NON-INDIGENOUS BRITISH BIRDS. 103 



little smaller and paler and of a more yellowish hue. The 

 latter character is probably a protective one, and renders 

 the eggs in close harmony with the tints of the sand on 

 which they rest. Average measurements unknown. 



Diagnostic characters : As our information 

 respecting the eggs of the Egyptian Nightjar is so 

 meagre, it is quite impossible to say whether any of the 

 characters they present are diagnostic. Information is 

 much to be desired. 



Family MEROPID.E. Genus Merops. 



BEE-EATER. 



Merops apiaster, Linnceus. 



(British : Rare abnormal spring and autumn migrant.) 



Single Brooded. Laying season, end of April to first half of 



June. 



Breeding area: Southern Palaearctic region and 

 North-eastern Ethiopian region. The Bee-Eater only 

 breeds exceptionally in Europe north of lat. 50^ in the 

 west and lat. ^2}^ in the east. It breeds commonly in 

 the Spanish Peninsula, much less so in the extreme 

 south of France, but is abundantly distributed through- 

 out Southern Europe below the limits already given in 

 Italy, Austria, the valley of the Danube, Turkey, Greece, 

 and Southern Russia. It also breeds in Asia Minor, 

 Palestine, Persia, Turkestan, and, it is said, in the Altai 

 Mountains. South of the Mediterranean it breeds in 

 Morocco, Algeria, Tunis, and Egypt. It is also said to 

 breed in the Canaries and Madeira ; and according to 

 Layard in the Cape Colony. 



