The Bee-eaters have the beak long, thin, slightly curved and pointed;
the wings are long and pointed; the tail is well-developed, tapering or
forked. They are slender, graceful Birds. Their cries, while they skim
through the air on rapid wing, are constant. The name of Bee-eaters they
receive from their principal food, which consists of large bees and
wasps. They seize their prey either on the wing, like the Swallows, or
secrete themselves at the entrance to a hive, and catch the inmates that
enter or depart, whose stings they are skilful in avoiding. Living
together in numerous flocks, they rapidly clear a district of wasps and
bees.
They build their nests in the banks of rivers or rivulets, in holes
which they excavate to the depth of six or seven feet.