294 Sir T, S. Raffles's Descriptive Catalogue 



MERO.PS. 



1. MEROPS SlJMATRANUS. 



The upper parts of the head and neck, and the back between 

 the shoulders, are of a beautiful chesnut colour. The poste- 

 rior part of the back, the wings above, and the belly, are pure 

 emerald-green. The plumes of the throat, as well as of the 

 rump and vent, have a pale azure tint with a reflection of 

 sea-green. 



By the blue colour of the throat, as well as by the pure green 

 of the back, wings and belly, it is sufficiently distinguished from 

 the Senegal Bee-eater of Shaw, or the chesnut Bee-eater of 

 Gmelin, which it resembles in the chesnut colour of the head, 

 neck, and anterior portion of the back. 



The extremities of the quill-feathers and the tail beneath are 

 blackish-brown. The tail above is blue, with a diluted tint of 

 sea-green ; the two middle tail-feathers are greatly elongated, 

 and towards the extremity the blueish tint is diluted : this is 

 also the case with the vent-feathers. The wings underneath 

 are ferruginous. 



2. MEROPS Javanicus*. 



BlRI BlRI ?t&& 



In the specimens found here there are light blue streaks above 

 the eyes, but I have not observed white lines. Both species are 

 frequent in Sumatra and the eastern islands. 



There are three birds belonging to the division of Pica gres- 

 sorics, which differ essentially from all hitherto described, and 

 must constitute two new and distinct genera in that order. 



* Merops Javanicus. Horsfield, p. 171. 



The 



