224 
AVES. 
Meliphaga Phrygia. —The Embroidered Meliphaga. 
Plate XLIX. fig. 9. 
Black; nearly the whole feathers are margined with rich gol- 
den-yellow; round the eyes there is a naked granulated yellow 
skin; back and breast with numerous undulated yellow or whit¬ 
ish crescents. Nine inches long. Inhabits New Holland. 
ORDER VII.—ALCYONES. 
Bill of medium size, long in some species, pointed, and near¬ 
ly quadrangular, sometimes slightly arcuated, and at others 
straight; tarsus very short; three toes before, adhering, and one 
behind. 
Genus 1.—MEROPS.— Linnaeus. 
Generic Character. —Bill slightly curved, pointed, mandibles 
sharp at the edges; nostrils basal, lateral, ovoid, and hidden by 
protruded nuchal bristles; tarsus short; the three front toes 
united, the exterior one as far as the second joint, and the inte¬ 
rior as far as the first joint of the intermediate toe; hallux broad 
at its base; the second quill the longest. 
Merops ccerulocephalus. — The Blue-Headed Bee-Eater. 
Plate XLIX- fig. 10. 
Upper and under parts of a beautiful red, betwixt scarlet and 
crimson, with clouds of green; crown of the head, throat, rump, 
and crissum, verdigris-blue; remiges and quills green, the in¬ 
ner webs of the latter tinged with red; tail of a rich reddish- 
brown, the feathers tipped with green, the two middle feathers 
tapering, double the length of the others; a black stripe from 
the bill passes below the eye to the margin of the blue ; bill 
black ; feet dusky yellow. Ten inches and a hall long. Inha¬ 
bits Asia. 
Merops erythropterus — The Red-Winged Bee-Eater. 
Plate XLIX. fig. 11. 
Crown, neck, back, smaller wing-coverts, and middle tail 
feathers, of a rich green ; throat golden-yellow; breast reddish- 
