58 MEROPID^ MEROPS 



the two centre ones attenuated, elongated about an inch and tipped 

 with black ; lores, feathers round the eye and ear-coverts, black ; 

 chin and throat bright yellow, followed by a narrow transverse 

 black band, rest of the lower surface a greeny-blue, paler on the 

 abdomen and lower tail-coverts ; under wing-coverts very pale 

 buff ; wing-quills and tail-feathers dusky below. 



Iris bright red ; bill black ; legs and feet greyish-brown. 



Length to outer tail-feathers about 94 ; wing 570; tail 3-70, to 

 end of central tail-feathers 4-80 ; culmen 1-40 ; tarsus 0-47. 



Female nearly similar to the male, but usually with the central 

 tail-feathers less elongated and attenuated. 



Young birds are duller in colour throughout, the crown is green 

 washed with brown, the back and wings green, the black throat 

 band is absent and the central tail-feathers are not produced. 



Distribution. — The European Bee-Eater is found during the 

 northern summer breeding throughout southern Europe and central 

 Asia, from Spain to Kashmir and the Altai Mountains. It passes 

 through northern and central Africa on migration, and winters in 

 southern Africa from October to March, where it also breeds. It 

 is widely spread over the whole of South Africa during three 

 months, between Cape Town, Durban, and the Zambesi. 



The following are recorded localities : Cape Colony — Cape 

 div. October (S. A. Mus.), Malmesbury, November (S, A. Mus.), 

 Oudtshoorn, January (Victorin), Beaufort West, January (S. A. 

 Mus.), Orange river, near Aliwal North (Whitehead), Griquatown, 

 December (Burchell), Kuruman, October (S. A. Mus.) ; Natal — near 

 Durban, April (Shelley); Transvaal — Lydenburg, January (Francis 

 in S. A. Mus.), Eustenburg and Potchefstroom, October, March 

 (Ayres); Bechuanaland — near Bamangwato, October (Oates), Kanye 

 (Exton) ; Ehodesia — Tati (Holub), near Inyati, December, and near 

 Pandamatenka, December (Oates), Salisbury, November (Marshall); 

 German south-west Africa — Omaruru, January, February (Eriksson 

 in S. A. Mus.), Ondonga (Andersson) ; Portuguese East Africa — 

 below Zumbo on the Zambesi, October (Alexander). 



Habits. — The European Bee-Eater is only found in South Africa 

 during the southern summer, and unlike most of the other migrants 

 from northern latitudes, breeds during its stay here. Whether the 

 same individuals which have already bred in Southern Europe 

 earlier in the year do so a second time here, or whether only a small 

 proportion, which have perhaps not had an opportunity of doing so 

 in Europe, breed here is not known, and this would doubtless be a 



