320 
THE SAVAGE WORLD. 
those before eaten; the grebe, with no intention of abandoning its prey, tried 
for many minutes to gorge the fish, and at length succeeded in swallowing the 
body so far that only the tail protruded, but was unable to drive it further 
with all its attempts at deglutition. The bird showed great distress, and 
gradually its efforts became fainter and fainter, until after some half hour of 
struggling it dropped its head into the water and expired. 
The Jacamars ( Galbulidce ) of South America, which include four species, 
viz.: The Paradise Jacamar ( Galbula paradisea) , Green ( G . viridus ), Three¬ 
toed (Jac. tridactyla) , and Great Jacamar ( Jac. grandis ), though not nearly so 
large as the kingfisher, are very similar in form and nesting habits. The 
small Galbula paradisea is a very beautiful bird, rivalling the splendors of the 
most exquisite birds of New Guinea, but the others, save the green species, 
are of a dull, even sooty color. They are solitary creatures, spending the day 
on a single perch, watching for passing insects, on which they feed exclusively. 
In the breeding season, the male and female unite their labors in digging a 
hole in some sandy bank, inclining 
the excavation upward for a depth 
of eight to ten inches, the rear end 
being made globular in form' to re¬ 
ceive the nest, in which only two 
white eggs are laid. 
The Bee-eaters ( Meropidce ) are 
very closely allied to the jacamars, 
and by some naturalists are included 
in the same order. The genera, how¬ 
ever, is a considerable one, number¬ 
ing, as it does, thirty species, and 
widely distributed. Those peculiar to 
Europe and Africa are distinguished 
for their rather brilliant metallic lus¬ 
tre, in which green is the predominant color. The breeding habits of the bee- 
eaters are peculiar. They nest usually in colonies, digging deep tunnels in 
steep, sandy river banks. This tunnel, which is often as much as ten feet 
long, opens into a considerably enlarged breeding chamber, where the female 
deposits usually five white eggs on the bare soil. These tunnels are dug 
at the expense of extraordinary labor, in which the pair perform an equal 
part; when the digging is finished, the bills of the birds will be. found worn 
down to nearly one-half their original length. 
The Bee-eater of America ( Merops Americana) , of which there is a single 
species, differs from its congeners of the old world in having claws of great 
muscular strength and of structure like those of the hawk family. It is a small 
dull-colored bird, and seldom more than male and female are seen together. It 
sits upon a perch watching for bees or beetles, upon which it darts, uttering 
at the time a sharp twitter, and at once returns to the perch it left. When 
wounded the bird will fight most viciously, lying upon its back and offering a 
stout defence with beak and claws. After wounding a bee-eater upon one occa¬ 
sion I thoughtlessly attempted to secure it, when in a moment the bird turned 
upon its back and as I reached my hand near enough, it seized my finger with 
a wonderful grip, sinking the claws so deeply into the flesh and holding on so 
tenaciously that I was some time in breaking its hold loose. 
bee-eater {Merops apiaster). 
