Mr. T. Ayres on the Ornithology of Transvaal. 223 



Merops nubicoides, DesMurs. Carmine-tliroated Bee- 

 eater. 



Male and female. Iris umber-brown ; bill black ; tarsi 

 and feet dingy ash-brown. 



1 found a fair sprinkling of these very handsome Bee- 

 eaters on the Eland's river in the Rustenburg district in 

 January 1883 ; the nearly fall-grown young birds were with 

 the old ones. This Bee-eater is much tamer and more easy 

 to approach than most of the genus^ but it is not often met 

 with. 



363. Merops apiaster, Linn. European Bee-eater. 



Three specimens sent, shot in December (2n(l), January 

 (26th), and February. 



This species was very plentiful in the Rustenburg district 

 during February and March 1882, and again during our 

 summer in the following year. 



Ceryle maxima (Pall.). Great African Kingfisher. 



Female, shot 4tli February. 



In this specimen the tail-feathers seem to have been shed 

 all at once, and the partly-grown new feathers to be making 

 their appearance in the same way. It is a scarce species 

 throughout this country. 



CucuLUs CANORUs, Liuu. European Cuckoo. 



[Mr. Ayres sends two males, both shot on the same farm, 

 about thirty miles from Potchefstroom, one on the 21st 

 January, 1879, the date when the other was procured being 

 unfortunately not recorded ; each of the birds had been feed- 

 ing on caterpillars. Both birds show marks of immaturity, 

 but have attained the adult dress, with the exception of some 

 slight remains of the previous plumage on the jugulum and 

 abdomen, and excepting also a few primaries belonging to 

 the immature dress, and, in the case of the specimen of which 

 the date is recorded, a few feathers of similar age in the 

 wing- coverts. 



1 have at different times received from Mr. Ayres five 

 South-African specimens of the European Cuckoo, including 



