202 MEROPIDjE.
bird from which our figure was taken was'shot in May 1827',
by the bailiff of Robert Holford, Esq. at Kingsgate in the
Isle of Thanet. This specimen is nowin the possession of
R. B. Hale, Esq. M.P. of Alderley, near Wootton-uhder-
Edge, in Gloucestershire, who obligingly, allowed me the use
of it for this Work. One example 'of the Bee-eater is 'recorded
by Rusticus to havé been shot, in a garden in the
town of Godaiming in Surrey a few years back ; and a specie
men was shot during the autumn of the present year, 1889,
at Christchurch, in Hampshire, for the knowledge of which !
am indebted to the kindness of my friend T. C, Heysham,
Esq. of Carlisle.
In Dorsetshire, a Bee-eater was shot at Chidcock,-and is
now preserved in the. Bridport Museum. Three' specimens
are recorded by Dr. Edward Moore as having been .killed in
Devonshire. In Cornwall, according to Mr. Cöuch, four
specimens occurred in the parish of Madem in 1807, and a
flock of twelve visited the neighbourhood of Helston~in
1828, of which eleven were shot. The only instance I am
aware of in which the Bee-eater has occurred in Ireland, is
that recorded by Mr. Vigors in the Zoological Journal as
having been killed on the sea-shore near Wexford, in the
winter of 1820, and preserved in the collection of James
Tardy, Esq. of Ranelagh, near Dublin.
Four or five examples of this bird have been obtained in
the counties of Suffolk and Norfolk. One killed at Beccles,
in the spring of 1825, is in the possession of the widow of the
Rev. H. F . Howman; three ^others are recorded in the
fifteenth volume of the Transactions of the Linnëan Society.
Mr. Thompson of Belfast has referred to one that was shot in
October 1832 in the Mull of Galloway; and Professor Nilsson
mentions that a male ,and female were killed in Sweden
in 1816. Montagu says, “ I t is nowhere so- plentiful as in
the southern parts of Russia, particularly about the rivers
BEE-EATER. 203
Don and Wolga, in the banks of which they build their
nests^ perforating h9J.es to the depth of half a foot or more
for that purpose.* They are said ;to be gregarious, as well in
the breeding season as in, their migrations, excavating the
clayey bamtesonear tq.^ach other as to appear like a honeycomb.
In autumn they migrate in large flocks to the more
- southern latitudes.” .'These, birds fine their nesting-holes
with soft, moss, and lay from. five..to seven eggs, which are
smooth,, whit©,, and shining,;, measuring about one inch in
length by ten lines and; a h&lf in breadth. To follow the
Bee-eater back to Africa by a different route, I may mention
that it visits,/the countries between the Black and the Caspian
seas: "the Zoological Society have received specimens
from Messrs. Dickson and Ross, two zealous collectors at
Erzerum, who state th a t. these birds frequent that country
from May till September ;>«it ia found also in Turkey, in
Greece,, and in Egypt. The Bee-eater takes its food while on
the wing, like the" Swallows, living chiefly on winged insects,
and probably derives; its name; from a partiality toj those of
the IJymenopterous order. A traveller speaking of the
habits of the Bee-eater in Asia Minor, says,* “ They utter a
rich warbling chirp when on the wing; they are often observed
among the turpentine firs, from which bees collect
much honey, and are sometimes attracted to : the valleys by
the numerous apiaries of the peasantry.” Montagu says that
“ In Egypt it is called Melmoorghi,—bees’ enemy, and that
the bird itself is eaten as food. At the Cape of Good Hope
it is called Gnat-snapper, and serves as a guide to the Hottentots
by directing them to the honey which the bees store
in the clefts of the rocks.” It has often been asked how it is
that many of our small birds manage to swallow live bees,
and even wasps, without appearing to suffer from their powerful
stings, I believe that the bird pinches the insect, passing
* Annals of Nat. Hist. November, 1839.