THE COMMON BEE.EATER. 285 
pointed, and give to their owners a wonderful command of the air, while 
engaged in chasing their winged prey. 
~ The common BEE-EATER of Europe is very frequently found in many 
parts of the Continent, and has been several times taken in England. 
It is, however, a scarce bird in Great Britain, and is of sufficient rarity 
to excite some curiosity whenever it is found within the confines of 
our shores. 
The food of the Bee-eater consists wholly of insects, hive-bees and others 
of the hymenopterous order being the favourite article of diet. In chasing 
these insects, which are for the most part very active of flight, the Bee-eater 
displays very great command of wing, and while urging its pursuit, can twist 
and turn in the air with as much ease and skill as is exhibited by the swallow 
or the roller. 
To the apiarian, who resides in the same country with the Bee-eater, the 
bird is a terrible foe, as it has an insatiable appetite for the honey-making 
insects, and haunts every spot where it is likely to meet them. The hives 
are constantly visited by the Bee-eaters, who are ingenious enough to resort 
to the turpentine pines for the sake of catching the bees that come to carry 
away the exudations for the purpose of converting them into “ propolis,” or 
that substance with which they har- 
den the edges of their cells, caulk the 
crevices of the hives, and perform 
many other useful tasks. It does not, 
however, confine itself to the hymen- 
opterous insects, but is fond of bee- 
tles, cicadze, grasshoppers, and similar 
creatures. 
The nest of the Bee-eater is not 
unlike that of the kingfisher, being 
placed at the extremity of a burrow 
made in some convenient bank. The 
burrow is excavated by the bird itself, 
and it often happens that the Bee- 
eaters are as gregarious in their nest- 
ing as in their flight, honeycombing 
the clay banks in a manner very simi- BEE-EATER. —(Merops apiaster). 
lar to that of the sand martin. The 
burrows do not run to any great depth, seldom exceeding six or eight inches 
in length. The nest is composed of moss, and contains about five or six 
beautifully white and pearly eggs. 
The colours of the adult male bird are extremely varied and very beautiful, 
The top of the head is rich chestnut brown, extending to the neck, back, and 
wing-coverts. Over the rump the chestnut changes to light reddish yellow. 
The primaries and secondaries of the wing are bright blue-green, tipped with 
black, and their shafts painted with the same colour, and the tertiaries are 
green throughout their entire length. The upper tail-coverts are of the 
same hue as the wings, and the tail is likewise green, tinted with a darker 
hue, graphically called by Mr. Yarrell “duck-green.” The chin and throat 
are a reddish yellow, and round the throat runs a band of deep blue-black. 
The under part of the body is green with a blue tinge, and the under 
surface of the wings and tail is greyish brown. The ear-coverts are black 
and the eye is light scarlet, which contrasts beautifully with the chestnut 
black, and yellow of the head and neck. 
The female may be distinguished from the male by the paler hue of the 
reddish yellow on the throat, and the reddish tinge that runs throughout the 
