Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume II.djvu/484

 BEE-EATER BEE-KEEPING prominent branch, from which they can see all ' around them. From this they capture insects on the wing, like the swallow, generally return- ing to the same perch. At morning and even- ing they often congregate in considerable num- bers. Their night is graceful and sustained ; their cry is loud, consisting of pleasant, whis- tling notes, continued at morning and evening. They rear their young in horizontal holes in the sandy hanks of rivers, or in soft rocks which they can excavate. The entrance is | small, opening, at the depth of 3 or 4 feet, into ; a cavity in which the parent can easily turn. The eggs are from 5 to 7 in number, laid on the bare ground, or on moss or other soft material. The common bee-eater (merops apiuster, Linn.) inhabits the south of Europe, especially about the Russian rivers Don and Volga, and the northern parts of Africa. It is occasionally seen in England and Sweden. The other species Bee Wolf (Melittotheres Nubicus). of the genus are found in Africa, Asia, and the Indian archipelago. The common species is about 10 inches long ; the bill 1-J inch, black and pointed ; eyes red ; forehead bluish green, and behind it green ; top of the head chestnut, with a green tinge ; hind head and upper part of neck chestnut, paler toward the back ; from the bill is a black stripe, passing through the eye ; the back and scapulars pale yellow, tinged. with chestnut and green ; rump and upper tail coverts blue-green, with a yellowish tinge; throat yellow ; under parts blue-green, palest on the belly ; lesser wing coverts dull green ; quills mostly sea-green without, and many of the in- ner rufous the first very short, the second the largest of all; the tail wedge-shaped, of 12 feathers, the shafts brown above and whitish beneath, the two middle ones sea-green, shaded with rufous, and the longest by nearly an inch ; daws black. In Egypt this species is eaten as food. The eggs are white. It receives its name from the insect which is its favorite food, Hives near the Ground. though it feeds on most of the winged insects, which it takes as it liies. One of the must beautiful of the African genera is the bee wolf (melittotheres Nubicw), a bird of the most bril- liant plumage. Its back is of a deep red color, its under side rose pink. . The head, throat, and portions of the tail are of a bluish green ; while a black stripe runs from the corner of the beak to the ear. The tips of some of the longest feathers are also black. The eyes are red. the feet brown, and the beak black. The bird is generally about 13 inches in length, and its breadth of wing is about 12 inches. It inhab- its eastern Africa. BEE-KKEPIIVG. The apiary should be well sheltered from strong winds, either naturally or by building walls or close, high fences, and should face the south, the east, or the south- east, so as to get the sun during the day. If it is not so shel- tered, in a high wind the bees are unable to strike the hive and are blown to the ground, where they are chilled and die. It should not be near large surfaces of water, lest the bees, overcome by cold or fatigue, should be forced to alight on them, or be carried down by the wind. After a suitable place for an apiary is selected, the hives should not be moved over a few feet ; for when the bees first fly out in the spring they mark the location and take note of immediately surrounding objects as guides for their return. The hives should be placed in a right line ; the dis- tance between the hives should not be less than two feet. In some apiaries their height from the ground is from one to two feet, but many bee-keepers of expe- rience raise the plat- form only two inches from the earth, because fewer of the fatigued or chilled bees that miss the hive in returning and alight under it are lost, the flight of issuing swarms is lower, and there is less exposure to strong winds. Grounds on which there are no large trees, but some of small size and shrubbery, on which the swarms may alight, are preferable. The grass should be mown frequently around the hives, and the ground kept clean, to prevent too much dampness, and to destroy the lurking Hives on Two-foot Pedestals.