190 THE CHESTXUT BEE-EATEK. 



and their luild sweeping flight, as to teim them tlie presiding deities over Egeria's 

 gi'otto. 



Eich as Tras the spot in historical and poetical associations, it was not less so in 

 pictorial charms. All was in admirable keeping ; — the picturesqne grotto with its ivy- 

 mantled entrance and gushing spring ; the gracefully reclining though headless white 

 marlile statue of the nymph ; the sides of the grotto covered with the exquisitely beautiful 

 maiden-hair fern in tlie richest luxuriance ; the wilderness of wild flowers around the 

 exterior attracting the bees, on which the Merops was feeding; and over all the deep blue 

 sk}- of Eome, completing the picture. 



On the 2(>th of April, 1841, three Bee-eaters, coming from the south, flew close past 

 H.iNI.S. Beacon, sailing from jMalta to the ^lorea, but did not alight. We were then about 

 ninety miles from Zante (the nearest laud), and a hundred and thirty from Xavarino. On 

 the morning of the next day, when forty-five miles from Zante, and sixty west of the 

 IMorea, a Bee-cater, coming from the sonth-west, alighted for a moment on the vessel, and 

 then flew towards Zante in a south-eastern direction. Soon afterwards, a flock consisting 

 of fifteen came from the same quarter, lurked about the lee side of the vessel for a short 

 time, and then proceeded north-east. One honr after their departure (ten o'clock) a flock 

 of eight appeared, and alighting on a rope astern the ship, remained there for nearly an 

 hour. They were perched so closely together and so low down on the rope, that by its 

 motion the lowest one was more than once ducked in the water, but nevertheless did not 

 let go its hold or change its position for a drier one. 



These birds were but a few yards fi'om the cabin windows, and looked so extremely 

 beantifid, that they were compared bj- some of the spectators to paroquets, and not very 

 inaptly, on accoimt of their gaudy plumage. After these left us, others were seen through- 

 out the day, but generally singly : they rarely alighted : all flew in the same course. 



When not veiy far to the westward of Cape ilatafan, on the first of May, a flock of 

 twent3--nine of the Merojjs opia^ter flew close past the ship towards the !Morea." 



Tlie Bee-eater is very common in Southern. Eussia, about the Don and the Volga, and 

 is a familiar inhabitant of Turkey, Greece, Eg}-pt, and Asia Minor. Africa seems to be 

 its ordinary residence, from which country it migrates over the ^Mediterranean and pours 

 into the various districts of Europe. In Spain, France, Germany, and Switzerland the 

 Bee-eater is often obsei-ved, and is ver^' common in Malta, Sardinia, and Sicily. 



The colours of the adult male bird are extremety varied and very beautifuL The top 

 of the head is rich chestnut brown, extending to the neck, back, and wing-coverts. Over 

 the rump the chestnut changes to light reddish j-ellow. The primaries and secondaries of 

 the wing are bright blue-green tipped with black, and theu- shafts paiated %vith the same 

 colour, and the tertiaries are green throughout their entire length. The upper tail-coverts 

 are of the same hue as the wings, and the tail is likewise green, tinted with a darker liue, 

 grapliicaUy called by Mi'. YarreU " duck-green." The chin and throat are reddish yeUow, 

 and around the throat runs a band of deep blue-black. The under part of the body is 

 green with a blue tinge, and the under surface of the -svings and tail is gre%-ish brown. 

 The ear-coverts are black, and the eye is light scarlet, which contrast beautifully with the 

 chestnut, black, and yellow of the head and neck. 



In the young birds the tints are not nearly so brilliant, and they are different in hue 

 and aiTangement ; the rich saftron-yellow of the whole having a greenish tinge in the 



-■^ vear's bird, and the chestnut hue of the head extending only to the neck. A first 

 d, described by ilr. Tarrell, had the top of its head green, no red colour on the 

 I no black collar round the neck. The tail feathers were all of the same length, 

 n the adult bird the narrow ends of the central pair of feathers extend beyond 



The lemale may be distinguished from the male by the paler hue of the reddish 

 yellow on the throat, and the reddish tinge that runs throughout the green of the body 

 and wings. In size the Bee-eater is nearly equal to the English starling. 



The Chestxtt Bee-eatee is most commonly found in the difierent islands of the 

 Indian Archipelago, but has also been taken in Malacca and the South of France. 



