3. JiEBors. 85 



15. Merops rniMcus. 



Le Guepier rouge a tete bleiie, Month. Hist. Nat. Ois. vi. p. 506 

 (1779). 



Le Guepier de Nubie, Dauhent. PL Enl. vi. pi. 649. 



Blue-headed Bee-eater, Lath. Gen. Syn. i. pt. 2, p. 680 (1782). 



Merops nubicus, Gin. Syst. Nat. i. p. 464 (1788) ; Grat/, Gen. B. 

 i. p. 86 (1846) ; Strickl. P. Z. S. 18o0, p. 216 ; Bp. Coiisp. i. p. 161 

 (1850); Reichenb. Handb., Merop. p. 79, Taf. 451. figs. 3254-55 

 (1852): Hartl. Orn. Westafr. p. 41 (1857); Cab. S^ Heine, Mus. 

 Hein. Th. ii. p. 141 (1860); SM. Mus. Pays-Bas, xMerops, p. 7 

 (1863); Antin. Cat. descv. Ucc. p. 30 (1864) ; Gray, Hand-l. B. 

 i. p. 100, no. 1213 (18(i9) ; Heugl. Orn. N.O.-Afr.i. p. 199 (1869), 

 iv. pi. Ixv. (1870) ; Blanf. Geol. Sr Zool. Ab^ss. p. 321 (1870); 

 Finsch, Trans. Z. S. to. p. 321 (1870); id. •$• Hartl. Voy. Ostafr. 

 p. 182 (1870); Fischer S,- Reichen.J.f. O. 1878, p. 256; Shelley, 

 P. Z. S. 1881, p. 569 ; Hartl. Abhatidl. nat. Ver. Bremen, vii 

 p. Ill (1881) ; Giirney, Ibis, 1882, p. 72 ; Forbes, Ibis, 1883, 

 pp. 519, 527 ; Shelley, t. c. p. 556 ; Dresser, Monoqr. Merop. p. 89, 

 pi. 20 (1884) ; Shelley, Ibis, 1885, p. 397 ; Hart'ert, J. f. O. 188(5, 

 p. 592; Oust. Bibl'. haut Etudes, xxxi. Art. 10, p. 4 (1886); 

 Shelley, Ibis, 1888, p. 296. 



? Merops brasiliensis, Gm. Syst. Nat. i. p. 462 (1788). 



Merops superbus, Penn. Ind. Zool. Siqypl. p. 33 (1790) ; Shaw 8f 

 Nodd. Nat. Misc. iii. pi. 78 (1791) ; Vieill. N. Diet. d'Hist. Nat. 

 xiv. p. 23 (1817). 



Merops caeruleocephalus, Lath. Ind. Orn. i. p. 272 (1790) ; Vieill. 

 I.e. p. 21(1817). 



Melittotheres nubicus, Reichenb. Handb., Merop. p. 82 (1852). 



Adult. Similar to M. natalensis, but distinguished by having the 

 throat green like the head : " bill black ; feet dusky lead-colour ; 

 iris crimson " ( Von HewjUn). Total length 13 inches, culmen 1"6, 

 wing 5-8, tail 3-8, tarsus o4. 



Hah. West Africa, from Senegambia to the Niger. Equatorial 

 Africa to the Zanzibar district of Eastern Africa. 



a. S ad.sk. Senegal (cT^ewt-iVfe). Rioeour Coll. 



b. Ad. sk. River Gambia. Sharpe CoU. 



c. Ad. sk. River Gambia {Sir A. Moloney). Shelley Coll. 



d. Ad.sk. B\asa,o(Verreaux). H. E. Dresser, Esq. 



[P.]. 



e. 2 ad. sk. Shonga, R. Niger. Forbes Coll. 

 /. 2 ad. sk. liabba, R, Niger. Forbes Coll. 



g. Ad. sk. Kaneb, 3 days above Khartoum, F. Bohudorff [C.]. 



Feb. 

 h. 9 ad. sk. Atfeh, Annesloy Bav, Feb. W. T. Blanford, Esq. 



[C.]. 

 i. Ad. St. White Nile. Purchased. 



k. Ad. sk. Shoa {Sir W. Harris). India Museum. 



I. Ad. sk. Masai-Land {J. Thotnpson). Shelley Coll. 



m, n. Ad. sic. Mombasa (E. C. Buxton). Rev. A. F. Buxton 



[P.]. 

 0. (S ad. sk. Manda I>laud, Nov. F. J. Jackson, Esq. 



[P.]. 



