42 BRITISH BIRDS, WITH THEIR NESTS AND EGGS. 
at which time it travels in large flocks, but also during the breeding-season when 
the steep banks of rivers or streams are filled with its burrows, much after the 
manner of those formed by Sand-Martins. 
In their love of open country, manner of flight, and their fondness for perching 
on telegraph wires, Bee-eaters much resemble Swifts and Swallows; like these 
birds they skim low over the herbage or sail high in air on buoyant wing, ever 
and anon sweeping round in circles or stopping with hovering action to seize some 
dancing insect which would otherwise evade their grasp. Nevertheless in some 
respects they differ widely from these birds, with whom at times they consort, for 
they not infrequently choose a favourite perch from which they make short sallies 
after the fashion of a Flycatcher, seizing some passing insect and returning again 
to the spot whence they started. Then also they do not disdain to snatch an 
insect from a leaf, or even to hunt for beetles upon the earth. 
Strictly insectivorous, the Bee-eaters, favourite food appears to consist of bees 
and wasps; and so much havoc does it commit amongst the bee-hives in Spain, 
that, as Lord Lilford informs us, ‘lads are often employed to shoot at and scare” 
these birds away. Howard Saunders also states that ‘‘sacks full of birds are 
taken * * by spreading a net over the face of an occupied bank, and pouring 
water into a parallel trench cut at some distance back; for the Bee-eater is hated 
by the peasants, owing to the ravages inflicted upon their numerous hives, although 
it also destroys large numbers of wasps, locusts, grasshoppers, beetles, and other 
insects.” (Manual British Birds, p. 274). 
The time of nidification varies between April and June, according to the 
country in which it is breeding; the bird forms its own burrow and has been said 
to make a fresh one each year, but this is exceedingly improbable; it is far more 
likely that, like the Sand-Martin, it lengthens its tunnel annually, until it has 
gone as far as it is accustomed to excavate, and then commences a fresh one. 
Although the banks of rivers are favourite nesting sites, almost any suitable 
bank is likely to be occupied; and, where these are not available, the Bee-eater 
burrows straight down for a short distance in open sandy soil, then turning 
abruptly forms a horizontal tunnel for two or three feet and finishes, as usual, in 
an enlarged cavity for the reception of the eggs. These are generally from four to 
six in number; rarely as many as eight or nine; they are pure white, glossy, and 
rounded after the manner of eggs of Kingfishers. They are deposited upon cast- 
ings and insect wings, no nest being formed. It is probable that only one brood 
is reared in the year. 
It would, at first sight, seem next to impossible that a bird so purely insec- 
tivorous as the Bee-eater could be kept for any length of time in confinement; but 
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