73 
him from Melinda and the Pangani river, and he records it from the Zambesi. It inhabits the 
Comoro Islands. Dr. Kirk says (Ibis, 1864, p. 299) that it was seen on the sngar-plantations 
near Oane, on the island of Mohilla ; and I have examined specimens from Anjuan which agree 
very closely with Madagascar birds, differing but slightly in having the crown rather less brown 
and the central rectrices less elongated. 
In Madagascar this Bee-eater is said to be very generally distributed. Mr. E. Newton says 
(Ibis, 1863, p. 341) that it was “ to be seen hawking about the Hivondrona river almost daily. 
On the Eangandrafrah, a tributary of the Hivondrona, I dug out a female Bee-eater from a hole 
in the bank of the river, about three feet in length ; the nest was not yet made, and the bird’s 
beak was covered with soil, showing that she was still working at the excavation. All the 
specimens, of both sexes, that we obtained were bare of feathers on their breasts and thighs, as if 
incubating.” 
Messrs. Pollen and Van Dam write (Paune de Madag. ii. p. 60) that they met with this bird 
“ on the islands of Mayotte, Nossi-be, Nossi-falie, and in Madagascar, where it is common in 
places between the promontory of Ambaton, the plains of Syrangene, and along the high sand- 
banks skirting the Ambassuana river. It is very generally known under the name of Saint-Esprit. 
It affects the plains on the borders of the forests or the banks of the rivers, and is almost always 
to be seen perched on the branches of a dead tree in the plains or clearings or on the banks of the 
rivers or shores of the lakes. These birds quit their perch every minute to hunt after their prey 
or fly in circles round the tree on which they were perched, uttering in a soft voice the cry cirio , 
cirio, and then return to their former resting-place. They sit very upright, but this does not 
prevent their dashing off and seizing on the wing with great dexterity the insects that pass before 
them. They are by no means shy, and allow themselves to be approached without showing fear. 
On being fired at they return almost immediately to their former perch, and do this until shot. 
These birds live in pairs and but seldom singly, but are sometimes seen in parties of from six to 
twelve individuals. When nesting they congregate in colonies. When ascending the Ambassuana 
we saw, about halfway up the beautiful river, in a sort of high rampart of sand, a number of 
holes surrounded by Bee-eaters, which, flying round incessantly, uttered loud cries. I told my 
Antancar servants to go ashore and examine these holes ; but this they refused to do, because 
they were afraid of sinking in the mud which was at the foot of the rampart. Curiosity and an 
earnest desire to ascertain if these holes contained nests urged me to be the first on shore, and I 
went, sinking up to my knees in the mud. As soon as my Antancars and my Bourbon creole, 
Eugene, saw me ashore, they hurried after me ; but finding it impossible to reach the holes, I had 
one of my young Antancars tied to a strong rope and let down, and with a wand, to the end of 
which we had fastened a fork, he examined the holes. Unfortunately all were empty, and the 
dung at the entrance showed that the young birds had flown. Meanwhile the Bee-eaters came 
from all sides in large numbers and flew round us uttering lamentable cries, and approached quite 
close to the young Antancar. These round holes are dug to a depth of about a metre, with an 
opening about large enough to admit a woman’s hand, and the chamber at the end is lined with 
straws and feathers. The eggs, which are deposited about the middle of October, are almost always 
two in number, are small for the size of the bird, very fragile, and pure white. The moult takes 
place in the months of April and May — at least all that we killed in these months were in 
moult, the long central rectrices being wanting, and they had lost the bright tints of their 
plumage. The Antancars and Sakalaves call this bird by the name of Sicirici-rico, from its 
cry.” 
M 2 
