. The illustrated natural history [microform]. Birds; Natural history; Oiseaux; Sciences naturelles. ' ill * ^^? m â r t m.,, ' fc 4I n\ 111 * 1 1 J i 1 t 1. BEE-EATEU.âMerops niiiuster. shot by a fanner, iiltliougli it had escaiicd from a lioiise in tlio same littlo villnrre T1,p (lestmctiye propensity is tmly dovoloped to a wonderful extent in some ,K'rsons, who quite justify the sarcastic loivi.^iier in liis ivmark, Il,at a lieavculy day always inspire a, Lnolishman with a desire to go out and kill sometliiiio'. ^ i The food of the Bee-eater consists wliolly of insects, the hees and otliers
. The illustrated natural history [microform]. Birds; Natural history; Oiseaux; Sciences naturelles. ' ill * ^^? m â r t m.,, ' fc 4I n\ 111 * 1 1 J i 1 t 1. BEE-EATEU.âMerops niiiuster. shot by a fanner, iiltliougli it had escaiicd from a lioiise in tlio same littlo villnrre T1,p (lestmctiye propensity is tmly dovoloped to a wonderful extent in some ,K'rsons, who quite justify the sarcastic loivi.^iier in liis ivmark, Il,at a lieavculy day always inspire a, Lnolishman with a desire to go out and kill sometliiiio'. ^ i The food of the Bee-eater consists wliolly of insects, the hees and otliers of hymenopterons order heinn; the favourite article, of diet. In chasin- these insects, which mv for tlie most part very active of lli,,ht, the liee-cder .lisplays'very great command of if ^^V'f. "'-f ".^' I' Vnr^nM, can twist and turn in the air with\s much ease and skill as is exhibited Ijy the swallow or the roller. Undaunted by the poisoned weapons of llu! wasp, hornet, or hoo, the 1)ird makes many a meal upon these insects, contriving to swallow them wiihoiit any inconvenience from their stings. It is probable that there may be .some peculiaritv in tlu. stmcture ot his and several other birds, that renders them iiulitferent to the intluence ot the sting, for it is to account for their imninnitv on any other tl rv Mr. YarreU imagines that the Lee-eater renders its prey liarmless by nuudi pinchin- ml biting, and that by "repeated compression, particularly in the abdonion, the .stin- i,s?.itl,,r squeezed out, or its attachments so deranged, that the sling itself is harmless" 1 cannot coincide m this opinion, for the sting cannot be entirely s(|ueezed out of tlio abdomen by any amount ot pressure, and its pois<.noiis ].r<,i,erlies are quite as rile after it has been separated from the muscular atla-'limeiils as during its with them I speak from experience, having sulfered rather severely f
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Keywords: ., boo, bookcentury1800, booksubjectbirds, booksubjectnaturalhistory
