THE SEARCHERS. , 79 



the yellow is a broad band of deep black, passing into green on the lower part of the belly ; the under 

 tail-coverts are light blue ; the eye is brownish red, the beak black, and the leg and foot mealy 

 greenish grey. 



The Australian Bee-eater, according to Gould, arrives in New South Wales in August, and departs 

 north in March, during which interval it breeds and rears its young. " Its favourite resorts," says 

 Gould, " are the open, arid, and thinly-timbered forests during the day, and in the evening the banks 

 and sides of rivers, where numbers may be frequently seen in company. It almost invariably selects 

 a dead or leafless branch whereon to perch, and from which it darts forth to capture passing insects, 

 after the manner of the Kingfishers, to which it also assimilates in the upright position it assumes 

 while perched. Its flight somewhat resembles that of the Artami ; and though it is capable of being 

 sustained for a lengthened time, the bird more frequently prefers short excursions, and returns to the 

 branch it left. The entrance to the breeding-hole, which is made in the sandy banks of a river, 

 is about the size of a mouse's hole, and continued for a yard in depth. At the end is an 

 excavation of sufficient size for the reception of the parent and the deposition on the sand of four or 

 five beautiful white eggs. The food of this species consists of various insects, principally coleoptera 

 and neuroptera." 



The NOCTURNAL BEE-EATERS {Nyciiornis), a group of Indian Bee-eaters, are recog- 

 nisable by their strong, curved, and moderately-long beak, almost straight and medium-sized wing, in 

 which the fourth quill exceeds the rest in length. The rich, soft plumage takes the form of very 

 peculiar stiff feathers in the region of the throat and breast. 



THE SANGROK. 



The Sangrok {NycHornis Athertonit) is bright green on the mantle, and of a creamy yellow on 

 the under side ; the feathers on the crown of the head and chin, and the edges of the dark blueish 

 green neck-feathers are light blueish green ; the eye is deep yellow ; the beak lead grey, tipped with 

 black ; and the feet deep green. This bird is fourteen inches long, and eighteen broad ; the wing 

 measures five inches and a half, and the tail six inches. 



We learn from Hodgson and Jerdon that the Sangrok occupies the extensive forests of India to 

 an altitude of three or four thousand feet above the sea, and that it leads a solitary life among the 

 trees, from and around the branches of which it obtains the bees, wasps, beetles, and grasshoppers 

 that constitute its principal food. The cry of this species is loud and harsh. According to the natives 

 its eggs are deposited in holes of trees. 



The ROLLERS {Coracii) are a race of tolerably large birds, for the most part remarkable on 

 account of the variety of their colours, and the splendour of their plumage. All of them belong 

 to the Eastern Hemisphere. As the leading features whereby this group is distinguished, we may 

 enumerate their moderate-sized, or moderately long beak, which is strong and nearly straight, 

 somewhat broad at its base, but compressed towards the tip, sharp-cutting at the edges, and bent 

 down at the point ; the legs are short and feeble, and the toes short. The wings are of moderate 

 length, or long and tolerably broad. The tail is of medium length, sometimes truncate at its 

 extremity, sometimes slightly rounded, and sometimes forked ; occasionally, moreover, the two outer 

 feathers are much longer than the rest. The plumage is somewhat harsh and rough, and the 

 shafts of the feathers stiff! The predominant colours are green, blue, cinnamon-brown, and claret- 

 red. The sexes differ but little, and the young very much resemble their parents. 



