154 COMMON BEE-EATER. 



bj Belon that in the island of Crete in particular 

 a curious mode of catching it is frequently prac- 

 tised, viz. by a Cicada, fastened on a bent pin, or 

 a fish-hook, and tied to a long line : the insect is 

 then thrown into the air, and flies with rapidity ; 

 and the Bee-Eater, ever on the watch for insects, 

 seeing the Cicada, springs at it, and swallowing 

 the bait, is thus taken by the Cretan boys. It is 

 said to be particularly fond of bees, and hence its 

 common title ; but all kinds of flying insects are 

 its occasional victims. It is said to build in the 

 manner of the Kingfisher in deep holes in the 

 banks of rivers, forming a nest of moss, and layings 

 from five to seven eggs, rather smaller than those 

 of a blackbird, and of a white colour. 



In the northern parts of Europe, as before ob- 

 served, this bird must be considered as very rare, 

 and as driven, by some peculiar circumstances, 

 out of its intended track. It is said to have been 

 sometimes seen in Sweden, and, in the third vo- 

 lume of the Transactions of the Linnsean Society, 

 an instance is recorded of a flight, consisting of not 

 fewer than twenty in number, having been seen 

 near Mattishall^ in Norfolk, in the month of June 

 1793, and again in the October following. In 

 the southern parts of Russia and Siberia the Bee- 

 Eater is said to be seen in vast numbers, migrating 

 into those regions in the month of April, and 

 building in clayey banks, which it perforates ob- 

 liquely to the distance of half a foot, and so nu- 

 merous are these holes that the banks appear like 



