l e n g t h . It has often been a source of wonder t o m e h ow they have t h e strength t o make these
l o n g t u n n e l s ; the amount of e x e r t i on must be enormous; but when one considers the holes of the
Sand-Martin, i t i s n o t s o surprising after a l l .
" During my s t a y at Gibraltar, Bee-eaters decreased very much in the neighbourhood, being
c o n t i n u a l l y shot, o n account of their bright plumage, to put in ladies' hats. Owiu" to this sad
fashion, I saw n o less than seven hundred skins, all shot at Tangier in t h e spriu" of 1871. which
were consigned by Olcese t o some dealer in London. However, t h e enormous injury these birds
do t o t h e p e a s a n t s who keep bees fully merits any amount of punishment; hut a t t h e same time
they destroy quantities of wasps. After being fired at once or twice they become very wary and
s h y a t t h e breeding-places; and t h e b e s t way t o shoot t h em is t o hide near the cohnenares or
groups of corchos or cork bee-hives, which in Spain arc placed in rows, sometimes to t h e number
of seventy or e i g h t y together ; a n d i t i s no unusual thing to see as many Bee-caters wheeling
round and swooping down, even seizing the bees at t h e very entrance of their hives.
" Their early departure in A u g u s t is to he accounted for by the simple fact that bees cease
t o work when there are no flowers; and by that time all vegetation is scorched up."
As will be s e en f r om the above-quoted notes, the present species deposits its eggs in holes
t u n n e l l e d i n hanks by t h e b i rd itself, and i t s eggs, four or five in number, are pure whit.', very
glossy in t e x t u r e of shell, roundish oval in shape, and in general character much resembling the
eggs o f the common Kingfisher. Specimens in my collection average in size about 1A, by J3
inch.
The specimens figured are t h o s e above described, and are in my own collection.
I n t h e preparation of the above article I have examined the following specimens:—
E Mus. M. E. Dresser.
a,b,$. Barcelona, Spain, 8th May, 1866 (//. E. D.j. c,£. Seville, Spain, 5th May, 1808 (H. Saunders). rflC*-
Gibraltar, 17th April, 1871. e, J . Casa Vieja, Spain, Oth May, 1871 {Col. Irby). ƒ. Crimea [IVhilely).
g. Caucasus, 19th June, 1871 [Schmidt). »,<J. Volga, May 1865 (Mbschler). Sarcpta {Stader).
I, J - Egypt (S. Stafford Allen), m, ? . Saconda, Abyssinia, 21st April, 1868 (Jeite). n. Damara Land
[Andenson). o, J . Shiiaz, Persia (JV. T. Blanford). p,q. Cashmere, 1868 (Jesie). r. Volga (Dr. Stader).
s , ? . Egypt, 9th April, 1870 [Shelley). /,juv. S. Africa, 21st October, 1875 (7*. E. Buckley).
E Mus. Ticccddale.
a, ? . Malaga, Spain, 17th May, 1874. A,<J. Black Sea, Oth May, 1866 (Roitm). c,J. Carmcl, 18th April,
1864. d,$. Saconda, Abyssinia, 21st April, 1868 (Jeste). e,f,g. March into Cashmere, 1HG5 (S. Pinu-ill).
A , ? . Cashmere, yth May, 1876 (J. Biddulph). Byan Kheyl, 5th June, 1879. Byau Kheyl, 16th
June, 1879. Srinuggur, 21st July, 1876 (Biddulph).
E Mus. G. E. Shelley.
a. Southern France (Show Kennedy), b, <?. Egypt, 3rd April, 1868 (G. E. Shelley), e, 9 . Nubia, 9th April,
1870 ( G £ S . ) . d,juv. Dar-cs-Salaam(A'irA). e, ¥ . Caeonda, Angola, November 1877 (Anclaela). /.Cape
of Good Hope, 1874 (Butler), g. Durban, 1874 [Gordge). h,£. Mahmbury, Natal (I. Van Retnan).
i, <J. Bivato, 24th October, 1873 (T. E. Buckley). *,/,<?• Bamangwato, 21st October, 1873 [T. E. Buckley).
m,n,o,p. Makalala country (Bradihaw).
The present species breeds in colonies in holes in a hank or clhT usually overhanging a
stream, hut sometimes away from water; and five or eight pure white, glossy, roundish eggs are
deposited on the soil in the chamber at the end of the hole. Mr. Osbert Salvin, who met with
the Bee-cater breeding numerously in North Africa, writes (Ibis, 1S59, p. 303) as follows:—
" The first time I observed this species was towards the end of April, at Kef Laks, where a flock,
apparently just arrived, passed over my head. It is plentiful about Djendeli, and breeds, boring
the hole for its nest, in hanks 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 linds little dilliculty 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 unfrequontly the occupant of the hole is not a Bee-eater, but a toad or
snake. The seratchings 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 a strong probability that there are eggs within. The holes pierced by this
bird usually consist of a horizontal passage about three or four feet long, the entrance being at
various heights from the level ground. This passage, from a circular opening, is gradually
enlarged horizontally till it arrives at a chamber about a foot in diameter, and domed over.
In this chamber the eggs are frequently deposited. Should, however, none he found, it is
necessary to feel all round the chamber ; and in many instances another passage of about a foot
long will be found communicating with a second chamber in all respects similar to the first, in
which, if it exists, the eggs are placed. The bird makes no nest; but the floor of the chamber
is strewn with the legs and wing-cases of Coleóptera 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 hole was being enlarged it would, every now and then, attempt to escape.
The eggs are laid early in June, and are usually six in number. The flight of the Bee-cater is
somewhat like that of a Swallow (Hiriutdo rustica), though its movements are much slower; and
it is frequently to be seen perched on a bush. Its cry is harsh and monotonous."
Colonel Irhy also (I. c.) gives some interesting details respecting the nidifieation and habits
of the present species as observed by him in Southern Spain, where it is very numerous. " Commencing
their labours of excavation," he writes, " almost immediately they arrive, the earliest
eggs that I know of were taken on the 29th of April; but usually they do not lay till about the
second week in May, often not so soon. In some places they nest in large colonics; in others
there arc perhaps two or three holes. When there arc no river-hanks or barrancos in which to
bore holes, they tunnel down into the ground, where the soil is suitable, in a vertical direction,
generally on some slightly elevated mound.
" The shafts to these nests are not usually so long as those in banks of rivers, which sometimes
reach to a distance of eight or nine feet in all; the end is enlarged into a round sort of
chamber, on the bare soil of which the usual four or five shining white eggs are placed; after a
little they become discoloured from the castings of the old birds, the nest being, as it were, lined
with the wings and undigested parts of bees and wasps. Vast numbers of eggs and young must
be annually destroyed by snakes and lizards: the latter are often seen sunning themselves at the
entrance of a hole among a colony of Bee-eaters; and frequently have I avenged the birds by
treating the yellow reptile to a charge of shot. The biBs of the Bee-caters, after boring out
their habitations, are sometimes worn away to less tlian half their usual length; but as newly
arrived birds never have these stumpy bills, it is evident that they grow again to their original