
11. Grand id irr writes (ITist, Nat. Ois. Madag. p. 2(52):—" These Bee-eaten are common on all
the coasts of Madagascar, where they inhabit the bush-covered plains, the banks of water-courses,
and the openings of forests. They do not oecur on the hare mountains in the centre of the island,
though one of our party saw one1 in the great valley of Ampatrana, where the JMangoko runs to
the south of t h e fort of Modongy. Usually they arc seen perched on a dead branch of an isolated
tree, often on the points of the palisades surrounding the cattle-pens and some of the village
houses. When they perceive an insect they dart on it and soon returning take up their old perch,
and sometimes they skim along the water in search of their prey. From time to time they rise
into the air and circle about like Swallows. Otherwise they resemble, in flight, habits, and cry,
the Common Bee-eater, and like them they feed exclusively on insects, which they take on the wing;
and they nest in holes about a metre deep, which they bore with their long bill in the argillaceous
or sandy banks of rivers, and which they line with dry herbs and feathers. Their eggs, usually
two in number, arc oval and pure white, measuring 25 by 22 mm. In the nesting-season they
live in flocks. They collect in large numbers to roost on the same tree. Their moult appears to
take place early in the dry season. They are not wild and are easily shot."
From the particulars respecting the habits of this species which I cite above, it will be seen
that it does not differ from its close ally Merops persicus, either in its general habits or mode of
nidification; and, like that bird, it deposits pure white, roundish eggs, on the ground, at the end
of a hole which it tunnels in a bank, usually in the vicinity of water.
The specimens figured and described are in my own collection.
I n the preparation of the above article I have examined the following specimens :—
E Jfus. II. E. Dresser,
a. Madagascar, b. Anjuaii, 1879 {Bewsher). C. Transvaal (At/res).
E Mus. Brit.
a. Madagascar, b. Madagascar ( Verreaux). c. Madagascar (Crosalvy). d. Angola (Sala). e. Angola (Monteiro).
E JIus. Twecddale.
a. Madagascar (Plant), b, Mayottc, 6th January, 1861- (Pollen If Van Dam).
E Mas. G. E. Shelley.
a. Melinda [Kirk), b, c, d. Pangani Hiver (Kirk), e. Grand Comoro (Kirk), ƒ. Dar-es-Salaam (E. C. Buxton),
g. Madagascar (Crosxley). h. Anjuan Island (Kirk).
E Mus. A. §• E. Newton,
a, (J; b, ? . East coast of Madagascar (E. Newton), c, (ƒ; d, ? . Anjuan, 1876 (Bewsher).