1 9 1 7 • ] Ornithology of Malta. 469 



153. (156) Merops apiaster L. The Bee-eater. 

 Local name : Kird in-nahal. 



Occurs on passage during the spring and autumn ; it is, 

 however^ more common during the former season, and in 

 the latter it is generally scarce. I have seen large flocks 

 of these birds passing very high and apparently without 

 alighting. Schembri states that, according to Dr. Pisani, 

 Chief Medical Officer in Gozo, the Bee-eater has been 

 known to nest at the '' Bamla '^ — a sand)'^ bay of that island. 

 Wright repeats the statement. I think, however, that there 

 is need of further evidence. 



154. (157) Merops persicus Pall. The Blue-cheeked 

 Bee-eater. 



Local name : Kird in-nahal rar. 



Schembri records the occurrence of two s])ecimens in 

 September 1840, and Wright, in the fifth appendix to his 

 list of Maltese Birds, records another killed at the end of 

 May 1871 at the Inquisitor's Palace by F. Camilleri. It is, 

 of course, difficult to state with certainty whether these 

 specimens belonged to the Persian race or the Sahara form, 

 though very probably they belonged to the latter. The local 

 name appears in Giglioli's ' Avifauna Italica,^ where the date 

 of the occurrence recorded by Wright is the 25th of Maj^, 

 1861, and that for Scliembri's is September 1846. 



155. (158) Upupa epops epops L. The Hoopoe. 

 Local name : Dakkuka. 



Occurs on passage during both seasons ; it is, however, 

 much more abundant during the spring, when the first 

 arrivals are noticed by the middle of February; in the 

 autumn it generally begins to be seen by the first or second 

 week of August. Great numbers are taken, especially during 

 the former season, and many are brought over into the 

 market, where they are sold as an article of food. The 

 local name, " Dakkuka tal pinnac^^ is also given to the 

 Hoopoe, The simple name '■'• Dakkuka'^ is, however, in 

 more common use. 



