BEE-EATEK. 



161 



six inches, and the wings, when closed, reach to within one 

 fourth of its length. The quill- feathers are very narrow and 

 pointed, and have very strong and stiff shafts ; the first quill- 

 feather is exceedingly small, the second is the longest in the 

 wing. 



The tail feathers are twelve in number, and of equal length, 

 except the two central ones, which extend in adult birds one 

 inch beyond the rest. The beak is very hard in texture, 

 an inch and a half in length, and perfectly black ; it is five 

 lines in height at the base, and five and a half lines wide ; 

 it is gently curved, sharp-pointed, and rather compressed ; 

 the upper mandible has a strong blunt ridge, and is a trifle 

 larger than the under-one, the edges of both very little in- 

 dented and fitting very close ; the inside is also black, and 

 strengthened with three ridges extending from the base to 

 the tip. Nostrils, which are small, are placed close to the 

 forehead; they are round, and partly covered with stiff bristling 

 feathers ; behind the eye is a small naked brown patch. 

 The legs and feet are very short, and naked for nearly half 

 an inch below the knee; they are finely scaled behind, and 

 very strongly in front. The upper surface of the toes is 

 scutellated. The small hind toe is very broad at the sole, 

 the three front toes are connected together, in the manner 

 of the kingfishers ; the tarsus measures from six to seven 

 lines, the middle toe ten lines, including the claw, which 

 is four lines, the outer eight and a half, and the hinder 

 six. 



The localities most frequented by the Bee-eater are the 

 precipitous banks of rivers among which they breed ; they also 

 resort to vineyards and valleys that are full of flowering plants, 

 as in such places their favourite food abounds. In the warm 

 parts of Asia and Africa these birds are very common, and 

 are to be seen skimming about in thousands. Many parts 



