. Natural history. Zoology. BEE-EA TERS—MO TMO TS. 341. F\^, 75.—The Common Bee-Eatbb {Masofs aplaster). M. apiaster, visiting Southern Europe every summer, extending even to Cen- tral Asia and Kashmir. The bird generally tunnels a hole into the bank of some river, and the white eggs are deposited in a chamber at some distance, sometimes of several feet from the opening. Occasionally the birds have been known to bore downwards through the sandy soil, and Mr. E. L. Layard records one instance which came under his own observation in Cape Colony, where the ground was " perforated with number
. Natural history. Zoology. BEE-EA TERS—MO TMO TS. 341. F\^, 75.—The Common Bee-Eatbb {Masofs aplaster). M. apiaster, visiting Southern Europe every summer, extending even to Cen- tral Asia and Kashmir. The bird generally tunnels a hole into the bank of some river, and the white eggs are deposited in a chamber at some distance, sometimes of several feet from the opening. Occasionally the birds have been known to bore downwards through the sandy soil, and Mr. E. L. Layard records one instance which came under his own observation in Cape Colony, where the ground was " perforated with numberless holes, into which the birds were diving and scrambling like so many ; He found the species breeding on the Berg river in September and October, so that the bee-eater may be con- sidered one of the few species which are known with certainty to nest in their winter quarters. In certain parts of Spain the beo-eater com- mits great havoc among the bees as they fly out of the hives, and the bird is, in consequence, detested by the peasants. In the Indian and Malayan sub-regions occur the bearded bee-eaters, re- markable for an ornamental tuft of plumes on the chest. One species, Meropogon forsteni, with the central tail-feathers produced, is confined to the island of Celebes ; while the genus Nydiornis, which has a square tail, is represented by two species, N. athertoni, of the Himalayas, with a blue throat, and N. amiota, of the Malayan Peninsula, with a scarlet throat. These birds are of stouter build than the rest of the bee-eaters, and are believed to nest in holes of trees. The motmots are exclusively neo-tropical in habitat, and contain but a single family, the Momotidce. They represent to a great extent the Mero- pidai of the Old World. The pal- ate is desmognathousor "bridged," the sternum has four posterior notches, and the hind-toe or hal- lux is always present, and is con- nected with the flexor perforans digitornm tendon. Seven genera are re
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