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Ceryle rudis insignis Harterfc, Pied 

 Kingfisher, is a rare summer visitant. 



Halcyon coromandus major T. and 

 S., Ruddy Kingfisher passes the Yangtse 

 on migration and 



Halcyon smyrnensis fuscus Bodd., 

 White-breasted Kingfisher has been 

 taten as a stray by Sty an. 



Family, Msropidae, The Bee-Eaters. 



The Bee-eaters have small feeble legs 

 And feet like the Kingfishers, but the 

 bill is long and slender and gently 

 curved throughout. They have ten 

 primaries in the wing and tvrelve tail 

 feathers. The sexes are alike, or 

 nearly so, in plumage. 



Over 30 species are known, inhabit- 

 ing the warmer regions of the Old 

 "World. Only two species occur in 

 China, one of which reaches the 

 Yangtse Valley. It is Merops viridis 

 Linn, the Bee-eater. 



Family, Upupidae, The Hoopoe. 



Hoopoes have a long slender bill, 

 curved downward from the base. The 

 tongue is very short. The tarsus is 

 short ; the wing is rounded and has ten 

 primaries ; the tail moderately long, 

 square, and of ten feathers. 



The most marked feature is a splen- 

 did erectile crest, of which the hinder 

 feathers are the longer. 



The call, which the common name is 

 supposed to represent, is also quite 

 distinctive. 



This is a small family containing five 

 or six species, of which two are found 

 in China, and one in the Yangtse 

 Valley. 



