Indian Birds 
The Bee-eaters, 116 and 117 
Bee-eaters are brightly coloured birds of 
elegant form. They are characterised by | 
having the median pair of tail feathers pro- 
longed a couple of inches beyond the others 
as bristles. The feeding habits of these birds 
are like those of flycatchers. ‘They make from 
some perch little sallies in the air after insects. 
The wings when spread are triangular in shape. 
They excavate their nests in sandbanks. 
116. Merops viridis: The Common Indian 
Bee-eater. (F. 1026), (J. 117), (I, but with 
rather a long tail.) 
An emerald-green bird with a turquoise 
throat, black necklace, and a black band through 
the eye. The wings are shot with bronze, so 
that, as the bird sails along on outstretched 
pinions, it looks now green, now bronze, as 
the rays of the sun are reflected at different 
angles. There is some black in the tail, and 
the two median tail feathers project as bristles 
a couple of inches beyond the other tail 
feathers. The eye is bright red. 
Found all over India, but undergoes a con- 
siderable amount of local migration. It is a 
summer visitor to the Punjab and N.W. F. P., 
160 
