6 THE BEE-EATER. 



almost ends with our Kingfisher (Alcedo ispida), the 

 sight of the Bee-eaters in the South of Europe must 

 be a pleasing and welcome sight, but it is by no 

 means so welcome to the Andalucian peasants 

 who keep bees, and who, unmindful of the 

 further good done by the birds in destroying 

 wasps and other insects, resent the havoc which 

 they work on the denizens of their bee-hives. 

 Here the destruction is so great, that Mr. 

 Howard Saunders tells us that the bee-keepers 

 catch sacks-full of Bee-eaters by spreading nets in 

 front of their nesting holes. The absence of 

 bees in the early autumn is assigned by Colonel 

 Irby as one of the chief causes of the early 

 migration of the Bee-eaters. " The reason of 

 their early departure in August is to be accounted 

 for by the simple fact that bees cease to work 

 when there are no flowers, as by that time all 

 vegetation is scorched up." 



The Bee-eaters may be considered to be first 

 cousins to the highly plumaged Kingfishers, and 

 they have many characteristics in common. They 

 belong to the great order of Picarian birds, in 

 which are contained not only the Kingfishers, but 

 the Rollers, the Swifts, Nightjars, and many other 



