The AUSTRALIAN BEE-EATER (_Cosmäerops ornatus_) has the back, a line
over the eye, and the wing-coverts brownish green; the crown of the head
and the nape orange; the wings orange-brown, shading into green at the
extremity of the primaries, and tipped with black; the lower part of the
back, the rump, and upper tail-covers are cerulean blue, and the tail
black, most of its feathers edged with blue; the bridle and a line beneath
and behind the eye and ear-coverts are velvety black, beneath this is a
line of light blue; the throat is rich yellow, shading into orange at its
sides; below the yellow is a broad band of deep black, passing into green
on the lower part of the belly; the under tail-coverts are light blue; the
eye is brownish red, the beak black, and the leg and foot mealy greenish
grey.
The Australian Bee-eater, according to Gould, arrives in New South Wales
in August, and departs north in March, during which interval it breeds and
rears its young. "Its favourite resorts," says Gould, "are the open, arid,
and thinly-timbered forests during the day, and in the evening the banks
and sides of rivers, where numbers may be frequently seen in company. It
almost invariably selects a dead or leafless branch whereon to perch, and
from which it darts forth to capture passing insects, after the manner of
the Kingfishers, to which it also assimilates in the upright position it
assumes while perched. Its flight somewhat resembles that of the Artami;
and though it is capable of being sustained for a lengthened time, the
bird more frequently prefers short excursions, and returns to the branch
it left. The entrance to the breeding-hole, which is made in the sandy
banks of a river, is about the size of a mouse's hole, and continued
for a yard in depth. At the end is an excavation of sufficient size for
the reception of the parent and the deposition on the sand of four or
five beautiful white eggs. The food of this species consists of various
insects, principally coleoptera and neuroptera."
* * * * *
The NOCTURNAL BEE-EATERS (_Nyctiornis_), a group of Indian Bee-eaters, are
recognisable by their strong, curved, and moderately-long beak, almost
straight and medium-sized wing, in which the fourth quill exceeds the rest
in length. The rich, soft plumage takes the form of very peculiar stiff
feathers in the region of the throat and breast.