wm

py 3

Fr

&

“A

A

tn Wah a a:
SAE PRA ee

Cc | Ly tre : ( optera on which the
Ss ig > a fi a lar t With he els tra of the 7), ] 1
nests one migh genel c lly II c ql po y ft C ( yle UE

and in old | :
t is called ‘ warwar’ by the natives, from

al its ery, and is mentioned by Russell
young have been reare ae .
as being considered delicate eating by the Syrians. | it ee
< i ird as served by him in Keypt, state: at ¢ .
‘ord S. / speaking of the bird as observed by g
Mr. Stafford S. Allen, speaking
* tha : sarly in April
‘er part of that country ‘early in April, a ee
ee i : 1 Asia Minor to Eastern Europe and the shores of the Black Sea, for
Africa, across the Mediterranean and sista NAIn¢ 2 ae oe
It mostly flies in flocks of twenty or thirty, but sometimes in much greatei
2 e . . . 2 s Me =
daytime they keep ata considerable height, and sail about like Swallows,

on its way from its winter-quarters im the equatorial regions of

the purpose of breeding.
numbers. While on their way in the
though not so rapidly, descending at night to roost ou as
often distinctly audible when the birds are almost out of sight. oe :
Lieut. R. M. Sperling says, “this graceful bird is Se on the shores of the Mediterranean, and is
certainly one of the most beautiful members of their avifauna. !
notes sound from far off as they float towards you, glittering like green flakes when the sun ee the ad
They are generally seen in flocks of about ten or twelve; and I noticed that after

They utter a sharp twittering ery, which is

In the hottest days their bubbling bell-like

tints of their plumage. a oe os
they have been in one place about half an hour, they move off and ‘ beat’ in another locality. They leave
Africa for Europe about the 10th of April.” .

In his five months’ birds’-nesting in the Eastern Atlas, Mr. Salvin states that ‘ the Bee-eater is plentiful about
Djendeli, and breeds, boring the hole for its nest, in banks of the river Chemora and the ditches that drain
the low land near the lake. There the soil is alluvial and soft, and the bird finds little difficulty in making
its excavation. During our stay, I took several nests, and latterly became an adept at knowing at once which
holes were tenanted, and where and when to dig. A little circumspection is necessary at first; for
not unfrequently the occupant is a toad or snake. The scratchings made by the bird’s feet in passing
in and out, and the absence of fresh earth beneath the orifice, are generally sure indications of the
excavation having been completed, and consequently of the probability of there being eggs within. The
holes usually consist of a horizontal passage about three or four feet im length, with the entrance at
various heights from the level ground. This passage, at first a circular opening, gradually enlarges
horizontally, and ends in a domed chamber of about a foot in diameter; here the eggs are frequently
deposited. Should, however, none be found, it becomes necessary to feel all round the chamber, when in
many instances another passage of about a foot in Jength will be found communicating with a second chamber
in all respects similar to the first, in this, if it exists, the eggs are placed. The bird makes no nest; but
the floor of the chamber is strewn with the legs and wings of Coleopfera in such abundance that a handful
may be taken up at once. In most instances I caught one of the old birds in the chamber containing the

eggs; while the bole was being enlarged, it every now and then attempted to escape. The eggs are laid
early in June, and are usually six in number.”

“At Jaffa Mr. Chambers fell in with large flocks of Merops apiaster flying during the whole day at a
great elevation, and only coming down late in the evening to roost in the orange-yroves.” Lord Lilford
states that ‘“‘ the Bee-eater arrives in Corfu and Epirus in great numbers during the month of April, and
breeds in the latter country on the banks of the Kataito River, near Morsyah, and many other similar localities.
In all the holes examined, the eggs were laid on the bare sand, without any attempt at a nest. I several
times observed three, and once or twice four birds fly from the same hele. The parents leave the country
as soon as the young are able to fly. Ihave never seen them later than the beginning of August, and I
observed also, during the same month in 1858, that although the banks of Guadalquivir, near an Juan de
Alfarache, where there was a large colony of this species, were mined in every direction, and exhibited signs
of recent occupation, not a Bee-eater was to be seen.” :

Dr. Henry Giglioli, in his paper on the birds observed at Pisa and in its neighbourhood in 1864, says,
“ During the first days of May large flocks of the Common Bee-eater ( : ;
place, flying northwards. They continually betray their presence by their |
near here, unless in the olive-plantations at the foot of the Monte Pi

Little more need be said except that the sexes ar
less brilliant than the male, and that the y
time they leave the nest; but two years eli
of their parents.

Verops apiaster) passed over the
loud rolling whistle, but rarely stop
sano.”

e very similar in colour, the female being merely a trifle
oung assume a plumage like that of the adult from the
apse before the central tail-feathers become as long as those

Che Plate represents C c 4 y °
S an adult male f th Z f lit I 2 Dr nu stan
A 49 O e€ size o cs a id a oung I It | ll he di C GE