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 the irritated insects by a peculiarly tough skin. The European Bee-Eater (Merops apiaster) is an elegant bird, and clothed in brilliant colours, but with a stridulous and somewhat disagreeable cry. It feeds on insects, especially bees, wasps, hornets, &c., and also on the smaller tribes of gnats and flies. It inhabits the warmer parts of Europe, South Africa, and is seldom met with in the northern regions of the globe; while it abounds in Southern Russia, particularly about the rivers Don and Wolga, whose banks are sometimes perforated to a great extent by their excavations.

FINIS.

EDINBURGH: PRINTED BY T. CONSTABLE, PRINTER TO HER MAJESTY.