46 , FRIENDS OF THE AGRICULTURIST 



from their curious habit of occasionally rolling or turning 

 over while in flight. 



The Cinnamon Eoller {Eurystomus afer) is cinnamon-brown 

 above and lilac below, with blue wings and tail. Length, 

 lOj inches, it is fairly common in P. South-East Africa. 



BEE-EATERS 



The Bee-eater Family (Meropidce) is perhaps a better 

 known group in South Africa, being more widely distributed 

 than the preceding family. 



The first species is the European Bee-eater {Merojps 

 ajpiaster), commonly known to the Boers as the Berg 

 Zwaluw (Mountain Swallow). It is of a dark chestnut on 

 the upper back, fading into pale cinnamon colour on the 

 lower back and rump. Upper and least wing-coverts and 

 tail green. Central tail-feathers lengthened and pointed. 

 Throat yellow, followed by a black band and the remainder 

 of the imder-surface greenish-blue. Length to outer tail- 

 feathers about 9 J inches. 



It is a migrant from Southern Europe and Central Asia, 

 and is somewhat evenly distributed over South Africa 

 during our summer, being, however, scarce in the Eastern 

 Cape Colony. They hawk their insect prey on the wing, 

 being very partial to bees and wasps. 



This bird is amongst the few northern migrants which 

 breed in South Africa as well as in the Northern Hemisphere. 

 Eggs were taken by Jackson, W. G. Fairbridge, and L. T. 

 Grififin. It lays white eggs in holes bored in the bank of a 

 donga or river (similar to the Kingfishers). 



There is another migratory species from oversea, this 

 being the Blue-cheeked Bee-Eater (M. persicus) from South- 

 West Asia and North-West India. This species is slightly 

 larger than the preceding, and differs in having the upper 



