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In its habits this Bee-eater is said to closely resemble its allies ; it frequents river-banks 
and the vicinity of water, is usually seen perched on the tops of trees, and like its allies feeds 
on insects of various kinds, which it captures on the wing. Sir J. Kirk states that it is solitary in 
its habits and frequents the hanks of streams ; Mr. Ayres found them in flights on the banks 
of rivers, generally alighting on the tops of bushes and trees or on any bare exposed twig, and 
he observes that their notes are harsh and short. “ Towards evening near Rustenberg,” the latter 
writes (Ibis, 1879, p. 289), “they go in flights, appearing to congregate and roost at certain 
known localities, generally on the sides of a gully with perpendicular banks, on the ledges of 
which they sleep ; in such situations they also breed during the summer months, as is evident 
from the many holes bored in the banks ; during the day they generally disperse, and may then 
be found solitary, or but two or three together.” 
This Bee-eater breeds in holes in river-banks, and deposits roundish, pure white, glossy 
eggs, similar to those of its allies. 
The adult bird figured and described is in my own collection, and the young bird described 
is in the British Museum. 
In the preparation of the above article I have examined the following specimens : — 
E Mm. H. E. Eresser. 
a, . Transvaal (Ayres). b,c. Transvaal ( Barratt ). d, $ ; e, f. Port Natal (Cutter), g. Makalaka Country 
( Bradshaw ) . 
E Mm. Brit. 
a, £ . Transvaal (Ayres), h, juv. Near kustenberg (Barratt). c. Natal (Cutter), d. Crocodile river (Oates). 
E Mus. Tweeddale. 
a. Zambesi (Kirk). 
E Mus. Paris. 
a. South Africa, 1845 (Delagorgue) . b. Moszelekates Country, South Africa, 1836 ( Verreaux) . 
E Mus. G. E. Shelley. 
a. Makalaka Country (Bradshaw) . b, c, d. Rovumak (J. Thomson) . 
sS 
TT 
