), that of the female

(including superciliaries) being green and devoid of any appear¬

ance of yellow. Sometimes the female has shewn a little yellow ;

but there has always been a marked difference here between the

two, by which the male could be distinguished from the female

at a glance. One feels that in the wild bird a similar if not



